personal statement help needed

cheapscate

I am helping my son with his personal statement - he wants to study Engineering at HND level. However having researched how these things are written I am concerned that he has no additional information other than his academic success to put on it.
My son is autistic and everyday things have been challenging for him and he has not been in a situation to be volunteering or doing any foreign travel. He has not done any additional courses or extend his area of learning, he has had to work hard to understand social skills and still relies enormously on me for organisation. He does have the intelligence to do the course and he really wants to do it but will the college not consider him if he has nothing on his PS? and if he mentions the reason for this (that he is autistic) will they be even less interested?

There is only one college that does the course he wants and is local enough for him to remain living at home (independant living would not be possible for him just at the moment) - should he mention the importance of this and the fact that he is therefore limited to just one application and would not be able to go through clearing if he is unsuccessful.

I wasn't sure if I should post this here or on the disability board

any help would be appreciated!

devildog

Hi,
My son is currently finishing his personal statement for uni and wasn't too sure whether to include the fact that he was diagnosed with crohns at begining of 6th form(missed fair bit of schooling) and was not well enough to do anything else. At his school they are designated a member of staff to help with uni applications and the member of staff will write a reference for him, mentioning the fact that he has this disease and how it has affected him. Is there someone at your son's school who can do the same for him?That way it comes across better (I think) because if it is written by the applicant it could possibly come across as self pitying type thing-you know what I mean!
I would of hoped that anyone worth their salt reading the applications would have at least some understanding of different conditions and how it can affect what someone can/can't do without it going against their application.
Does the college have a disabilty advisory dept? It may be worth a call to them to see if they can advise.
Or failing those options, maybe just a one or two liner one the statement stating that he has this condition but has worked hard and is determined to succeed in his chosen course(?)

Renya

He could try writing about how be became interested in engineering and why he wants to study the particular course, when I did my personal statement I wrote a lot about my A Level choices and why I chose them, so maybe he could write quite a bit on that? I would mention his autism as I'm pretty sure a college cannot rule someone out just because they have autism, but I wouldn't dwell too heavily on that or mention the fact that he can only apply to that college and cannot go through clearing as it may seem like he is begging and trying to appeal to their sympathetic side, show that he is determined to succeed on the course despite his autism and he should be fine, try looking at some example personal statements (some are here) for ideas, I know it sounds hard but try not to let yourself or your son become too worried over this, personal statements are very frustrating (trust me, I've been through it!) but try not to let it overwhelm you or your son.

Good luck!

angelofmel

i wouldnt worry about him not having any experience in the area or volunteer work or anything like that. all he needs to do is prove his passion for the course and subject, his qualities that he can bring to the course and to the uni (has he any hobbies or things that he's always wanted to try out that uni provides? for example i decided on a welsh uni cause i wanted to learn welsh...) also, and i think this will make him really stand out, comment on how he has overcome any issues and challenges he's had and how they've helped him and what hes learnt from them and how he now uses that knowledge. and then finally finish off with what hes looking to gain and take away with him when he leaves the course (aside from the qualification, of course) and (if he's thought that far ahead) where he wants to go from there.
thats basically the kind of path i followed in mine as i was firstly applying for a film and english degree with no english a levels, and was also at the point of applying failing the btec i was taking.
best of luck to him as well

cheapscate

thanks so much for all the ideas! I am printing them out so he can look at them in detail with me and come up with a plan.

MrsManda

When I was writing my PS I first made bullet points of what I wanted to say:
Why I wanted to do that subject
Why I wanted to go to that university
Why I thought I was capable of studying that subject at that level.

I have done two PS this way, to go to university straight out of school and one 5 years later as I dropped out of my first uni due to illness. I was ill throughout school so my grades are appalling so had to focus on making the admissions tutors see past the grades to my potential. As a result my PS was mainly enthusiasm for the subject and basic details of why I felt I was well enough to study at degree level. I also had a very good reference from my college.

Is your son's college helping him write his statement? Will they be providing his reference?

As for clearing, if he wouldn't be able to live away from home whilst at college then if he doesn't get a place at the local college, clearing will be irrelevant anyway so I wouldn't worry about it.

cheapscate

thanks for the ideas, his college will be giving him a reference but they don't seem to offer much in the way of other help regarding university applications - I don't think many of their students go onto further education when they leave, I find it all rather complex as I never went either.

As for clearing - it was more a case of should he let the college he wants to go to know that they are the only option he has ?

Renya

cheapscate wrote: »

thanks for the ideas, his college will be giving him a reference but they don't seem to offer much in the way of other help regarding university applications - I don't think many of their students go onto further education when they leave, I find it all rather complex as I never went either.

As for clearing - it was more a case of should he let the college he wants to go to know that they are the only option he has ?

Personally, I would say don't tell them they're his only option, but can he speak to his head of sixth or a teacher about it? There's probably been others in a similar situation and they'd be more knowledgeable on this.

oompahloompah

My son has just completed his personal statement and was advised by his teacher who deals with the Uni applications to write his personal statement all about the subject he wants to study - why this subject in particular, what does he love about it, what aspect does he want to research further/learn more about, what are his eventual career aims, and so on.

the academic referee should mention the autism as this is a more rounded statement about the individual rather than their academic prowess, but if you feel it should be mentioned in the PS then do so but don't dwell on it. The college won't discriminate against your son for having a disability but they might be able to offer him additional support. It would be worth finding out if the college has a disability adviser, if not they will have a student adviser so make an appointment with them and they will give some advice.

I don't think it's worth mentioning this college is the only option for your son; UCAS only tell each individual institution about that particular application and not anywhere else a student has applied to so they all have to assume that every application they receive has only come to them and not elsewhere (if that makes sense!).