Personal statement..

We had at a speaker present at my college from a prominent University last week and he told us that although you may be tempted to conform to what you think they may be interested in, he pleaded with us to at least incorpoate an element of originality in it.

Remember. They can read hundreds of Personal Statements a week, with a small percentage of places available, and yours need to be one that catches the eye.

This doesn't mean incorporating inappropriate humor (they may not share the same sense of humour), but to ensure it sounds original to you, and not copied and pasted from other websites.

Also, remember your standard of spelling and grammar can also determine whether or not you secure a place....

Good luck!

format_quote Originally Posted by Samkurd

SORRY but do NOT start with something like 'i am writing to you to bla bla bla pharmacy bla bla'

the universities get hundreds and hundreds of these a day you want to start with something to catch their attention like 'When i was a child i had a horrible experience of travelling to a third world country and witnessed a child fall seriously ill without any possible treatment. From that day i knew that i wanted to go into pharmacy because.... bla bla bla'

1/2 - 2/3 of it should be academic (e.g work experience, why u wanna do the course, what you have done to proven your interest) and the other half or 1/3 should be personal (Your extra curricular activities, any sports teams you played in, school productions, etc.)

Hope this helps

even though i suggessted this, i agree. the reason why i suggested it was to gove her some idea.

everyone,

well i've got a problem regarding goin to uni and studying pharmacy. The uni that I want to go to, I havn't got the entry requirements... they only accept A levels and I don't have them, I have AVCE and the degree that im studying now. I reallly don't know what to do now.

Should I still bother applying? shall I write something in the personal statement to make them want me in their uni? not exactly beg, but just show Im determined or

:confused::confused: Im just so confused now. I havn't told my parents coz I know that they will be so dissapointed... again

I just any need help, advice, support that any of you are willing to give.
Jazakhallah in advance

W'salam

i say give it a go. whatcha gonna lose? ya never know....

Sister ~*Sofia*@, when I done my personal statement it was so hard!!! But I done it and I've sent to my teacher to add the reference!

Try looking for other uni's that do AVCE's. I've looked through loads of prospectuses and many do take on AVCE's even in pharmacy also look for other curses such as optometry or psychology or audiology, still within the medical field or even teaching!

Get really good grades or points (Idon't know what you get in AVCE's as I am doing A Levels) and do you personal statement really good, make out things that you've done as being the best.

Include the words, "keen, committed and enthusiastic" somewhere (my teachers are always on about those words for UCAS and I've used them in mine!) also if you are the 1st person in the family to pursue Higher Education then include that too as uni's are looking for that type of people along with good grades of course!

Insha'Allaah you'll get it completed but hurry as the ones who give it early are looked at first even if uni's do say they'll start looking from a particular date.

format_quote Originally Posted by Qurratul Ayn

Sister ~*Sofia*@, when I done my personal statement it was so hard!!! But I done it and I've sent to my teacher to add the reference!

Try looking for other uni's that do AVCE's. I've looked through loads of prospectuses and many do take on AVCE's even in pharmacy also look for other curses such as optometry or psychology or audiology, still within the medical field or even teaching!

Get really good grades or points (Idon't know what you get in AVCE's as I am doing A Levels) and do you personal statement really good, make out things that you've done as being the best.

Include the words, "keen, committed and enthusiastic" somewhere (my teachers are always on about those words for UCAS and I've used them in mine!) also if you are the 1st person in the family to pursue Higher Education then include that too as uni's are looking for that type of people along with good grades of course!

Insha'Allaah you'll get it completed but hurry as the ones who give it early are looked at first even if uni's do say they'll start looking from a particular date.

sister

I checked out other uni's that do pharmacy y'day, and there are a few that take AVCE when combined with other qualifications... YaY! I can't believe I didn't think to check the other uni's out,I was set on the one that didn't take AVCE! dumbo! :X

Im so glad that other uni's do take on AVCE, coz i've really got my heart set on doing pharmacy inshallah and it looks like it's gonna b ok now

Neway jazakhallah for ur advice, has helped me out.. inshallah i'll complete the statment real soon and send it off..

Jazakhallah again sis *hug* :sunny:

W'salam
x

everyone,

I have finally started my personal statement.. I have posted it up.. It's not in the actual order, just random things that I have thought about what to write.. i'll put in order later on.

Wanted a bit of advice.. do you guys think it's ok???? what else can I add??? Please let me no.. jazaks

I have always wanted to pursue a career in healthcare from a young age. I wanted a career that would make a difference to peoples lives, a career where I could do my part and contribute to society. A career in pharmacy seemed to fit the bill perfectly.
My keen interest in both biology and chemistry has aided me to take on pharmacy as a career.

My mother is also in the healthcare profession and she has showed me that pharmacy is not only a profession but at the very frontline of healthcare and a life in science. This has fuelled my interest in the subject.

I am able to speak both Gujirati and Urdu and feel that this will help in the community pharmacy with the public whose mother-tongue is not English.

In my spare time, I enjoy reading; movies, socialising, swimming and I also enjoy the odd game of badminton. I also enjoy painting as it helps me to relieve stress.

Being a hardworking, conscientious and enthusiastic individual will help me achieve a pharmacy career. I always perform to the best of my abilities and will always try to overcome any challenges that may come my way.

Helping my younger sister with any difficulties she may be facing in her academic work brings out my helpful personality and shows that I take a keen interest in the well-being of other individuals.

I have babysat for my younger cousin many a times, and I feel that this shows that I am a responsible person who cares deeply about other individuals.

alhamduliah, you've got a pretty good start. what i suggest for you to do now, is try link your hoobies with pharmacy.
so lets say something like: not to say that poeple are like paintings, but both need great care, and co-ordination, to produce a masterpiece. By allowing your labs to be my canvas, and my skill, intelligence, and responsibitly to be your medium, i have great confidence that i will be a benfit to the community as a whole.

My knowlege and abilty in the languages of Gujirati and Urdu will become handy as i feel that this will be an aid amoungst a community whose mother-tongue is not English.
or something like that.

thats it for now, inshallah.

Salams,

^^ ooooh yay, jazakhallah sister that sounds reallllly good!!
Jazakhallah for that.. Im gonna be working on the statement all day today so inshallah you'll have another version to read real soon, and inshallah it'll be excellent

W'salam

groovy. looking forward to it.

all,

Ive managed to do a 1st draft of the PS.. here it is

I have always wanted to pursue a career in healthcare from a young age. I wanted a career that would make a difference to peoples lives, a career where I could do my part and contribute to society. I was also interested that medicines are able to relieve suffering and cure disease. A career in pharmacy seemed to fit the bill perfectly.
My mother is also in the healthcare profession and she has showed me that pharmacy is not only a profession but at the very frontline of healthcare and a life in science. This has fuelled my interest in the subject.
The subjects that I have undertaken, both biology and chemistry has aided me to fulfil my dream and take on pharmacy as a career.
I find chemistry an exciting subject, dealing with substances and watching chemical reactions occur. I am able to carry out experiments effectively and obtain good results. I have a love for biology, the human body is just amazing.
Skills in maths are required for a career in pharmacy, and my maths skills include using numbers, fractions and percentages to solve problems and this will be beneficial in the pharmacy degree. Although I have not studied maths at A-level, I am a keen person who will strive to overcome a challenge and will always perform to the best of my abilities.
My biomedical degree has increased my knowledge upon many disciplines such as clinical biochemistry, immunology and cellular pathology. It has also provided me with the knowledge of the human body in sickness and in health along with developing my key skills and other attributes. This has significantly provided me with the basis for a career in the pharmaceutical industry. Carrying out project work in university brought out my initiative, persistence and organisational skills.
My problem solving and communication skills are excellent. I am able to communicate effectively in a variety of coursework, presentations and examinations and can apply methods and subject knowledge accurately and carefully to a given problem. This can be applied to the pharmacy degree.
Working effectively with others within a group in order to achieve a goal comes naturally to me. This probably stems from my friendly and approachable personality, and as a result can build strong relationships within a team. These skills can be valuable in this career as pharmacists work alongside a team of doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and others.
My listening skills are also good and I listen attentively to what a person is saying and I show understanding towards the person. I can work well under pressure and can easily meet deadlines, as time management is one of my strongest skills.
All these skills which I have obtained over these few years will be very useful in a pharmacy career.
My passion for pharmacy prompted me to find a job within a community pharmacy. I thoroughly enjoyed working there, seeing how the local pharmacists helped people daily and what a great difference it made to the individual. The job gave me an opportunity to gain and develop many skills including team working, organisation, time management and communication skills. It entailed me to deal with customers and any consumer problems.
My helpful personality is illustrated well when I help my younger sister with her academic work as I care deeply about the well being of other individuals and this can be reflected in aspects of pharmacy.
My knowlege and abilty in the languages of Gujirati and Urdu is beneficial as I feel that this will be an aid amongst a community whose mother-tongue is not English.
In my spare time, I enjoy reading; movies, socialising, swimming and also enjoy the odd game of badminton. Painting is another pastime that I enjoy. It involves great care and co-ordination to produce, just like producing medicine in the pharmacy. By allowing your labs to be my canvas, and my skill, intelligence and responsibility to be the medium, I have great confidence that I will benefit the community as a whole. In addition, I love cooking, the way you can use various ingredients to make a beautiful dish. It can be easily compared to the art of pharmacy where different elements are used to make a medicinal compound, where if strawberry flavoured not only tastes good, but cures the ailment too!
Studying pharmacy will not only give me an opportunity to give something back to the community but will give me a rewarding career where both I and other individuals will benefit from.

What do you guys think??? is it being a bit too big headed??? Should i remove some things?? change anything?? Please let me no..I wouldn't mind any constrictive critisism either :X all views welcome!

Oh yeh, is there a certain limit as to how much u can write? mines like a page and a bit

Jazakallah in advance :sunny:

w'salam

My tutor and english teacher, very nice lady, told me to leave a line out since it might be misunderstood. It read:

With a degree in this field, I would further pursue education, studying this area at a higher level. [she said I should stop here, the rest of the sentence said: or maybe even puruse Islamic knowledge abroad, either way I will want to keep studying.

It might be seen as abit worrying, 'cos some muslims go abroad and becoming terrorists. I had a feeling that would be a problem, but I didnt think a uni would think that, subhanAllah, but I do like my english teacher.

well well well, my lady! not bad at all.
okay, to the point.

is it being a bit too big headed???

nah, i think its pretty good. isnt that the stuff they want to hear?

mines like a page and a bit

im not sure exaclty how long the have to be, but i think it should be about a page long-someone please correct if im wrong. they dont want to hear the story of your life, do they now. lol
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
my 'constructive critisisim.' . ive just added and edited some of it. some of the changes are not so obvious though. i hope you dont take any offence to it. let me know if you dont get any of it.

I have always wanted to pursue a career in healthcare from a young age.

I wanted a career that would make a difference to peoples lives, a career where I could do my part and contribute to society. I was also interested that medicines are able to relieve suffering and cure disease.

Are you trying to say that you have always been interested in how medications are able relive pain, etc? its not quite clear.
to continue.....

My mother is also in the healthcare profession and therefore has showed me that pharmacy is not only a profession, but it is the very frontline of healthcare and a life in science. This has also fuelled my interest in the subject.
Biology and chemistry, the subjects that I have previously undertaken; which are also at the very head of pharmacy, have also aided me to fulfil my dream and take on pharmacy as a career.
I also have a love for biology, as I find the minute details of the functions and structures of the(or whatever it is that interests you about the human body) human body just amazing.
As knowledge and Skill in maths is required for a career in pharmacy, my keeness and determination in striving to overcome a challenge is strong, as i have not studied maths at A-level. My maths skills include using numbers, fractions and percentages to solve problems and this will be essential for a degree in pharmacy.
My biomedical degree has increased my knowledge upon many disciplines, including clinical biochemistry, immunology and cellular pathology. It has also provided me with the knowledge of how the human body functions in reaction to both sickness and health, as well as allowing me to develop key skills and other characteristics, such as……….. This has significantly provided me with the basis for a career in the pharmaceutical industry. Carrying out project work in university brought out my initiative, persistence and organizational skills.

My problem solving and communication skills are excellent. I am able to communicate effectively in a variety of coursework, presentations and examinations and can apply methods and subject knowledge accurately and carefully to a given problem. This can be applied to the pharmacy degree.

Working effectively with others within a group in order to achieve a goal comes naturally to me. This stems from my friendly and approachable personality, and as a result can build strong relationships within a team. These skills can be valuable in this career as pharmacists work alongside a team of doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and others.
Such skills were also demonstrated when my passion for pharmacy prompted me to find a job within a community pharmacy. The job gave me an opportunity to gain and develop many skills including group dynamics, organisation, time management and communication skills. It entailed me to deal with customers and any consumer problems. By working in such an environment, I was able to put my good listening skills into practice as/when it was required for me listen attentively to a customers health needs and show understanding towards them. Helping my younger sister with any difficulties she may be facing in her academic work brings out my helpful personality and shows that I take a keen interest in the well-being of other individuals. I thoroughly enjoyed working in such an environment as it also gave me the oopurtunity to see how the local pharmacists helped people daily and what a great difference it made to the individual.
I can work well under pressure and can easily meet deadlines, as time management is one of my strongest skills.

In my spare time, I enjoy reading; movies, socialising, swimming and also enjoy the odd game of badminton. Painting is another pastime that I enjoy. It involves great care and co-ordination to produce, just like producing medicine in the pharmacy. By allowing your labs to be my canvas, and my skill, intelligence and responsibility to be the medium, I have great confidence that I will benefit the community as a whole. In addition, My knowlege and abilty in the languages of Gujirati and Urdu is beneficial as I feel that this will be an aid amongst a community whose mother-tongue is not English. I also enjoy cooking. The way one is able to use various ingredients to make a beautiful dish, can be easily compared to the ‘culinary’ of pharmacy where different elements are used to make a medicinal compound, where if strawberry flavoured not only tastes good, but cures the ailment too!
Studying pharmacy will not only give me an opportunity to give something back to the community but will give me a rewarding career where both I and other individuals will benefit from.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
lol. nice one

In addition, I love cooking, the way you can use various ingredients to make a beautiful dish. It can be easily compared to the art of pharmacy where different elements are used to make a medicinal compound, where if strawberry flavoured not only tastes good, but cures the ailment too!

sister Maryam11

Jazakhallah for the feedback, it's very much appreciated.

Im glad that you liked it

I may change a few bits though and inshallah make it a bit better. I found out the word limit, it's 4,000 characters long, and im like a couple hundred over
It's gonna take me a while to make it shorter!

lol. nice one
Quote:
In addition, I love cooking, the way you can use various ingredients to make a beautiful dish. It can be easily compared to the art of pharmacy where different elements are used to make a medicinal compound, where if strawberry flavoured not only tastes good, but cures the ailment too!

jazakhallah! This popped into my head in the middle of the night lol and i thought 'wow, dats good' and quikly added it on that morning kay:

Neway, second draft coming up shortly, keep tuned


x

no probs.

jazakhallah! This popped into my head in the middle of the night lol and i thought 'wow, dats good' and quikly added it on that morning

i HATE that. lol. you're like half asleep, than this great idea hits you. ya like nahhh....ill remeber it in the morning. than you hear this voice 'get up now' lol. than you get up and write it, then you cant read ya own writng in the morning. :X

Neway, second draft coming up shortly, keep tuned

will do, inshallah. lol

format_quote Originally Posted by maryam11

no probs.


i HATE that. lol. you're like half asleep, than this great idea hits you. ya like nahhh....ill remeber it in the morning. than you hear this voice 'get up now' lol. than you get up and write it, then you cant read ya own writng in the morning. :X

will do, inshallah. lol

^ I was considering typing it into my mobile phone and saving it as a txt message lol but alhamdulillah i remembered that morning!