h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Is proving tricky to write

I don't really like writing about myself.
I don't really do much stuff out of school, so there's less to write about.
I'm not 100% sure what course I want to do
Everything I write sounds useless and just not right.


The courses I'm looking at are some Forensics ones and then Computer ones. The computer ones don't tell me enough about them for me to have much idea what is different between Computer Science and Computer Systems, or what makes Software Engineering different from the other two. Truth be told I'm not sure I could do the work at Uni, and I don't really want to start a course and find out I can't do it.

I'm also annoyed that my AS-level results are rubbish. 3C's (one in Gen Studies) and a D. I'm might re-take some next year, if i do better in the retakes and my marks improve it will be too late for my predicted grades on UCAS.

I'm finding this very annoying, I don't know what I want to do, the ideas I do have I'm not sure if I can do them and I feel as if I need a bit more time to get the whole thing sorted out. I think that having my A-Level results in the bag before applying would be the best way but then I'd have to have a gap year and there's not much in the way of work I could do in a gap year., so that option probably isn't open to me.

Still I'll do some more reading on the courses and see what I can dig up about them and try and make a decision at some point. I want my personal statement in by October though

Surely you've got a careers development/whateveritscalled person/department at your school/college?
It was so long since I did my UCAS forms I can't even remember writing a statement....
work? in a gap year? YOu mean travel off to forign climes get drunk, do a bit of volentter work and genrally have a good time?
Doesn't the university's website give course details? like the modules and stuff? 'Computer sciences' always seemed like a less worthwhile degree to me than some of the other ones, anything that might enable you to go down network admin/security admin/stuff type routes to working would be good in terms of teh : The peopel I know who earn the most from computer stuff they've actually got qualifications in have all the Microsoft certification to do network admind stuff and get plenty of for their time... though the ones with the more intersting* jobs, earn less and don't do that* kinda stuff and actually half of them don't have any* qualifications in computing itself directly though whatever you can figure out its so hard trying, I could have done a dozen differnt degrees... Some of which... OK most of which would probably have turned out a lot more useful in terms of my working life than what I did do... But even though my degree is utterly unrelated to every* bit of work I've done, without it I'd not have been able to do it I'm only half a though... can't do actual* programing or anything

Computer Science would be more fundamental than Software Engineering. I don't know where Computer Systems fits in. Never heard of it. Your hobbies are in computing, aren't they? Or, at least, some of them are. Write (a little bit, not overwhelmingly) about that.

I don't know. The CAO system doesn't have a personal statement. No writing was involved.

TRiG.

I've just been at a UCAS convention today, so this is timely.

You do need to choose a subject, you can't really write a personal statement for two such different courses. To find out about the courses in depth, give the undergrad admissions department a call and they'll be able to answer detailed questions for you. We're getting into Open Day season, so you might want to check one of those out. If those answers don't help, go see your school Connexions advisor and they'll be able to help.

Don't worry too much about your grades: your teachers will be able to give you the right predictions and for a lot of ICT courses CCC, or thereabouts, would be fine. Forensics you're probably looking at slightly higher grades depending on the university and module resits might be something to look at.

If you want I can go into a bit more detail about what sort of stuff to put on your personal statement.

Just Take what you do do and....Extenuate it, I Used my work on H2G2 in My UCAS Statement.
I Also got help from My Tutor, I Also don't like writing about myself.

Can you get your best mate to write your p/s, and you do his - as a first draft, anyway?

Thanks for the replys people

Still looking at unis and courses atm but I've narrowed it down to 2 (maybe 3) courses that I'm interested in.

Computer Forensics at
Sunderland

and Comp Sci at
Staffordshire
Bedfordshire
with Stirling as insurance offer (maybe, definitely need more research)
and I'm still looking at unis

I do need to confirm my predicted grades with Barty* and check out a few more unis and maybe courses. The other course I was thinking of was a Forensics one but not sure if I'd be interested enough to do it for 4 years. I think it would be interesting though.

* My nickname for the head of 6th form

I really do think you need a gap year and then apply to uni. Your gap year should be the time when you flip burgers, sweep floors, sort mail, pick up litter, bar work, wait at tables and so on. All the carp jobs you can possible find. And claim job seekers allowance when you can't find anything else.

That way you'll really appreciate the opportunities that university has to offer, and you'll know how to work during the summer holidays. I really do believe this is the most useful way to spend a gap year, you'll discover what might happen to your life if you don't go. People who have a "gap yah" never really see this.

The only thing about a gap year is that I'm not sure how many jobs there would be, shall check at some point. If nothing else a summer job would be good to have.

I have 3 open days booked for Bedfordshire, Sunderland and Staffordshire. I need to get resits and predicted grades sorted out, predicted grades I can get done tomorrow and get some info on resits as well. I also need to get my computing homework done. I wrote 1000 words more than my friends and got one extra mark! Not fair!

There are plenty of carp jobs if you know where to look. Festivals and other events doing bar work, car park ushering, fire watching and litter picking. Local outdoor shows, putting up stalls or handing out flyers. Catering, waiting tables and washing up. Any number of fast food places. Post office mail sorting. Cleaning. And so on.

You get the idea. You'll hate the jobs, but that's my point. You'll become a better person, with a clear idea of what you want to do, and why.