Personal Statement

[Fit of Rage]

Use "advancing" instead of "coming."

[Dealt]

dis, any intelligent lecturer reading that would most likely be interested.. the word depression is not advisable, if its not positive (no matter how important) do not mention it.

Talk like someone you hate, a big head in this situation is not necessarily bad.. lie also, sport involvement will help you as it shows your "balanced".


Its not hard to talk these shitehawks up, I just wish you good luck mate.

[project dragon]

wow how did I get into university

[Superted]

Thanks for your input guys, I'm going to edit it up now then show it to my tutor tonight.

As for the mentioning of the depression, I believe it's the only way. If I don't mention it I've got an unexplained 3 year absence from work and college, which they'll likely put down as laziness (which is worse).

The career part, the first time I wrote this statement last year I wanted to be a child psychologist but now I'm not so sure, I guess I can still put it in.

PJ, there's a limited amount of space for the statement (if memory serves) and college provides reference.

Nailed, thank you, I actually do want to tour the world after uni, I guess I can also include my new interest= the guitar.

ToT, maths comes easy to me, thanks.

[Nockm]

i dont know how they respond to stuff like that in your country, but here i think itd be a major turn off for a college to read anything about past psycological problems. you could MAYBE say that you are working on your confidence, but to mention the agorophobia and depression could by itself keep you out of college here. nevermind the fact that the entire statement seems to revolve around the depression. perhaps at this stage in your life, you feel like overcoming depression is a theme, but id keep it out of the college application process. you dont have to lie, i just dont think you should mention it specifically. also, i think to say youre interested in psychology BECAUSE youve had problems would be a specific turnoff to those departments.

I remember reading up psych courses when I was choosing. They explicitly did not want people applying for psych if they had any past mental problems. Explicitly.

You could choose an alternative and talk about yourself in the third-person, that you helped this guy overcome depression blah blah. Not only does that make you sound like a rational guy, but a helpful one too.

[Bioture]

As facetious said, I don't know what the criteria of this form is, so my comments may or may not be valid. Personally I find your statement incredibly bland and impersonal. As an english major, I would definitely make this statement more vivid - for example instead of having a random laundry list of facts about yourself, make this statement a personal one by having a theme - whether it is overcoming a challenge, persevering in times of adversity, or enduring hardships.

If you want the 3 years of absence to be in your statement, I would use that as a beginning - what your depression has taught you, what you have learned about yourself during this time, and with it, what were your accomplishments.

Instead of stating plainly "I am highly motivated," try something like "In three years, I have learned the meaning of motivation." And then give some examples of where you were motivated, I.E. your parents, God, whatever. Most of the time for these forms the judges are looking for something candid, creative, honest and personal.

another example:

...
I am studying a wide range of topics within my access programme and I have particularly enjoyed learning about new theories and perspectives. I am looking forward to exploring these theories as they are applied to topics such as mental illness.
...

Some of the common questions asked would be - why mental illness? was it because he was depressed? Why does he enjoy new theories and perspective? What are they? How do they connect to mental illness? What drives this person to excel in these areas?

and,

...
Having overcome some serious challenges in my life I am ready now to take my academic career forward. I am fully committed to completing my access course and would welcome the opportunity to continue my studies at degree level. I am hard working, conscientious and highly motivated. I hope you will find my application favourable
...

Why do you feel you are ready now? Did you have an epiphany? Do you need a degree to get a job? Isn't everyone hard working, conscientious, and highly motivated? What makes your case unique? Having a condition may not give you any favortism, but using your condition to describe your character is pure gold.