Personal Statements, Open Days, getting to know your lecturers, and finding problems to solve

Photo of scrapyard.

😊 Welcome

This week we look at the truth behind all those headlines in the press telling us that the UCAS Personal Statement had been scrapped.

We take a look back at a piece from last year all about Open Days.

We pick up a top tip from a careers adviser who knows.

And we hear a thought from Google’s former Chief Educational Evangelist about what we should really be asking ourselves (or our children) about future careers.

✍️ Wait… has the UCAS Personal Statement just been scrapped?

Earlier in the summer, just after the schools broke up in England, UCAS made an important announcement about the UCAS Personal Statement.

If you just looked at the headlines, you’d think that the Personal Statement had been banished forever. No more hours spent crafting 4,000 characters of prose about why you’ll make an amazing student.

“UCAS scraps personal statements for university hopefuls” said The Times, while The Guardian ran with “UCAS plans to drop personal statements for UK university applicants”.

Even our trusted, reliable BBC News talked of UCAS “scrapping” the Personal Statement, though thankfully they changed their headline pretty soon after realising their error.

The Personal Statement, you see, is not being scrapped at all; it’s being reformed and restructured. And it’s not happening quite yet either.

So, what exactly is the truth behind all those misleading headlines? Well…

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🗄️ From the vault: Things to see, do and ask at a University Open Day

Off to an open day soon? With over 100 such events in September and October, it’s certainly a good time to be going!

Open days were always one of my favourite parts of working at a university. I loved seeing everyone arrive on campus - all with a sense of excitement and anticipation about what this intriguing place might hold in store for them in their future. I loved working with a team of staff and student ambassadors, doing our very best to show off our university, and giving future students just a small glimpse into what their next steps could look like.

Of course we tried to show our university in the best possible light, and it's for that reason that I’ve written this; a few tips on how to understand what they are showing you, and when to ask for more, or to see things a little differently.

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💡 Did You Know?

If you are heading off to university this autumn, one of the most important things you can do at the start of the year is to go and introduce yourself to your lecturers and course leader. Tell them who you are, why you are taking their course, and what you are looking forward to learning.

Why? Because they can be a life-changing asset to you, for advice, resources, connections, recommendations and support on the course.

So while it may be intimidating for some of you, make the effort to get to know them, and help them to get to know you.

This super-helpful advice comes from Lasse Palomaki, Lecturer, Career Coach and university careers adviser.

You can follow him on Linkedin for regular words of wisdom about building your career while at university.

📢 Quote of the week

“Don't ask kids what they want to be when they grow up. Ask them what problems they want to solve.”

Jaime Casap

Former Chief Educational Evangelist, Google

Obviously Jamie intended this for parents and teachers, but students can also ask themselves the same question: what problems would you like to solve?

Looking at the challenges that the world faces, and considering how you might be part of the solution can be a great way to help you decide what you might like to study at university.

And while you may not be able to work out right now how you will solve the problem, by learning more and more about the challenges, you will take yourself closer and closer to finding the solutions.

Thanks for reading!

Jonathan

🎯 In case you missed it

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Highly competitive courses, ambitious vs safe choices, cooling off, and learning to fly, one step at a time.

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Clearing, exam grades, and an idea from a wise wizard