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"Mr Happy, RM18 e.t.c"

Hey.

I was wandering if you could spare a moment of your time to advise me on personal statements. I'm writing mine at the moment. Applying to Oxford (Merton & Hertford/Jesus), Warwick, York, Durham (University) and Bath for Biology, and Bangor for Marine Biology. I'm predicted AAB for A-Level, and I reckon if I work I can push it to AAA (We don't take general studies round my way. Because it's gay and worthless.)

So, I've got a quote from a famous biologist who's name I'm sure I'll recall any minutre now riduculing Louis Pasteurs theory of germs, and I'll use it to demonstrate how the field of biology is always changing and I want to be a part of it. Then I get stuck. I've got plenty of extracurricular activities to chat about - Duke of Edinburgh, squash leagues, scuba diving e.t.c. I just don't know how to write it into a personal statement.

So, any advice would be good from you guys, being at top universities like you are. Although Oxford is, of course, better than Cambridge or LSE ;)

Cheers.

Hey, at least with all my slacking I'm still getting somewhere... woo!

I don't have to work hard to get where I want to go, and that suits me perfectly

Yeah, I love MoJoMan. Not really. He's a slacker layabout Northern scum type :)

Whereas I'm not.

People still use terms like "5th year"? Hang on, I need to work that out... is it people in year 11?

Anyway, Stryke critisised me, I critisised him back, with perfectly good reasons for doing so. It's this love/hate relationship we have... only without the love

Our fool of a headteacher has decided only 5th years can do Duke of Edinburgh.

*snarl*

There is nothing wrong with doing a Duke of Edinburgh award. I didn't do one, but university admissions tutors like that sort of thing, and it's dead handy on a UCAS form.

MoJo, I'm glad you have a goal in life, and I hope you achieve it. But that still isn't a reason to criticise the path someone else is taking, as it wasn't Stryke's to criticise your way. Some people are suited to a certain education, other's aren't. In my opinion, having ambition is fine but it is always useful to have good grades and viable qualifications, as you never know when you might need them in the future.

Stryke wrote:
> Yeah, I did DoE. Do you like apples?

Nerd. And yes, I do.

> I'm here with AABB applying to some of the top universities in the
> country, and you're stuck resitting 6th Form in a college that you
> hate.

Cocky son of a beach. And I'm not resitting 6th form, if you'd bothered to find out (I've posted about it many times) you'd know I'm doing a media course, and two years from now I will either have a job I will enjoy in the media, or be living with my friends somewhere around Leeds, making films all day.

If I make it as a big time director, I'll be a multi millionaire. It's not likely, but SOMEONE has to be the future Camerons and Spielbergs. Even if I don't make it to the big time, I will almost certainly be nice and comfortable with a job for a production company. Why? Because unlike most people doing media, I have something called talent - I'm not just there for something to do, like 99% of the people on my course. Do you even know what you want to do when you're older? Seems to me that, like many others, you think grades are all that matter, and that you'll get a high paid job as soon as you finish wasting your life in college and uni. I forsee you being stuck in a 9-5 job you hate your entire life.

> So how do you like them apples?

Since I'll be working a job I love, making a lot of money and having fun, I quite like those apples. Ask yourself if YOU like them

Where's what at?

Oxford is for ponces

Cambridge is where it's at.

Just to prove the point...

Oxford admissions process: 5 days (120 hours)

Cambridge admissions process: 40 minutes

Picture man with tattoos and brummy accident (my boss)

"I know I only asked you to stay from 9 to 12... but would you mind staying on a little bit longer?"

"But I wasn't even supposed to be working today" (gratuitous Dante quoting on my part)

"It's just we got this delivery coming in"

"Fine"

I ended up working until closing time.
And I was meant to be in a hockey game at 2!

Oh and personal statements aren't really that important. Not for Oxbridge anyway. They look at your grades, decide whether to interview you, offer you an interview and then read your personal statement while interviewing you. As such it's a good idea to stick a few conversation handles in there. Remember you're not writing an essay, as you send those off to Oxford anyway along with your application, you're writing something about you, preferably tailored towards your subject.

I'd suggest that you mention something vaguely biology-related that you've done work-experience-wise and say what it let you learn. And the quote bit you mentioned sounds like a good starting or finishing point...

Yeah, I did DoE. Do you like apples?

I'm here with AABB applying to some of the top universities in the country, and you're stuck resitting 6th Form in a college that you hate.

So how do you like them apples?

And yeah, sorry to Sheepy. I'm tense at the moment :) Tension is a killer. I get enough gloating about results from AAAA people at school. All two of them...

Lefties be damned. If they're female and fit, I can be a leftie too. Go Lenin e.t.c How hard can it be?