imperial computing personal statement

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10 Do's and Don'ts of Personal Statements

Personal Statements are, by definition, personal. There is no one 'perfect' personal statement, and for a subject like Design Engineering, which covers a wide range of topics and skills, we are looking for a wide range of experiences and interests in our applicants. However, there are some common ​pitfalls, and ​we have created these tips  ​ to help you avoid them and use your personal statement to show off your best self.

Please note, these tips are specifically for applicants applying to study Design Engineering at Imperial College London. Some of them might be useful for other personal statements but some of them are very specific to our course.

5 Things to do:

1. start with your proudest achievement.

Many people view personal statements as the story of their lives and tell that story in chronological order. This means their first paragraph is about a Year 6 project using lollipop sticks and they wait until the last paragraph to mention the two-headed animatronic dragon that they're building in their spare time. We assess more than 600 personal statements each year - putting your most impressive achievements in the first paragraph means that your application stands out straight away.  If you're not sure how to start your Personal Statement, just complete this sentence - 'The thing I am most proud to have created is...' 

2. Provide specific examples with details

It is always better to provide specific examples and go into enough detail to demonstrate that you understand what you are talking about. For instance, just saying 'I'm interested in coding' doesn't tell us anything other than that you know coding will be on the course. Citing the specific coding languages you have been learning and  how   you have used them will tell us that you're interested in coding and that you've applied that interest to learn and build with your new skills.

3. Sometimes, less is more

Don't worry about listing everything you've ever created. You have limited space and sometimes it's better to show depth and understanding of one project than list everything you've ever tinkered with. If you've been working on lots of things, pick the one​ that's most interesting to you, or that you're proudest of, and dedicate a few paragraphs to exploring that project. You can always add a short sentence explaining that this is one of many projects you've worked on.

You will have probably noticed in the first three tips that we talk a lot about building, creating and projects. That's because we are a very hands-on course. From the very first term, you will be designing, drawing, and building. Every year you will work in teams or on your own to develop multiple projects from brief to prototype. Creating things now helps prepare you for this course. Writing about the things you have created in your personal statement shows us that you have done this preparation work.

5. Include your hobbies

Design Engineering looks for people with technical knowledge and creativity. Quite often creative activities are less formally regulated than the technical side of things.  Tell us about your web comics, your indie bands, and your handbag designs. Creativity comes in many forms and just because you haven't been tested on something in a school environment, that doesn't mean you don't learn a lot from it.

5 Things to avoid:

1. don't worry about formal work experience.

Both Design and Engineering are areas where it can be very hard to get work experience when you are under 18. Often you need to know someone who already works in the field or at the very least, you need to live near one of the companies that offer placements. Obviously if you get the chance to get some work experience, grab it with both hands, but if you don’t get that chance, don’t worry! We do not expect our applicants to have had design or engineering work experience. Making something in your own bedroom out of whatever you have available is just as useful, if not more so.

2. Leave out your family history     tell us about  yourself , not the people around you

If your parents or wider family work in engineering or design, it can be tempting to tell us about it in your Personal Statement. Afterall, they are probably strong influences on your choice of course so it’s easy to think that this might be relevant. However, every word you spend writing about your family’s history and experiences is a word that you’re not using to tell us about your own achievements​, plans and passions. We want to know what makes you a suitable candidate for the programme, so use this opportunity to tell us as much as you can about yourself.

3. Look beyond the classroom - we know what’s on ​your school curriculum

If you are taking an ‘obviously relevant’ school subject (see our FAQs  here for a list), we have already taken into account your chosen subjects and predicted grades. What we are looking for in your Personal Statement is interest and application of technical and creative skills  beyond  your school syllabus. Don’t waste too much of the precious word count telling us how good the chair you’re building in A Level Design Technology is - that’s what your A Level assessments are for. Instead, use this space to tell us about your designs, builds and experiments outside of school hours.

Of course, ​if you have created something particularly outstanding in school that demonstrates skills and techniques that you have learned in your own time, we want to hear about it. Likewise, if you are studying ‘non-obvious’ subjects but still using creative or technical skills in those subjects, please tell us everything. Perhaps for your History coursework, you data modelled birth and death rates in England after the Black Death, or maybe you designed and 3D printed props for your Media Studies A Level - if so, your Personal Statement is absolutely the place to tell us about it.

4. Keep it relevant 

Your Personal Statement ​should focus specifically on two key points:

1. Why you want to do the course you’ve applied to

2. Why you will succeed on the course you’ve applied to

We are assessing you not on your whole life experience, but specifically on your interest and readiness to study Design Engineering at one of the most prestigious universities in the world. 

5. Don’t fear failure

If you have a project or experiment that you ran and it all went wrong (the wheels literally fell off or the resulting data was both unexpected and unexplainable), that is totally ok!  You can still write about the project in your Personal Statement because failure is a very valuable data point. You learn by failing. When discussing a project, you don’t need to focus only on what went well; embrace what went wrong and demonstrate what you  learned  from the experience. Failure is a very normal part of any process - do not fear it.

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Mathematics and computer science personal statement example.

When asked why I like Mathematics, I realised that it is all down to my personality. Being a composed, explicit person, I enjoy the challenge of questions with unequivocal answers.

My character’s orderly side draws me enthusiastically towards neat solutions, my creativity gives rise to my acceptance of new ideas and my positive mind results in my wish to succeed.

All questions have definite answers; we just need to construct ways of reaching them.

Mathematics at AS Level opened my mind to several new areas of algebra, sequences and series, and functions. I keenly welcomed the new techniques and enjoyed all aspects of the course.

Some of my favourite areas, however, were trigonometry and calculus; it was fascinating to see how trigonometric functions come together in a few simple identities!

Being new to the methods of differentiation and integration, I spent extra time going over examples, which soon became clear in my mind. I look forward to investigating these topics further in the A2 modules.

In addition to retaining a strong interest in Mathematics, my fascination for computers has grown. Nevertheless, I was unsure of whether or not I wanted to pursue a joint honours course of Mathematics with Computer Science, or a single degree course of Mathematics.

My decision to apply for the joint course was confirmed after I attended a number of Computer Science Summer School courses in London.

Joining Dubai College has given me the chance to explore new horizons. Responsibilities, such as being a prefect and Year 7 liaison, have made me realise our importance in the school as sixth formers.

I am currently in the process of completing my Duke of Edinburgh Gold award, for which I successfully finished an 80km expedition through the mountains of Mauritius. I will never forget the feelings of pure enjoyment and adventure; it was truly a challenging experience!

Although A Levels take up a great deal of time, I manage to maintain personal fitness by horse riding daily. I routinely enter dressage and show jumping competitions throughout the U.A.E., where I frequently achieve a medal place. Riding horses brings on a sense of freedom and allows me socialise out of school.

I have also obtained an understanding of what it is like to work amongst a large group of people through working in various companies around Dubai.

These included Barclays Bank, Prolab Digital and Palms Nursery. I particularly benefited from my experience at Barclays, as it introduced me to many fields, such as trading, accountancy and exchange, and taught me to appreciate the evident need for teamwork.

Although I am still unsure of the path I will take after graduating, I know that having a Mathematics and Computing degree will give me many transferable skills.

I am currently investigating a number of regions that appeal to me, which include actuarial science and further postgraduate study.

For now, I intend to approach the future positively and have many exciting thoughts. I hope to encounter new opportunities, make new friends and rise to the challenge of university!

Profile info

This personal statement was written by weirdo for application in 2003.

weirdo's university choices University of Bristol Imperial College London Oxford University The University of Warwick King's College London University College London

Green : offer made Red : no offer made

Degree Mathematics and Computer Science at Oxford University

Related Personal Statements

This statement is very good.

Mon, 03/01/2005 - 00:00

this statement is very good and i recon this person would achieve good things in future.. good luck coz

its really good man. cant

Sun, 11/09/2005 - 00:00

its really good man. cant believe you have got so many work experiences thought..ive got none. neway good luck

man absolutely fantastic

Tue, 20/09/2005 - 00:00

man absolutely fantastic couldnt have done better myself good luck chase your dreams.

Brilliant personal statement

Fri, 07/10/2005 - 00:00

it's very good, especially

Mon, 28/08/2006 - 00:00

it's very good, especially the 1st paragraph!

this needs improving

Fri, 06/10/2006 - 17:59

Probably the best first

Wed, 03/10/2007 - 12:42

Probably the best first paragraph I've ever seen mate. No wonder they all wanted you!

that last message was by one

Wed, 10/09/2008 - 09:45

that last message was by one Oliver Sheffield

wow! this is just about

Thu, 11/09/2008 - 20:28

wow! this is just about perfect! Hopefully mine will be as good as this (im in the process of writing one...)

Sat, 31/10/2009 - 17:51

This statement is fake.

the person above should learn

Sat, 09/10/2010 - 11:07

the person above should learn how to spell before they go around swearing at other people.

Got chills just reading the

Wed, 13/10/2010 - 17:09

Got chills just reading the first paragraph

Too many Commas for my liking

Thu, 21/10/2010 - 16:16

Too many Commas for my liking and I don't like the use of exclamation marks in formal writing like this.

Stating that you are unsure about course choice (joint honours vs single) cannot be a good thing IMO. It doesn't demonstrate commitment or certainty about your choice of subject.

Otherwise I quite like it but I'm not an admissions tutor so what do I know.

The thing that stands out

Wed, 23/11/2011 - 06:05

The thing that stands out about this letter is that the applicant rides horses for a hobby; this is a clue to what really lead to their acceptance.

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