SmurkinGherkin: Personal Statement

SmurkinGherkin 09.13.11	Some music keeping me sane.
AfterTheBreakdown 09.13.11	I'm sorry.
foreverendeared 09.13.11	I still haven't heard 1. Been meaning to check it out though.
SmurkinGherkin 09.13.11	It's some really cool shit. Loud and fucking catchy.
MasBarHigeuoris21 09.13.11	8 is seriously one of the most overated albums on the sputnik. It's not close to being a bad album but it is definitely worth all the praise it gets
thumbcrusher 09.13.11	i'm doing one this term. i'm hoping to ignore it for some time more at least.
anarchistfish 09.13.11	"8 is seriously one of the most overated albums on the sputnik." "it is definitely worth all the praise it gets" huh I know someone who's writing one and keeps posting on facebook about how hard it is. if that's any consolation also 9 are an amazing band and I have 7 on my ipod but haven't listened to it yet
foreverendeared 09.13.11	Too busy headbangin to Acid Bath currently.
sifFlammable 09.13.11	choice between selling out and writing a pretentious essay or just writing a normal essay
SmurkinGherkin 09.13.11	They take forever to write, omg. Currently heading down the pretentious as fuck root, fuck the haters. Fuck yeah DSHS are so good. If you like them you will definitely dig that *shels album, it's more post rock and less metal though.
Adabelle 09.13.11	Don't have to write one till next year, I think? Sux2beyou.
toxin. 09.13.11	I'm an acrophobe so this guy at a dumb class I'm enrolled in is telling me to say I went skydiving (since I do shit like roller coasts despite my acrophobia)... I'm not really looking at lying for my application since it goes against some of the things I stand for (i.e., being as successful as you deserve to be, whether that means being president or being a janitor). They're fucking annoying, as a whole. Luckily UC's are a given for me, pretty much, so I'm just focusing my energy on common app/ Stanford's app (in particular)
FromDaHood 09.13.11	What's a personal statement?
SmurkinGherkin 09.13.11	xtoxin, whole lotta US sland in that post that i didn't get aha. UC's? And i'm not lying on it, just making everything i've done sound better than it actually is :P Pit: It's a part of a uni application where you talk about yourself, pretty much like an academic CV.
wabbit 09.13.11	Sounds like being a more exciting human being would solve a lot of problems!
toxin. 09.13.11	Heh, UC's are University of California apps, e.g., UCLA or UC Berkeley. They're like top 20-40 colleges in the US pretty much (the good ones anyways)
FatChickIrl 09.13.11	your picture of gandalf brings the lulz.
Metamorphosis 09.13.11	Yup. I did my personal statement last year. It ruled. I'm taking the year off, but I've deferred admission to UC Irvine. From there, after two years, I hope to either go to Bosotn University, Boston College or Harvard 'cause I'm in love with that fucking city/those schools.
toxin. 09.14.11	@metamorphosis, nice nice. My brother goes to UC Irvine. It has a really nice campus, but it's pretty much the university of my city (I live in Irvine...) so I really can't wait to get out of the bubble!
Motiv3 09.14.11	had to write that shit 2-3 years ago so i know what you're going through. Just hang in there man.
SmurkinGherkin 09.14.11	^ cheers man, must be going to your last year now? wonarabbit: i have plenty to write about, just ain't the greatest writer on the planet so it's taking me a while to get everything down in a cohesive structure and interesting style.
MO 09.14.11	lol at thinking fromdahood is pit
SmurkinGherkin 09.14.11	so many alts
iFghtffyrdmns 09.14.11	all the girls all the girls these days
MO 09.14.11	"so many alts " heh I know right, it's gets pretty ridiculous
thumbcrusher 09.14.11	you've inspired me to get on with mine (and also the fact i have to hand in a draft on friday). had enough after 1 bloody line.
Wolfhorde 09.14.11	"lol at thinking fromdahood is pit" Holy shit.
AliW1993 09.14.11	Personal statement wasn't that much bother for me, and it's certainly worth making it good because I got all 5 of my offers.
thumbcrusher 09.14.11	where did you go in the end ali?
Nikkolae 09.14.11	1 has got to be one of the loudest records i've ever listened, sorry for you mate, uni is sortha worth it tho
Knott- 09.14.11	What're you applying to study? They can be a bitch, I'm sure, but I enjoyed mine. Just try not to make it a formulaic piece of shit.
thumbcrusher 09.14.11	that was probably aimed at gherkin but yeah, i'm applying for history
AliW1993 09.14.11	"where did you go in the end ali?" I start at Northumbria in a few weeks. I somehow got offers from Sheffield and Newcastle too, which pretty much shows how far a good personal statement can get you since I was never really gonna get into them. Just show enthusiasm and if possible experience in the subject and you should be fine.
Metamorphosis 09.14.11	Yeah, I snapped with mine. I'm probably going to do something involving writing in college so it was essential that it was good. What are you writing about, generally speaking, if you don't mind saying?
thumbcrusher 09.14.11	i'm currently going on about how i've enjoyed since i was young, and why i want to carry on studying it. it's looking pretty uninspiring atm though, as i'm sure everyone says it, even though i'm actually telling the truth!
AliW1993 09.14.11	If you've not already pick out a particular branch you're interested in, eg WW1 or something
Sanders 09.14.11	Fuck me, I did this 7 years ago now... Mine was medicine-related, so I can't help you with the specifics, but make sure you don't write anything that isn't truth, or at least a convincing bullshit you can back up in conversation, they'll see right through it. Also, basic stuff is key, like grammar etc. and start with something other than "My name is _____, I want to do History because", you need to stand out.
SmurkinGherkin 09.14.11	Applying for Physics - most likely at Nottingham, Bristol, Southampton, Cardiff and some place else. Like i said, got plenty to talk about; books ive read, what i've thought of them and how they link with the curriculum, places i've been (Cern etc), specific parts of Physics i enjoy and am interested in, what my career plans are, DofE, my trip to Ghana with college, etc etc you get the idea aha. It's just getting everything to fit together which is a challenge.
AliW1993 09.14.11	Yeah, meeting the character limit is a problem. Most people don't write enough but my first draft was nearly four times too long.
SmurkinGherkin 09.14.11	That's 2000 words Ali ahaha. Fucking nerd ;). @sanders, did you get into medicine? cos if you did im 95% sure that would make you the smartest guy on Sputnik .
Kubrick 09.14.11	I actually did one this past summer for medical school. They really are a pain in the ass. I spent so much time on it and in the end I still don't think it was very good... idk.
SmurkinGherkin 09.14.11	Did you manage it Kubrick?
SmurkinGherkin 09.14.11	Btw anyone else writing there's atm this is a really good video for inspiration and keeping your direction focused http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djamYQC520Y
Kubrick 09.14.11	Manage to finish it? Yeah.. definitely wasn't smooth sailing though haha. If you meant did I manage to get into medical school it's still too early to tell. Won't find out for at least a few months after doing interviews and such. I think I have a relatively good shot at getting in though.. my MCAT score isn't stellar but it's still decent and I have a 4.0 so that will really help. I don't wanna be too optimistic though haha.. you never really know.
SmurkinGherkin 09.14.11	Yeah man, you just have to look at the statistics for applicants to places at med schools...it's fucking ridiculous. All the best though, not sure i could handle all the shit you people have to go through to get there. Respect.
Sanders 09.14.11	Errm I didn't the first time round because I couldn't be arsed revising for my Chemistry A levels, so I did Biochemistry instead, and applied for it again after I finished. I'm now in the 2nd year of the Medicine course :) For the more competitive courses the personal statements get your foot in the door and your interview gets the rest of you in. Not sure how much the process is weighted in the selection process for other courses. I remember doing a fuckload of drafts for my first personal statement, it was a real ball-ache. Sounds like you've got plenty of relevant experience and interesting points to make though, which is sweet.
Sanders 09.14.11	By the way, don't be put off by the med school statistics; I got 2 interviews and 2 offers first time round, then 3 interviews and 1 offer this time. You just have to put on a good show in the interview, these days it's more about how you are with people than your academic ability, they just use grades to make sure you're intelligent enough to do the course. And to be blunt, half of the people on my course are fucking retards anyway!
SmurkinGherkin 09.14.11	Niiiiceee. We have a medic in the house! Who know Sputnik was such a centre of excellence?! Seriously though, that's pretty sweet. Definitely sorted for life now aha. Pretty sure most Unis don't interview for physics, which is is both good and bad i suppose. Where you studying at btw?
Sanders 09.14.11	Haha, well, a potential medic, still a hell of a lot of exams to pass yet! Ahh I guess your personal statement needs to put across your passion then, which is tricky. I'm at Warwick uni, it's a nice place. Have you thought of Lancaster for physics? I went there for my first degree and I heard it was pretty good, or they had the lowest sustained temperature or somesuch.
sifFlammable 09.15.11	yeah enjoy it it feels good wen you find the right level of being inspiring without sounding like a pussy