The Personal statement or Essay is an essential part of your application. Its importance grows with the popularity of the course/university you are applying for. Admission tutors for competitive courses rely a great deal on this part in making their decision. Faced with a large number of applications, they can only start to distinguish between applicants based on what they say about themselves in this document. It is therefore an important piece of work that you need to give most attention to ensure that it is done well and best you can.
The items to consider for your personal statement are :
- Academic background
- Additional courses you did
- Ambitions and career plans
- Hobbies and special interests
- Prizes or honours you may have won
- Why study in the country you have chosen
- Any special personal circumstances you may have faced
- Reasons why you have chosen the course and university
- Voluntary work, memberships in social or sports activities
- Projects and major field work and in particular your graduation project
- Work experience especially that is related to the course you are applying for