FROM UCAS FORM TO OXBRIDGE ENTRANCE

Still battling with your personal statement? According to a report in Oxford student paper "Cherwell", one in six Oxbridge candidates may have had expert help with their application. However, don't dispair if your school provides little UCAS guidance or you can't afford to degate the task to a paid expert. You may not be an experienced CV writer, but presumably know all there is to know about your unique, university-geared self. So, don't assume that someone you never met must be better at describing your abilities, interests, hopes and achievements. Chapter 8 of OXBRIDGE ENTRANCE: THE REAL RULES takes you through all the stages of producing an academically impressive yet honest personal statement.

If you nevertheless go into blind panic when trying to bash out those 47 lines, note that these are not quite as crucial today as a decade ago. Both Oxford and Cambridge dons have complained that too many of the statements they now see are clearly the work of an adult. Consequently, Oxford has let it be known that the information given there is just one among several indicators used to assess a student's talents. Cambridge actually says that there are no marks for a good statement. This does not mean that you can be sloppy about yours, of course: the right contents, presented in a coherent style, will work in your favour. Most importantly, UCAS statements continue to form the basis for many interview questions.