HOW TO STAND OUT WHEN APPLYING FOR A MUCH CONTESTED COURSE

 

Having chosen a very popular course, even a high-achieving applicant may find so much competition rather daunting. A thoughtful, detailed and well-written statement, though, can give you an edge. To write it, you need to know that admissions tutors like students who are both curious and persistent. So, is there a book, journal, website or academic's YouTube talk which has broadened your understanding or changed your mind? Or do you keep up with a course-relevant journal, radio or TV programme?  Are you finding  the new research methods emerging in response to new challenges really exciting?

The advice to mention personal interests can also be worrying. Football, clubbing, clothes shopping or finding a boyfriend/girlfriend obviously won’t do. Even a Computer Sciences expert is looking  for someone  able to name more than World  of  Warcraft. While an unusual hobby like rearing pygmy hedgehogs may help you stand out,  this is not what an admissions tutor is quite looking for either, unless she is a  zoologist.

Still, the fact that you have a life outside school may actually give you an advantage. With just a bit of effort, some hobbies  can be made to suggest that you are suited to a demanding course, being the kind of student who is curious and keen on challenges, as well as persistent. So, it's fine to mention in your statement that scuba diving, for instance,  is your main hobby,  but if you're a prospective science student, do  make sure to also mention that you've explored the physics behind your diving kit.

While travel, plays, films and exhibitions  may also develop the academic mind (if you can afford them), they are certainly not the only way to impress. Helping out at a food bank, working in a car wash or being active in election campaigns can also offer you valuable insights  into anything from Economics to Psychology. So might your family's experience of migration, poverty or ill-health. Topped up by some background research now the libraries have reopened, it may also suggest university-loved qualities like resilience and a  keen desire to find answers.

So, while strong grades and test results still matter,  having suitable extra-curricular interests or activities can help you get into lots of courses except perhaps Maths. University staff will privately admit that what often marks out successful applicants is not just natural brightness but also  a willingness to  explore an extra-curricular topic (or to read around an A-level one) while still at school. Doing so makes the transition to a challenging course much easier for student and staff.

This does not mean that you need to have a full grasp of your future degree subject yet, of course, but a student who has shown an active interest in the methods leading to scientific innovation or literary  success is probably an eager reader and thus a promising applicant. So is someone keeping up with great course-related discoveries in anything from Archaeology to Space Science and interested in the future challenges they may pose.  

COVID-19 has also had a impact well beyond the field of medical treatment: quite a few UK universities are currently doing key research into virus features, vaccines, protection methods or post-recovery problems. Methods, progress and set-backs are regularly covered on their websites. 

Already got an  academic interest of your own? Great, but it should now be deepening. A history fan will already have graduated from historic novels  to a historian's view of a key period or issue (think Communist Russia, The Highland Clearances  or Imperialism). A budding social scientist may want to look for features reassessing the British housing or voting system.

While liking 19th century writing is always a good thing, developing a personal interest in a more specific field, for instance women in Victorian novels (or 20^th century French poetry) is even better.  Pieces on interesting new ideas or findings can often be found on a university's Science or Arts News page.

What, though, if you have not quite finally settled on a course  yet?  There is still time, as long as you are  willing to  devote the first part of your Christmas holidays to reading through the most promising course pages. Not only will those spell out the formal entry requirements in terms of A-level subjects and grades, but also a graduate's career options. As some course names  (think Land Economy or Earth Sciences) will mean very little to parents, this could reassure them that you are making a sound choice.

Now go for it!