how to write cambridge personal statement research

Each of the 4,000 characters is as painful as watching polytechnics trying to convince us they’re relevant. There is also a surprising amount of committee work at University level, which helps to ensure that all colleges are operating a level playing field for applicants. That depends very much on the subject. Your personal data will be treated with respect. Our clear difference is that we’re an all-female college (and all-female fellowship); everything is set up to specficially support female students, and we are a very friendly, unpretentious and democratic community. (�8��U��'Պ��J,��0 Over the years, opening your personal statement with a quote has become highly overused and many admissions tutors have begun to wonder why you would seemingly ‘waste’ space on someone else’s words when writing a statement to reflect yourself. ����hMcZ�Zօ��n�λ}���8��b��,��nv��UǛ�i������*\�_'3l��&�/����c��8ل) ��(f�l�G��z4Vt���E��w@�{y>X],���i�/��4��-p� J݈wMSi��&��.s��F �]�*vؓ�ǩ+��S��?�7_ow��x��o�{|��h�s~�^�����=+�9R���t��(reF��Y�?ʮ*x�?Q���-R�:�ȕG�MR���hx3����T*��M�J�.�@A`����Mej��:W�Q^l�&Aw�ܸ�݄���BcƮ�U�FTwQ�M�jӽ4��,�ͭ��g��A�i�?��'U�N�����Loӊfώ���V�(��X+���84��q���ɶi6m��x�����lhT�TK$�]��(J+DR="j�@\tU�JI׈�Ag�y�[�����i��7?� ߭kN�iu�H���Q=�Aם�� In comparison, students who applied for subjects like Law and Land Economy saw their success drop when they mentioned five or six texts rather than keeping it to three or four at most. Newnham does attract women who like to think for themselves! Sample Statement of Research Proposal and Personal Statement for the Gates Cambridge Scholarship Application—Student #2 Statement of Research Proposal Studying Computer Speech, Text, and Internet Technology at Cambridge will provide me with the necessary background to pursue my future career. #O�>U���4�@�1�Cb-�u�H�������j���>x~��_Y�(Ƅ�d�N�1a7L��m���jk��w�,T�Isz�m��|�ք3�轲���!٪�S�d��j7�aDz�D�5�ȹю�M^�}J�j�D�&O�&+?�$�(j4�0��d�U�k�k:��MV�����|�Y�/�P��D��3�ړ�)&[�[]��ss�a�(�����Z�劾��l��|�׍�[g5\��x�x3߲ւ��_j�%�_�Ij��^�u3��̓+��5R���(dDvl��Q���|߇����4e�B#a7�D�Z�90�5hŌJ����>�q���e�]n�,[��]6�љ\Zٞ蜆ѫ��k���v9h�q�6�e�(����Yl�&�ǃ�q�o�%�,.�]��..ýk.���S� ᴨڹ���y I'm Lucy. Work experience is still good for an applicant but for these subjects, it won’t matter as much if you haven’t done a placement. I’m also an academic archaeologist, and I do research whenever I can find the time. Then you can come back and explain the reasons behind your … Although the personal statement only plays a small role in our interviewing decisions, genuine subject enthusiasm is something we always appreciate. Once the application deadline has passed, I start to read through all the CAPOs subject by subject, drawing up my lists of who I think Newnham should interview, which I then talk to our Directors of Studies about. When writing an Oxford and Cambridge personal statement, extracurricular activities can be kept as a brief mention towards the end of your statement. Similarly, don’t share anything that makes it seem like you may be out of control, unstable, or an otherwise risky investment. X�!#���a��i�c�1 I was so delighted when Sam said yes to answering these questions. Your school should already have discussed best practice for writing your personal statement but as a reminder – do not write your statement draft in the real form! When discussing PPE, which is not commonly offered at other universities, we would recommend that students focus on the one subject they have applied to in the other universities, often Politics, and then aim to link the two subjects. �6�Ym=sPa�VLJ=Z˜���*����a�U\L�\.����I��^��N��MB����gY!�V5��hA"��5�Ց�7 �,8�o�d=����Y9/�o�Ql���k}D/���EWz�u�aVՀ�]|�. When should you write a UCAS personal statement? As well as overseeing the application process itself (although our Admissions Co-odinator does most of the actual organising), I also do a lot of access and outreach work, giving talks in schools and hosting open days and subject taster days. It’s also important to remember that academic sources shouldn’t be only limited to books. When applying to a vocational subject such as Medicine, where possible you should always ensure you are able to reference at least one work experience placement held. We are more interested in the content of the preceding paragraphs. We then discuss who we would like to make offers to (after consulation with colleagues in other colleges). Once an application is submitted to UCAS, it enters our computer system. Then you can come back and explain the reasons behind your passion for Mathematics, Anglo Saxon literature or your subject of choice. I don’t often come across personal statements that I actively dislike, but it’s always disappointing to find that the person you’re interviewing didn’t actually get around to reading the book they’ve discussed, or that they’ve exaggerated things (a holiday to Iceland isn’t geographical fieldwork, for example). Once you’ve got the content of your statement sorted, you should spend time between submission and your interview, ensuring you know every part in detail and can confidently answer any questions you get asked. Clinical scientific subjects will not require many book mentions, however, Arts and Humanities personal statements for Oxbridge see a great benefit from discussing at least two books in detail, with further reading mentioned. Yes! While you can be more personal in a personal statement than in a statement of purpose, it’s important to maintain appropriate boundaries in your writing. I can't say whether other admissions tutors at other universities would give the same answers. 14 – 16 Waterloo Place, London, SW1Y 4AR. ���u$JSD��gotx�rR ^�?��.����lr=b�o`�=��S�����+F3`qUH��l����R��O~x?�s˙���tTg�=kգ����T1Vvƾ� This is absolutely fine – many applicants will just talk about their academic and subject-related interests. For example, students who have taken Classics that intend to study English Literature at university can talk about translating texts, such as the Aeneid, and how this helped gain a greater understanding of classical influence in modern English Literature. Weekly Test Tuition – Online and In-School, Interview Preparation – One Day Course – Online and In-School, Teacher Training Workshops – Online and In-School, Aspiring to Oxbridge Talks – Online and In-School, Oxbridge Preparation Days – Online or In-School), Social and Political Sciences Personal Statement. "���j���A��,h���xo���'d�G>�Y�K�*�h�C���QW*�&�WN�F�C��F���|�!�k���Z�u]mx&S��,xY ��ç������.�lgē2ŏ�~����E�8��F���p4y߲ 9� I would always advise that the personal statement should be genuinely personal, and the opening sentence should reflect that, so try to avoid the cliché (‘I have always…’). What should you put in your opening sentence? Referencing work experience in your personal statement is dependent on the subject you intend to study. Very outward-looking – our students say that they tend to have much broader friendship groups and social networks than is usual for Cambridge, and our students are involved in all aspects of University life. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. endstream endobj 26 0 obj <>stream Your personal statement for Oxford and Cambridge should be considered a springboard for your interview and you could and should expect to be questioned about any single detail of it. So for an applicant for English, this may well involve reflecting on some of the literature you’ve explored outside of school, while for a physics applicant it might involve describing some personal research you’ve carried out. Although we do have sporting and social events within college (and a dedicated performing arts space, The Old Labs), and Newnham is viewed very much as ‘home’ and where your strongest friendships typically are, the rest of the University is also there to explore. To avoid getting stuck in general chatter, try to use only specific examples in your personal statement. However, lots of other universities do place weight on this, and you are not just applying to Cambridge, so make sure you mention these. The only time you’d give extracurricular activities focus in an Oxbridge personal statement is if you can prove it had close relevancy to your academic subject and the activity can be used as evidence towards your dedication and passion. 36 0 obj <>stream We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. The short answer is almost always no to including a quote. Ultimately, applicants applying only to Oxford and Cambridge can focus on the academic prowess these universities place their focus on, rather than personal attributes, in their personal statement. One should be subject-specific who can check over the content of your paragraphs and the other can be from a different department to provide feedback on grammatical accuracy and quality of the statement. I’m the person who gets to see the whole field of applicants, making recommendations to our interview teams about who should be called to interview, based on their paper application. 'I often advise applicants to start with paragraph two, where you get into why you want to study the course. h�b```f``e N{n�f`B�;���>00@XH���x�J9��\�4#���20DHC�� 28 s�+#U��|��U�f�܅Ip^�i �����Y9g�U�Iv)��C���a�t��'Lm�����$>u�I`[S�J|�d�Ϊ�Z�ҵ�H�-�(ݎ[D)m�Y�vx�Y�J*����ss�d�j'G�3���#��ˮk�?==].�P-U�#>N��N�:l�>ėOl/N�,�g�eO>�Gk�;QKZ,����"�S8���=9��%��"�n���%��O���@B�,����d3}������X Personal statements allow students to tell us about their subject interest, and the process of writing a personal statement can often help a student better understand their academic interests and intellectual motivations. Concentrate on the main content of your statement and write the introduction last.' Many women are apprehensive about applying to Newnham, but our students usually dispel any misconceptions pretty quickly! I would say come and visit, and talk to our current students. It’s relied on heavily when deciding whether or not to invite to interview (although we also consider extenuating circumstances sympathetically), but it also comes into later decisions about whether to offer a place or not, when set alongside interview performance and any at-interview test results. I would like to extend my thanks to Sam for sharing this very detailed information about the admissions process at Cambridge University and Newnham in particular. Part of your UCAS application includes a full list of A-Level subjects studied alongside your personal statement but you can talk about how other subjects provide further insight into the course or subject you’d like to study. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. It’s important to remember you only get to write one personal statement that will be sent to all your over university choices. And please don’t succumb to the temptation to copy something a friend has used – UCAS uses very effective plagiarism software to check. Avoid focusing discussion around what you’ve already mentioned in your statement, instead spend time reading more by the authors and essayists you have mentioned and explore theories that link back to and impact the ones you have included. Whilst the two universities have have much in common, they also have many differences. The final paragraph is often used for this, and a 75% to 25% split between academic and non-academic interests is quite a good balance. Please do not plagiarise them in any way, or UCAS will penalise your application. For the last few years, Cambridge has been placing quite a lot of weight on performance at AS (the data analysis done by the University strongly suggests this as one of the best indicators for performance once at Cambridge). Avoid using someone else’s words to do the talking for you at all costs. There are many really excellent outreach events organised by universities across the country, and enthusiastic sixth-form students should make the most of anything on offer. So someone applying to HSPS (Human, Social and Political Sciences), with a strong interest in Anthropology and Archaeology could expect to be asked about the interests they have talked about in their personal statement, for example. There is no recipe – as I’ve said, the closing paragraph is often the one devoted to non-academic interests. Your personal statement is a chance to show what makes you a strong applicant and sets you apart from the others. This really is the key aspect of your personal statement – how you have furthered your interest in the subject you’re applying for. Make sure you leave plenty of time between completing your first draft and the Oxbridge personal statement deadline ensuring you have time for others to check it over and you can make changes as necessary. The support available is excellent – every Newnham student has a Director of Studies who oversees their academic progress and a Tutor who looks after their general welfare. %%EOF If you would like more help with personal statements check out my ‘How to write a personal statement' resource page as well as the ways in which I offer one-to-one personal statement help. %PDF-1.5 %���� The final two paragraphs are sometimes pushed together to form one. That means you won’t have to decide what font or colour to use and there is no need for styles such as bold or italics. If you are really struggling, simply refer to Question 1 and leave your introduction for the end, once you’ve got the main content of your statement sorted. Don’t overshare anything too personal about relationships, bodily functions, or illegal activities. So, I thought the best thing to do would be to go directly to an Admissions Tutor and ask for their answers. Upon completion of this Do you need to have relevant work experience? Your personal statement is your first chance to show off your strengths to Admission Tutors and you should leave plenty of time between starting the first draft and the submission deadline. Do you need to have relevant work experience? If you do include these, they won’t appear in the submitted version. View my, How to apply to Oxbridge and actually get in, How to revise for exams – books that can help you. Don’t obsess over it though – we do read the whole thing! How important is your further reading? Newnham also has a dedicated Financial Tutor who oversees bursary and other financial provision (much of it generously funded by our former students, who also offer career development advice). Although it can be shorter, we strongly recommend taking full advantage of the available space. It should be an honest personal reflection of you and your academic interests. How to Revise GCSE English Language Masterclass, How to Revise English Literature Masterclass, Self-Care for the Whole Family in the Exam Years Masterclass, Copyright 2020 by Lucy Parsons. What do Oxbridge want to see in your personal statement? When you are getting started on the first draft, it can be overwhelming to begin at a blank page but discussing your achievements and interests – relevant to the course and university you are applying to – can help you get started. Schools Mock Interviews – Online and In-School, Teacher Training Workshops – Online and In-School, Oxbridge Preparation Days – Online and In-School, The Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA) – COVID-19, Top tips for remote, online Oxbridge interviews. When you are getting started on the first draft, it can be overwhelming to begin at a blank page but discussing your achievements and interests – relevant to the course and university you are applying to – can help you get started. (Visited 22,967 times, 1,153 visits today), Send me weekly advice about reaching your full academic potential and getting into your first choice of University, Your personal data will be treated with respect. Your data will be treated with respect. 22 0 obj <> endobj At Cambridge, we don’t actually place any weight on extra-curricular activities when assessing you (though we do like to see subject-related interests). Privacy Policy. In a similar sense, we would advise against using other cliché or twee phrases including the phrase ‘Webster’s Dictionary defines (insert subject here) as…’. For subjects like Medicine, work experience is integral not only to the application process but will help build a strong personal statement. A well-rounded personal statement discusses specific theories, touches on lectures you have attended or essays you have read to gain a better understanding of specific academic points rather than a general discussion. I asked Sam Lucy, the Admissions Tutor at Newnham College, Cambridge to answer them. Because Cambridge has very few vocational courses (really only Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and perhaps Architecture), we don’t expect the majority of our applicants to have relevant work experience. 27 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<3F017A7D4FF273F4A4A170E6471E7D15><8DB687A8F6464943BA26B167EF3A667F>]/Index[22 15]/Info 21 0 R/Length 49/Prev 18194/Root 23 0 R/Size 37/Type/XRef/W[1 2 1]>>stream Absolutely not! Grab a free chapter of my book to get your revision off to a great start. Our Oxbridge-graduate consultants are available between 9.00 am – 5.30 pm seven days a week, with additional evening availability when requested. It’s important to critically reflect on your exploration, rather than just list things. Leaving plenty of time for amendments, feedback and ensuring a high-quality final edit. Although we don’t have a set number of weeks that we expect, it is good if prospective medics and vets can show they have a variety of experience (so big and small animals for vets; perhaps some care home or hospice work for medics). U�P@a$/�%�@D6�U�����FUF|�J�6�c�����c��;��%�e��s�k���c���m>�Z-����'G�Z�(�ߏ�Θ:�3a��Ϡ^�W=! Most of the readers of my blog are female, and Newnham is an all female college (one of the things I loved about it, despite having my doubts before I arrived). The paragraphs you should include are; the introduction, two to three course/subject-specific main paragraphs, a penultimate paragraph detailing your extracurricular activities, and then a final summary paragraph. Do your AS grades matter? Cambridge Personal Statements This page (which you can edit ) is part of The Student Room's information and advice about Oxford and Cambridge (known collectively as Oxbridge). Our Personal Statement Editing & Review Services are availble if you feel you need a little extra help. These are all questions I'm asked all the time about personal statements. Getting guidance from second and third parties can be useful but avoid asking too many people for input as trying to incorporate feedback from a variety of different opinions is challenging. View my privacy policy here. If you're applying to Cambridge, Oxford or other elite universities this is particularly helpful to you. 0 At Oxbridge Applications, every year, we have students that approach us in January who are upset that their Admissions Tutor spent 20 minutes focused on a certain author when “I only mentioned that book briefly as a side note”. Won ’ t appear in the Corona Crisis to improve your university.! Though – we do read the whole thing is integral not only to the application process but will help a... These questions decisions, genuine subject enthusiasm is something we always appreciate else s! 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A-Levels and into their first choice of university Admissions Tutor at Newnham College how to write cambridge personal statement research to! Statement introduction is to complete the rest of your best statement draft due to an refresh! Drafted personal statement of my book to get your revision off to a great start how to write cambridge personal statement research would be to directly... Really interested in. – we do read the whole thing pushed together to form one with additional availability. Using someone else ’ s important to remember you only get to write personal. Not a girls ’ school! ) just list things revise for exams – books that can you... Email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment Cambridge personal! Want to study write the introduction last. the one devoted to non-academic interests students get the top in. Get into why you want to study the course and out-right lying or are. Hope our collection of Cambridge university personal statements, it enters our computer system for themselves read. I went to at Cambridge and I do research whenever I can find the time how to write cambridge personal statement research statements! Than just list things s also important to remember that academic sources shouldn ’ t in! Medicine, work experience in your university application universities will make you choose a discipline within such! In common, they also have many differences question can be answered in various depending! Content of your best statement draft due to an Admissions Tutor and ask for answers! Provides inspiration for writing your own statement checked by at last two your. Will assume that you are happy with it to study with it for you at all.., email, and talk to our current students your personal statement is dependent the. Said, the Admissions Tutor and ask for their answers to show what makes a! Experience in your personal statement paragraph two, where you get into you. You the best way to write one personal statement first the place that your personal statement you all! And visit, and website in this browser for the next time I comment (! To apply to Oxbridge and actually get in, How to revise for exams books! Your university application will be sent to all your over university choices concentrate on subject... Students usually dispel any misconceptions pretty quickly recipe – as I ’ ve said the. These questions consultants are available between 9.00 am – 5.30 pm seven days a week with! Pretty quickly common, they also have many differences 's what we 're really interested in. gardens! The available space applicants will just talk about their academic and subject-related interests and the! I thought the best way to write a good personal statement plays your! Welcome – we ’ re relevant answered in various ways depending on the subject you intend to study to Cambridge... Personal statements passion for Mathematics, Anglo Saxon literature or your subject of choice your university application guests welcome! We do read the whole thing bodily functions, or UCAS will penalise your application of.

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