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Writing an Excellent Personal Statement: Tips From an IB Student

After finally deciding what course you want study and at which universities, you start your UCAS application. You’re almost finishing completing the UCAS application form and you see the words ‘personal statement’- what’s that? For many universities the personal statement is crucial in an admissions tutor’s decision on whether to accept or decline your application, making it a very large part of the application process. However, before I carry on, let me clarify the whole concept of the dreaded personal statement.

So what is the personal statement about and how best can you write it? Here are my top 5  points to consider in a bid to perfecting your personal statement:

1. What is a Personal Statement?

The personal statement is an aspect of all UCAS applications that gives you 4000 characters (approx. 650 words) and 47 lines to explain and justify your choice of university and course. The personal statement is your opportunity to convince an admissions tutor that you are the right person for that course at that university.

This is where you can include your journey in developing a passion for your course, your extra-curricular activities and achievements and so much more; so long as it relates to your course and your suitability for the course- there’s no need nor space for you to waffle about irrelevant information.

2. Starting to Write your Personal Statement

Before even starting to write your personal statement, go to the universities’ websites and search for the courses you want to apply for and look at what they look for in personal statements. Some universities will tell you to demonstrate specific skills which gives you a clearer idea of what you will need to include.

What is also helpful is to brainstorm everything you’ve done that is related to your course and what you’ve achieved, such as a grade 4 in piano or a Duke of Edinburgh Award. Having a list of everything you have done will make it easier for you to decide what you want to include in your personal statement.

Remember you have a limit of 4000 characters or 47 characters which may seem like a lot of writing space but don’t be deceived! Once you start writing, you quickly run out of space which is why you need to put thought into what you write about to keep everything concise and relevant.

It may be useful to start writing your personal statement in a word document or something similar so it’s easier to keep a track of how much you’re writing, instead of directly onto UCAS. When writing on UCAS, it will allow you to write over the limit but will not allow you to send off a personal statement over the limit.

3. Structure of the Personal Statement

The structure of a personal statement does vary slightly over different courses but the general format is as follows :

• Motivation – why do you want to study this course?
• Understanding of the course – what have you done to gain greater understanding of your course e.g. work experience, lectures, open day, workshops, summer schools?
• Extra-curriculum activities and achievements – what have you been doing outside of your academics?
• Conclusion – summarise why you are suited for this course.

If you’re struggling to know what write inside your personal statement, research into personal statements for that course and look at examples of other personal statements for that course. A good resource for this is: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk which has many useful pointers.

4. Re-drafting your Personal Statement

It is always a good idea to let other people read your personal statement but take this advice with a pinch of salt. By saying this I mean family members, perhaps adults in the course or field and school teachers. Passing your personal statement around a large number of people widens the opportunity for your work to be plagiarised by others. This is especially important if you are sharing your personal statement with friends who are also applying through UCAS.

Only share your personal statement with people whom you trust to give you useful feedback and will not pass off  your work as theirs. UCAS have their own plagiarism system which all personal statements go through; this system includes all personal statements that have been submitted and are on the internet so will be able to detect if two personal statements share many similarities.

Re-drafting your personal statement is important, more so if you’re applying for competitive courses or universities such as medicine at Imperial College or PPE at Oxford, as your ideas will become more fine- tuned. At my own school, the school record of the number of personal statement drafts was sixteen for a medical personal statement. This student ended up getting interviews from all the universities they applied to!

5. What Shouldn’t be in your Personal Statement

There are two gigantic nos for the personal statement – clichés and plagiarism! Plagiarism is using someone’s work as if it’s your own and clichés are expressions that have been overused to the point that they’ve lost their original meaning. If your personal statement is filled with either of these, your application is more likely to be rejected. The whole point of the personal statement is for it to be PERSONAL TO YOU.

If you have clichés you will not stand out and if you have plagiarised it will be picked up by UCAS’ plagiarism system which will also inform your universities choices of this. Whilst both should be avoided, plagiarism is the bigger of the two as if your personal statement passes the plagiarism threshold your universities choices may automatically reject your application.

This WILL have dire consequences on your applications, as your choices will be notified. There are many people applying and if you can’t make the effort to write without stealing someone else’s work, why should they bother reading your application?

Concluding…

Taking all of this advice on board, remember not to over-stress about your personal statement- some universities may not even look at it! It’s important to know what your universities choices want from you and you to give this to them. Just remember to keep your personal statement personal to you. Good luck!

• getting into university
• higher education
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Guide on writing your Personal Statement + Samples

By Survival Robot September 8, 2007 in University

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Survival robot.

Aim of the personal statement

Brainstorming and planning

Writing the personal statement

Small tips to remember and keep in mind

Things to NOT put into and avoid in your personal statement

Links to sample personal statements

Bio-Aqua's Personal Statement Outline

Sample statements from IBSurvival members

Because not all universities interview their students, the personal statement is a way for you to let the university know more about yourself, other than just what the application form requires - the mudane information such as your grades, etc.

If you are applying to a popular university course, and everyone applying is likely to have good grades, the personal statement is the only thing that tells you apart from other applicants, it defines you to the admission officer, so you want to try and make yours as good as possible. It's also the one thing you have control over in your whole application - it's where you can choose what you want to tell the admission officer!

When the admissions and subject officers look at your personal statement, they are likely to be asking the following questions:

1. Do we want this student on this course?

2. Do we want this student at this university?

And you have to convince them that they do! A good personal statement can give the admission officer a good impression of you and may get you an offer despite the fact that your grade may not be the best.

In short, the personal statement is about you , your qualities, and what makes you shine. It's where you make yourself stand out to get where you want to be.

Before you even start writing your statement, brainstorm and plan first! Yes, plan. There are so many things you can say in your statement, it’s necessary to plan otherwise you end up waffling.

So, some things to consider talking about in your statement:

Your university and course:

• What you want to study at university and why
• Specific aspects of the courses that interest you
• Things you have studied related to the subject area
• Work experience or voluntary work in this area
• Conferences you have attended relating to this area
• Personal experiences which lead to the decision to take this subject
• Where you hope a degree in this subject will lead.

Experiences which show you are a reliable and responsible person. This includes:

• Part-time job
• Community and charity work
• School committees, teams, student organisations
• Helping out at school events.
• Any major student conferences and/or activities you’ve attended such as the Model United Nations or something similar.
• Your CAS activities (yes, now they come useful, don’t they?)

Your interests and skills

• What you like to do in your free time
• Sport and leisure activities
• Musical instrument which you play
• Languages which you speak
• Prizes you have won or positions achieved in your interest

You could also touch on your IB experience, especially areas of the IB such as:

• Academic research – especially the EE
• Dealing with workload and stress
• TOK – critical thinking

If you’re taking a gap year:

• Why you want to take a gap year?
• What you plan to do?
• How this may relate to your course.

The personal statement is usually written in essay format, though it may not necessarily have to have a definite introduction like an academic essay. Your introduction (first paragraph) may be telling the reader a bit about yourself and your choice of the university and the course. From there, you can move on to talk about your academic achievements, your extra-curricular activities, experiences and so on.

This may sound very obvious, but it never hurts to be emphasised: use paragraphs! Plan out your paragraphs, make sure your statement has a natural flow.

Now, it’s obviously impossible for you to include all of your brainstomring ideas in your personal statement.

The most important part of your personal statement is the part where you talk about your course. You have to convince the adminission officer that you want to do this course and at their university. You could have great grades and references but if you cannot convince the admission officer you are commited to the course and know what you’re getting yourself into, applying for this course, you will not be able to get an offer.

Choose the information you do include in the statement carefully. Make sure every point you make does something to convince the admission officer you deserve to go to this university. Be concise and to the point, do not waffle. You have limited space, and the admission officer has limited time. Use that space and time well. Your statement should not be longer than 2 A4 pages, typed. If a statement is too long, the admission officer will either gloss over it and not read it carefully or not read it altogether! (If you're applying through UCAS there's a limit on the number of characters you can type, so you can't write longer even if you wanted.)

Like with most essays, you should make sure that you spend adequate time on you opening and your ending. Those are usually the most important part of any essay and one that would leave most impression on the reader's mind. An opening that is engaging, interesting and draws in the reader gives them a good first impression of you. A good ending increases the chance of the reader remembering what you wrote. It's probably a good idea to start with why you want to take your subject, and finish with why you want to go to university or what you want to do next, since it wraps up your purpose in writing the personal statement - to try and get accepted at the university.

Again and again, this is about you! Be egotistical - i.e. talk about your good qualities. Don't shy away from exhibiting your good points. You're supposed to say the good things about you so that they make you stand out. However , at the same time, don't sound arrogant and/or pretentious about it!

When talking about your weaknesses and limitations, don't just list them. Let the person reading your statement know that you realise it's a shortcoming and your actions in overcoming it. Show that you are willing to face your weaknesses and are doing something about it. Think to yourself, why are you telling them about this limitation of yours? What does it say about you and how might it help you get into university?

Make sure that your spelling and grammar is correct. Always have someone read over your statement before you finalise it and send it off. Make sure you don't have silly typos or grammar mistakes. Those can lower your chances by a significant amount.

Have someone to read over your statement not only to proofread it for you but also to see if they can pick up on things that perhaps they, from an outsider's point of view, think should not be incldued because it may portray you negatively in some way. Outsider input is very important!

Don't try to be funny or make jokes in your statement: I had several people emphasised this to me when I did my statement. Admission officers are not supposed to have a sense of humour. Jokes don't prove anything to the admission officer. It just seems like a cheap way to try to impress the admission officer...which often times it doesn't.

Don't start every sentence with I: Yes, you're supposed to be egotistic and use "I" in your statement, but don't make it a monotonous start to every paragraph. Be creative and diverse. Don't start your paragraphs all the same way.

Don't include your hobbies and interests unless they are relevant: Simple, if it's not relevant, it's not helping you and you're wasting words, your time, the admission officer's time, achieving nothing.

Don't use vocabulary you don't normally use and just looked up in a dictionary: Make it sounds authentic, make it sound like you ! This is about you, not about the dictionary or how many big words you can look up. Write like you normally would, in your own words.

Don't use famous quotes in your statement: Again, this is about you !!

Don't repeat things already on your application form: There's no point. They don't need to read the same thing twice.

Don't write a list of all your hobbies and interests without explaining them: This is basic essay writing skill. Don't just list things, but say what's significant about them. You have this interest, so what?

Don't lie or embellish the truth: Don't. Lying never gets you anywhere. Even if you think they won't be able to find out...well, maybe they can. You might be having your teachers write you a reference letter than contradict what you say, for example.

Don't include boring phrases or hobbies which everyone does: It doesn't make you stand out and it wastes word.

Don't take any political viewpoints or express views that may be offensive to others: Because it can offend the admission officers. They are human after all, and if

they get a bad impression of you...well...goodbye.

Post by: Ruan Chun Xian

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Examples of Personal Statements

• 3 weeks later...

Good day everyone,

OK, so you brainstormed and wrote down all you need to start that statement.. Now what? There is an outline you need to follow:

- Introduction: Make it eye-catching and straightforward. You can include some imagination but get to the point. Talk about WHAT you want to study in the university (your major). Is it Medicine? Engineering? Law? Media Studies?... State it directly, but do include your personal touch.

- Main Body P1: Include WHY you want to study this course. Talk about your personal interests, strengths and/or things you have been through which made you decide that this is the thing for you. Include any IB subjects that are relevant to the course and what you have benefited from them.

- Main Body P2: Now, talk about the country of choice and the university you are going to. How are they special? Why do you want to go there and what will you add to the university? You might include the following:

- Exposure to different cultures and backgrounds

- Interpersonal (with other people) and Intrapersonal (with self) skills

- Hands-on experience (Emalgamating with people)

- Location/ reputation

- Highly reputable/renowned university

- Excellent level of education

- Main Body P3: Your extra curricular activities. Mention the activities (whether CAS or non-CAS ones) AND the skills they helped you develop, which are integral to the course of your choice.

- Conclusion: (max 3 sentences) Your plans for the future.

This is just a simple plan for you to get all your notes together. After doing your first draft, you have to keep on correcting it until you perfect it. It's like an EE, which needs to be done again and again until you feel that it deserves an A or at least a B.

• 2 years later...

sweetnsimple786

Personal Statements & College App Essays, US style

Hey guys. I just wanted to talk about the flavor of personal statements or college applications essays in the United States. Most times, an application won't ask for a personal statement. It'll ask you to write an essay and give you word or character guidelines. Sometimes, an application will ask for multiple essays, which might be shorter in length. Sometimes, it'll allow for an optional essay.

One key difference is that usually, when you apply to a college/university in the US, the admissions officers aren't going to have quotas. That is, they won't be like 'okay we can have 300 pre-med majors, 300 pre-law majors, 75 English majors, etc.' This means that you're not competing for a spot on their department/school/program. You're trying to get into the entire uni. [There are several unis where you must apply to a specific school/department, so you know you're competing for a spot based on what you want to major in. Often the application will give you chances to show why they should pick you, specifically related to the field that you're looking into. Cornell Uni comes to my mind. You have to pick one or max two schools you're applying to in Cornell and write essays telling the admissions of the separate schools why they should pick you and why you picked their school. These essays should be about why you're interested in that school and what you can offer them.]

Admissions people are often looking to admit students who will contribute to their atmosphere. For this reason, the college essay or personal statement has got to show your voice. Be funny if you want. As long as it's not forced or crude, you should do well. If you're not a funny person by nature, don't try to write a funny essay. If you're serious, be serious. If you have an opinion, that's great. Put it in your essay if that's what you want to do. One thing you want to avoid at all costs--make sure you don't sound judgmental or close-minded. Remember, the admissions people are trying to imagine that you're a student at their school. They don't want snobby students who won't get the most out of the resources and opportunities they're given.

So what can your essay be about? There's a pretty amazing list a couple of posts up ^^

What you want to aim for is to have an essay that no one but you can write. This doesn't mean you can't talk about something that lots of people experience. It means that you have to show the admissions officers that you have a unique take on a common experience or that you've been given a unique opportunity and you've grown from it.

What you probably don't want to do: talk about everything on that amazing list up there. Pick one theme. What do you want to tell the admissions people about you? You're passion for sculpture? The death of a family member and its impact on you? Failure and how you've grown from it? Pick something that is an integral part of you. Take that aspect of you and try to think of an example of it. Rather than saying you're resilient, write about the time that your doctors said you'd never be able to read above an elementary level and how you've proven them wrong. Better yet, tell them about the hours you spent tracing letters, the confusion that ensnared you, and your family's faith in you and your faith in yourself that wouldn't let you quit. 'Show, don't tell' is what everyone says. =) [by the way, you don't have to tell the most inspirational story ever. Tell your story. That's all you've got to do.]

This has already been said above, but proofread your work! A 'there' instead of 'their' CAN severely impact your chances of admission. They're [haha] thinking if you can't even put enough time into proofreading your work, why should they give you a chance? Also, it's easy to be unsure of your work after you've finished. People say that you have to go through lots of rough drafts of an essay before it's close enough to perfection. One thing you don't want to do is get 5,000 [or 5.000, whichever is the bigger number to you] to read your paper. Guess what? They're going to have different opinions. Conflicting opinions. Who are you going to listen to? Listen to yourself . It's your essay. Your voice. Opinions and suggestions are great, but don't let your essay turn into your father's or your teacher's or your pastor's or whoever's. If the admissions people wanted your father's essay, they'd be recruiting him.

Lastly, there's some amazing advice in the posts above. A lot of things are the same. Don't be cocky, but don't sell yourself short. Use the essay to show a new side of you, but don't lie. If you don't think the uni can accept you for you, trust me, if you get in, you might be missing out on your real dream school some place else. Believe in yourself, or how will they believe in you? And if a uni rejects your application, it is in no way rejecting you. You are not your application, and you don't need some uni's approval to be deemed a good student. =) If you want more specific advice, ask. This forum is your friend. & you can always PM me. We're not competing. Who really wants to be the last one standing? Good luck. Be happy with yourself.

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• The Expert’s Guide to the International Baccalaureate

How much do you know about the IB?

You should also read…

• 10 Benefits of Studying in an International Environment
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Beyond a vague notion that its name sounds a bit French, it’s supposed to be quite hard, isn’t it, and you’ve got to study a lot of subjects, that is. Well, a crucial thing about the IB is that it’s on the rise – every year, hundreds of new schools around the world introduce the diploma programme as an option for their students. And universities love it too – not only is the programme widely recognised as being harder than A-levels , but there’s much less evidence of grade inflation in its results. Since 1990, IB grades worldwide have only improved by 4%, compared to a 30% rise in grades for A-level students. In fact, last year, out of the 127,284 students who took the exams, only 154 got the maximum possible score of 45 points. But despite its increasing popularity and prestige, many students are still put off by the sound of the IB – in particular, the requirement that if you take it, you must study six subjects, with Maths at some level sitting alongside a Social Science and a second language. This article, a general introduction to what it’s actually like to study the programme, is in part aimed at busting some of the myths that surround it.

The really important bit

The ‘About the IB’ section of the foundation’s website reads like empty PR-gobbledegook; it claims to develop in its students the ‘intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalizing world’. Further down the page, the ‘Mission Statement’ elaborates and clarifies the meaning, asserting that the programme ‘aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect… (The) programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right’. And this is not meaningless platitude; the entire diploma is centred on, and structured around, the stated twin aims of promoting understanding and friendship across cultural boundaries, and making its students positive contributors to their communities. For starters, a compulsory part of a student’s first-language literature course is world literature; students can take West Asian History, Peace and Conflict Studies or World Religion as one of their Humanities subjects; and all this without mentioning CAS (which I will discuss below), the essential core of the diploma that’s all-too-often skipped over by parents or teachers lauding the depth and breadth of academic knowledge IB students gain. If you take the IB, you’ll be forced to consider the relevance of almost everything you learn in class to the modern world, and the programme’s central structuring conceit is that the modern world is a decidedly international one.

You have to study six subjects

The thing that puts a lot of people off taking the IB, at the same time as it sets the programme apart from most national qualifications (notably English and Welsh A-levels, both of which allow their students to focus on just three or four subjects) is its breadth. IB students have to take six subjects – and not just any six. Somewhat sadistically in my opinion, the designers of the programme, way back in the 60s, decided that to obtain the full diploma, its students must take Maths at some level, a science, a literature course in their first language, a second language, a Humanities course, and either an art or a second subject from any of the other groups. Of course, this is brilliant if you’re the sort of genius all-rounder who can’t decide whether they prefer advanced string theory or Dostoevsky; but not so great if, like most of us, you’re much stronger in some areas than others. Perhaps even more vexingly, unlike in most other qualifications, in the IB each individual subject counts towards a total final grade – they’re each scored out of seven, and tot up together with 3 ‘bonus’ points (for core modules, discussed below) to form a possible total of 45. What this all means is that if there’s a subject you really don’t like, or find difficult, you can’t just ignore it; doing badly in one thing will affect your overall total, and might mean that you don’t meet competitive university offers.

But this all sounds much more daunting and scary than in reality it is. The IB foundation recognises that most students are not all-rounders, and its structure does allow a degree of specialisation. First, IB students choose to take three subjects at Higher Level (HL), and three at Standard Level (SL). The HL courses contain a lot more material than SL ones, and are much more difficult – so most people take their stronger subjects at HL, and weaker ones at SL. And the programme takes into account natural aptitude for certain subjects, as well as the difference in the difficulty of courses students from different countries will have taken before starting the IB. So, for example, it’s possible to take Maths at four different levels. Higher Maths is tough – much harder than the British A-level, and with more material. Students burning with zeal for numbers can also opt to study Further Mathsas a seventh subject. Standard Level Maths is about the same in content and difficulty as A-level – which initially seems very unfair, until one realises there’s a fourth option. Maths Studies, also a SL subject, is designed for those who don’t enjoy Maths, aren’t very good at it, and don’t need the subject for their chosen university course or career path. It’s not very much harder than GCSE, and takes a less academic approach than the other options, focusing on practical day-to-day applications of the subject, and things like Statistics that might come in handy later. So there are options designed for even the biggest number-phobes! And there are similar allowances for ability and interest in every group of courses:

First Language

Depending on what your school offers, and where your interests lie, you can choose to study different options in this course:

• Literature is the most common option, and the one which will prepare you best if you want to carry on with literary studies at university. Students study a range of prescribed texts in their first language, and ‘world literature’ in translation, and are assessed on essays, commentaries and creative responses to the works they study.
• Language and literature : This course studies a range of literary and non-literary texts, and teaches critical reading as well as writing skills.
• Literature and performance: An interdisciplinary subject that is only available at SL, and explores the relationship between written and performed literature. Assessed through exams, written coursework and performance, this is a great option for those who aren’t keen on the idea of endless reading and discussion of texts.

Second Language

There are a range of options that mean this subject will be fun, worthwhile and manageable whether you can blab away confidently in a number of languages, or your second-language knowledge is limited to Hola and croissant.

• Ab initio : Meaning ‘from the beginning’, these courses are for students who have never studied the language they want to take. My school offered ab initio courses in Arabic and Japanese as well as Spanish, French and German. A great option if you want to try something new and different, and only available at SL.
• B – language : Intended for students who’ve had experience of studying the language they’ve chosen. These courses can be taken at HL or SL.
• Classical languages : This course allows students to study the language, literature and culture of Greece or Rome.

Individuals and Societies

This grandly named group contains what are essentially Humanities subjects, with different options for those who aren’t interested in the conventional canon. So alongside History, Geography and Economics, there are courses in Politics, Philosophy, Psychology, Anthropology, World Religions, IT, and even Business and Management. Something for everyone!

Again, in the Science group conventional academic options sit alongside other, more varied, courses. So you can take Chemistry, Biology, Physics or Computer Science at either Higher or Standard level (and believe me, when I studied it, SL Chemistry was more-than manageable for even the biggest science-phobe) – or if you’re otherwise inclined, you can take Design Technology, Sports and Exercise Science, or even Environmental Systems, an interdisciplinary subject that looks at the environmental, social and ethical implications of the different scientific subjects.

You can choose from a range of Arts courses, including Dance, Music, Film, Theatre and Visual Arts – or, if you’d rather, you can choose any second subject from the other groups. So there it is. Of course, no school in the world offers every single subject , and depending on the school you go to your choices might be more varied or limited – my school offered a huge range of options, but some schools with a smaller intake, or who run the IB alongside their national programme, might have fewer choices, or offer only the traditional subjects in each group. But don’t be put off the IB just because of the ‘six subject’ rule: as I hope I’ve shown, the structure of the programme does allow students to take multiple courses in their preferred areas, and to dodge having to do anything too hard in subjects they’d rather not bother with! If you’re thinking of taking the IB, my advice would be to research the options available in the schools closest to you, and see if you can put together a curriculum you’d enjoy and benefit from over the next two years.

The core of the programme

Aside from their chosen subjects, every IB student must also complete ‘core’ modules, which combine to make up three points out of the total 45. The core is made up of:

• Theory of Knowledge (TOK): an (in my opinion, quite hazily-defined) course that claims to centre on grand questions like ‘how do we know what we know?’. When I studied it, the course was certainly a lot of fun and always involved a lot of discussion and debate, but I was never entirely sure what we were supposed to be learning; conversation always seemed to veer off in unexpected directions (my main memory of the course is a ten-minute monologue from our teacher on what it would be like if all the school’s dinner ladies formed an army and attacked the students). It’s assessed through a final in-class presentation on a topic of the student’s choice, and a 1500-word essay. Past essay questions have included:

‘Context is all’ (Margaret Atwood). Does this mean there is no such thing as truth? “When the only tool you have is a hammer, all problems begin to resemble nails” (Abraham Maslow). How might this apply to ways of knowing, as tools, in the pursuit of knowledge? “That which is accepted as knowledge today is sometimes discarded tomorrow.” Consider knowledge issues raised by this statement in two areas of knowledge.

• Extended Essay: a 4000-word essay in any subject, which involves independent research by the student. This is usually great fun – a chance to do an extra project in your favourite subject, and to learn and write all about something that interests you on your own. It’s also, in many cases, an opportunity to try out the sort of work you’ll do if you carry on with a particular subject at university.

I hope this introduction to the IB has been handy. Please feel free to post any questions in the comments section below! Last reviewed: September 2015 Next review: September 2016

Image credits: banner ; peace ; Chemistry ; Maths ; book ; croissant ; lake ; discussion ; puppy . 

Top tips for writing your personal statement!

Putting together a personal statement can be tricky! Every year, we speak to lots of applicants about what we expect and what we are looking for in the finished piece – it’s something we get asked about a lot!

‘What should I talk about in my personal statement?’

‘How can I make my personal statement stand out?’

‘How long should my personal statement be?’

Fear not! The personal statement section on your application is broken down into 4 clear questions so you can write responsive answers, that offer us insight into the key attributes we look for! That being said, we do have our own tips and guidelines that we like to share, so read on for our full insight!

Why does Imperial College Business School ask for a personal statement?

Quite simply, we ask for a personal statement because we want to know about you. All aspects of your application are important, but many areas tend to be factual and to the point. The personal statement is your opportunity to expand and tell us more about who you are, and what your motivations are for applying to Imperial. Our programmes are hugely competitive, so we often rely on the personal statement to help us understand your profile and fill in any missing pieces from our assessment.

What questions are included in the personal statement section of my application? 

You will be required to complete 4 mandatory questions, which cover your motivation to study and contribution to the cohort, with an additional information section which offers you a chance to detail anything else you haven't mentioned as part of the application. The 4 questions are as follows:

Please share your motivation for undertaking the programme? Treat this as a priority. Ideally, your CV and academic history should have already given us a good idea of your achievements to date, so be sure to tell us why you are pursuing postgraduate study and why you have chosen your programme of interest. You should be able to link your past experiences to your suitability for the programme and expand on anything else that is relevant.

What is your proudest non-academic achievement? This could be professional, personal, or extra-curricular, but we want to know about your proudest non-academic achievement to date, and how it has helped shape you into the person you are today. We love to hear about all the interesting things that applicants have done and achieved, and this is a great way to differentiate yourself from other candidates.

What would you contribute to the cohort and the Imperial community? This question is your opportunity to show us how you will enhance the college experience of those around you and how you will make the most of your time at the Business School. Think about how you will make the campus community a better place, whether this be through participation in extracurricular activities or interactions with staff and students across campus. 

How would you use your degree to make a positive impact? We want to know how the programme will benefit you, both during your studies and in the future. Perhaps, you could use this section to tell us about how your programme fits into your long-term goals, or any long-term objectives you have relating to your chosen area of study.

Additional Information Use this section to include any additional information you want to tell the Admissions Committee. 

Is there anything I should not write about in my personal statement?

Try not to get too caught up with university rankings or facts about the Business School – we want to hear about you, not us! It’s good to talk about the programme content but avoid simply relaying this information back to us. Focus instead on what interests you the most and how you plan to build on past study.

Don’t waffle - keep it concise! You have 1500 characters per section (including spaces!) so make sure your answers are clear and succinct.

Check, check, and check again! It’s the golden rule; make sure your personal statement is free from any spelling or grammatical errors. Copying and pasting from any other personal statements you have written, such as one to another institution, is a risky game – don’t reference another university and be sure to use the correct programme title!

Hopefully, we have given you some good guidance on what is expected from the personal statement and we wish you the best of luck if you are submitting an application, and we look forward to reading your personal statement soon!

Listen to our podcast Inside IB to learn more about creating a stand-out application

Applying to Medical School in the UK: A Guide for IB Students

Applying to medical school in the UK might not be as straightforward as applying to other subjects and can be quite daunting, especially if you are an IB student trying to balance your coursework at the same time. Here, I will briefly summarize the process (step-by-step) of applying to medical schools in the UK and share some tips with those of you who are going through the same process. I hope you will find them useful!

* The suggested timeline will mainly be applicable if you are taking the May examinations.

1. Before you start DP: Select the right IB subjects

All UK medical schools have requirements on which subjects you must take to be eligible to apply. Most universities require chemistry at the higher level but vary for subjects like mathematics and biology. Some don’t require mathematics, fewer don’t require biology, but most will offer you a range of options. For example, as of 2022 entry, the University of Bristol only requires chemistry, but allows you to choose between biology, physics, and mathematics. On the other hand, Lancaster University allows you to choose two from biology, chemistry, and psychology. This means you don’t necessarily have to take mathematics or biology if you feel particularly insecure with these subjects. Be sure to research the entry requirements early on so you can waive one safely!

2. DP1: Do well in your IB coursework

Most medical schools put a lot of emphasis on your predicted grades when deciding who to invite to an interview. Therefore, ensure you do well in your exams to achieve the maximum predicted grades.

3. DP1 (May – June): Ask for a reference (i.e. recommendation letter)

You must have a reference as part of your UCAS application to medical schools. The referee will usually be a teacher or tutor in your school since they will be able to comment on your academic potential and whether your personality fits that of a doctor. Make sure to supply your referee with information you want them to highlight! This should be informed by your own research into the selection criteria, which are usually really similar across medical schools. 

4. DP1 (June) – DP2 (November): Prepare for and attend a UCAT and/ or BMAT exam

You will be required to sit an additional admissions test either before or shortly after you submit your UCAS application. The specific requirement can be found on the website of each medical school. (Just search “International Baccalaureate” under “entry requirements”.) Preparing for either test will (and should) take you a lot of time, so I strongly suggest preparation during summer vacation and taking them as soon as possible (i.e. before or shortly after DP2 commences)! This is to give you sufficient time for the following steps and your commitments to IB (i.e. IAs and EE) in DP2.

5. DP2 (September – October 15): Write your Personal Statement

On the contrary to the advice you might receive elsewhere, I suggest you NOT start your personal statement too early. This is because you might gain more insights into the medical career in the summer that you might wish to include in your personal statement.

I do suggest, however, to start gathering a list of reflections and evidence early on, so that you can select later which parts to include in your statement. Personally, I think a good time to start your personal statement is sometime near the start of September, as this will (hopefully) allow you time to gain sufficient reflections and organize them into the personal statement. There is a lot of advice and examples of personal statements out there. However, try not to be too reliant on them or you might risk losing your originality. Don’t be too stressed about the personal statement as well, since medical schools often put less emphasis on it compared to other components of your application.

6. DP2 (September – October 15): Select the 4 medical schools and the ‘5th choice’

If you have your UCAT and/or BMAT results, research how universities use these results (plus your grades in school) to estimate your chances of getting an interview at a particular medical school. Select those universities that you believe are of the highest chances for you to get an interview! If you cannot obtain your UCAT/BMAT results before the October 15 deadline, consider your grades and try to balance out the risk of not getting any offers by choosing a range of medical schools based on their competitiveness (which you can deduce from past admissions statistics).

7. DP2 (October 15): Submit your UCAS application

If you have completed the steps above, you should be ready to submit your UCAS application. As a reminder, the major components of your application include your choices, reference (which your referee will upload for you), and personal statement. UCAT or BMAT scores will be sent directly to the universities so there is no need to include them in your application!

8. DP2 (October 15 onwards): Prepare for and Attend Your Interview

Start your interview preparations early! It might be tempting to start your preparation only after you receive an offer for an interview. However, I suggest you NOT do that as it will not give you enough time to do proper preparation, which includes (but is not limited to):

• researching recent medical advancements and issues
• understanding medical ethics
• organising your motivations and the corresponding evidence (your EE, if applicable, can also show your interest in medicine!)
• researching the medical school
• gathering questions that might come up
• practising answering questions

It is crucial that you practice answering questions out loud. Although it is really unlikely that you will encounter the same questions you prepared for in your interview, practice answering questions will make you more comfortable in the actual interview and familiarize yourself with presenting your evidence. Once you are familiar with your evidence, you can tweak them to fit the majority of questions you encounter in the actual interview.

9. DP2 (May): Do well in your IB exams

You will have to achieve the conditions for your conditional offer to gain admission into medical school, so prepare well for the IB exams! If you’re in a non-exam route due to COVID-19, still study hard so that you can do well in your school’s exams and fulfil the entry requirements.

It can be really challenging to balance your time between coursework and applying to medical school, so time management is key. It is normal to feel exhausted, but it will be worth it if you do find yourself in medical school in the end. Good luck!

You may also like…

• Imogen’s tips for the UCAS application
• Rutu’s advice on how to stand out in college applications

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IB MYP Personal Project: The Complete Guide for 2023

by  Antony W

July 19, 2023

The MYP Personal Project is a practical, final-year, individual assignment that gives IB students the opportunity to choose a subject of interest and delve into it by acquiring new skills and knowledge while producing tangible results.

Given that the Personal Project serves as the culmination of the Middle Year Program, it provides a unique academic platform for IB students to commemorate their learning journey.

Moreover, it’s through this project that students can demonstrate and enhance their Approaches to Learning skills.

In MYP Personal Project:

• Students explore a topic that genuinely motivates and captivates them.
• Students establish their own objectives and determine the means to achieve them. It means they have the right to set their personal criteria for success. 
• Students exhibit and cultivate ATL skills while reflecting upon the influence of the Personal Project on themselves and/or their community.

What Are the Aims of IB MYP Personal Project?

The objectives of the MYP Personal Project, as outlined in the IB’s Personal Project guide, align with the principles of inquiry, action, and reflection.

• Inquire: Engage in an inquiry that holds personal significance and assume responsibility for self-directed learning.
• Act: Apply and transfer skills to pursue learning goals and produce a tangible output.
• Reflect: Acknowledge and provide evidence of personal growth and development.

In essence, the Personal Project empowers students to explore their passions, take charge of their learning, and reflect on their progress. In the end, they become inquisitive, proactive, and self-aware individuals.

What Are the Objectives of IB MYP Personal Project?

The following are the objectives of the IB MYP Personal Project:

1. Planning

The student should be able to formulate the project’s learning objective and elaborate on how their personal interest influenced the selection of that goal.

Secondly, they should define the desired outcome and establish relevant benchmarks for measuring the success of the final product.

Lastly, they should outline a comprehensive and precise plan for attaining the product and meeting the associated success criteria.

2. Application of Approach to Learning Skills

The student should be able to describe how they utilized approach to learning skills to help in accomplishing the learning objective.

Furthermore, they should be able to elaborate on how they applied the same skills to support the creation of the intended product.

3. Reflection

First, the student should be able to analyze the impact of the project on personal growth and learning experiences.

Second, they should assess the project’s effect on oneself or one’s learning, considering personal development and knowledge gained.

Finally, they should be able to evaluate the product based on the predefined success criteria, critically analyzing its performance and effectiveness.

What’s the Assessment Criteria for IB MYP Personal Project?

The following is the assessment criteria used to grade the IB MYP Personal Project:

Criterion A: Planning

Maximum Points: 8

This criterion requires that a student define a learning goal for their project and explain how their personal interest influenced the selection of that particular goal. By explaining the connection between their interests and the learning objective, student can show their motivation and enthusiasm for the project.

Moving on, students should state the intended product they aim to create and establish appropriate success criteria for evaluating the product’s effectiveness and quality. This entails outlining specific benchmarks or standards that the final product must meet.

Lastly, students need to present a well-defined and comprehensive plan that outlines the steps and strategies they will undertake to achieve the desired product and meet the associated success criteria. This plan should be detailed and provide a clear roadmap that demonstrates the student’s understanding of the necessary actions and resources required to accomplish their project goals.

By fulfilling these requirements, students can demonstrate their ability to set meaningful goals, create tangible products, and develop effective plans to bring their ideas to fruition.

Criterion B: Applying Skills

Throughout the personal project, students need to demonstrate their application of ATL (Approaches to Learning) skills in order to attain their learning goal and successfully complete their project.

First, students need to explain how they utilized specific ATL skills to support the achievement of their learning goal. This entails outlining the ways in which they employed critical thinking, research, communication, self-management, and other relevant skills to enhance their learning experience and make progress towards their objective.

Additionally, students must articulate how they applied ATL skills to effectively develop and create their intended product. This involves describing the use of organization, collaboration, information literacy, and other applicable skills to design, construct, and present their outcome.

By reflecting on their application of ATL skills in both the learning process and the product development, students can show their ability to leverage these skills effectively and highlight their growth as independent learners.

Criterion C: Reflecting

During the personal project, students have to achieve two key objectives.

First, they should be able to articulate and discuss the impact that the project has had on their personal growth and learning. This involves reflecting on the project’s influence on their skills, knowledge, and overall development as a learner.

Secondly, students are required to evaluate the final product they have created by assessing its performance against the predefined success criteria. This evaluation entails critically analyzing the product’s effectiveness, quality, and alignment with the initial goals and objectives set for the project.

Both of these objectives contribute to the holistic assessment and reflection on the personal project, allowing students to gain insights into their own progress and accomplishments.

Student Support for IB MYP Personal Project

About the author 

Antony W is a professional writer and coach at Help for Assessment. He spends countless hours every day researching and writing great content filled with expert advice on how to write engaging essays, research papers, and assignments.

Statement from the IB about ChatGPT and artificial intelligence in assessment and education

Latest developments in artificial intelligence (AI) software, such as ChatGPT, that can write sophisticated essay responses have generated a great deal of interest and discussion. The IB will not ban the use of AI software. The simplest reason is that it is an ineffective way to deal with innovation. However, the use of AI tools should be in line with the IB's academic integrity policy. We expect all our schools to discuss the various types of academic misconduct with their students.

The IB believes that artificial intelligence (AI) technology will become part of our everyday lives—like spell checkers, translation software and calculators. We, therefore, need to adapt and transform our educational programmes and assessment practices so that students can use these new AI tools ethically and effectively. The IB is not going to ban the use of such software but will work with schools to help them support their students on how to use these tools ethically in line with our principles of academic integrity. 

Students should be aware that the IB does not regard any work produced—even only in part—by such tools, to be their own. Therefore, as with any quote or material from another source, it must be clear that AI-generated text, image or graph included in a piece of work, has been copied from such software. The software must be credited in the body of the text and appropriately referenced in the bibliography. As with current practice, an essay which is predominantly quotes will not get many, if any, marks with an IB mark scheme.

Read more from Dr Matt Glanville, Head of Assessment Principles and Practice at the IB, on the IB Community Blog and in an article published by The Times .

Read more about the IB’s academic integrity policy

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