Making your application to ICE: Let's get personal

Most universities and institutions ask candidates to write a personal statement as part of their application to a course. If you’re considering applying for an ICE award-bearing qualification, this may feel like a daunting task. Inside ICE speaks to Dr James Gazzard, Director of Continuing Education, and Dr Alex Carter, Academic Director for Philosophy and Interdisciplinary Studies, to find out about ICE’s approach and for tips on how to make your statement truly personal.

In the context of continuing education, we approach the purpose of a personal statement in a slightly different way to most universities” says Dr Gazzard. “Personal statements help us understand adult students and the learning communities that they will form, as we aspire to shape diverse and inspiring peer groups.

“For our open-entry courses such as undergraduate certificates, we want to understand prospective students’ perspectives, motivations and goals” explains Dr Gazzard. “It has comparatively little to do with prior educational achievements and far more with the ambition of meeting all our students on their terms and appreciating how we can support the learning of each individual and student group.

With our postgraduate courses including Master of Studies (MSts), some of which may be oversubscribed, we seek to understand each candidate as a whole person.

Personal development aims or career aspirations, set within the context of busy lives, are crucial. They are informative and valuable at the interview stage as you enter into a dialogue and decide whether ICE is right for you.

While details of transcripts and prior learning are helpful, many of our MSts have ‘non-standard’ routes where prospective students with commensurate professional or life experience can set out their credentials."

Dr Alex Carter shares his thoughts. "We’re interested in understanding what it is about this specific programme that inspires someone or maps to their individual goals in some way”, explains Alex. "So the personal statement should be specific about the what and the why of this course as opposed to any other.”

At ICE, we are also looking for an open mind, and readiness to learn.

That means providing answers that are sincere and authentic and that do not ring “pre-prepared,” says Alex.

“I really want to stress that there are no right or wrong answers, nor are we looking for the ‘perfect student.’ What we are looking for are people who are sincerely motivated to learn. And it’s always refreshing for course leads to read statements from people who’ve really thought about why they want to take your course from a more holistic perspective – the personal, as well as professional reasons, for studying the subject.”

Before sitting down to write your personal statement, Alex recommends asking yourself some critical questions, among them: why this course and not another? What prompted your desire to study? Why ICE? Why now?

“The statements that stand out most are those that lay bare what it is that perplexes you, what prompted you to study at this time in your life, who inspires you and perhaps the kinds of material – the books, the art or music – that engages you. And then how does all of this relates to specific course that you’re applying to do?”

Writing your personal statement can be revealing, says Alex. As you ask yourself questions and articulate your answers, you might actually surprise yourself – or learn something new about your goals, your values, or what you truly want from life. That’s all to the good, he adds. Intellectual honesty is what we are hoping to see.

“Statements that are formulaic are just not that interesting. Nor are statements that portray a candidate as some kind of wunderkind, who has all the answers. We are looking for intellectual honesty that has the ring of truth, and that’s something that can’t be simulated.” Something else to watch out for is going off point or becoming repetitive. Keep it succinct, says Alex, but not necessarily brief.

“And try to be self-critical without being negative. Ask yourself this: are you talking about your interest in, and suitability for the course throughout the statement. If you’re not, my advice would be to edit irrelevant content out. And when you’re done, ask someone to proof read it for typos. While the odd spelling mistake won’t rule you out, careless writing can make you stand out for all the wrong reasons.”

“The personal statement carries a lot of weight, so address it accordingly. Take your time. And ensure it is concrete, particular and truthful. Remember, you’re not writing your autobiography. You’re telling us why you are suitable for this course."

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Find out more about our courses and apply now.

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This article was originally published in our Lent - Easter 2022 edition of Inside ICE.