time to start planning for 2021

If you’re thinking of going to uni in September 2021 but you haven’t thought about which unis you're going to apply to yet: You’d better level up and get going.

You’ve got until mid-January to complete your application for most courses, but Oxbridge, medicine and veterinary courses have deadlines that are less than a month away (October 15th).

Even if you’re not planning on applying for those courses, all unis will have started looking towards their next lot of applications. Which hopefully will be more of the process we were all familiar with before the pandemic resulted in school closures.

Leaving it until the January deadline is like joining a long queue for a small cake. The unis will already be starting their 'yes' and 'no' piles and, by Christmas, some people will have already been made offers. Leaving your application till the last minute just looks like you're not serious.

If you have made your decision where you want to apply, then it's time to make your application glow.

The way to do this is by writing a killer personal statement. This is the bit of your UCAS application where you get a chance to convince the people who make the decisions (the admission tutors) that there’s more to you than exam grades and a surname.

The 47 lines that make up a personal statement are the best chance to let your personality and passion for the subject shine through. Never be afraid to sell yourself and big up your achievements, skills and talents (backing it all up with experience relevant to the course). Remember, you're great: now you just need to show them that's true.

Push has some useful tips on how to write it, so click here and we'll talk you through the whole thing.

Author

ARON TENNANT is the Talks and Editorial manager and designated GDPR Data Controller for Push. He is originally from South Yorkshire and has a BA in English Language and Literature from the University of Sheffield. He also has a MA degree in Creative Play and Screenwriting from City, University of London and came runner up in Nickelodeon's international screenwriting competition in 2018 and his short film ''Donkey Tooth'  was screened at the London Raindance Film Festival in 2018. He is IMDB credited and alongside Push he does screenplay work for independent production companies and is working on his own independent film and theatre projects and writes articles for JumpcutOnline.com.