When I decided to apply for a Masters course, I had totally forgotten about the stress that is applications.
Last time I had to worry about filling one of these in was about 4 years ago... Now I'm having a sense of déjà vu every time I yell at the screen willing my statement to write itself.
Its the same concept as cover letters, you shamelessly lie about your level of awesomeness in order for the Uni to accept you.
Fortunately, I managed to get into my course *cue for applause* so I thought to myself:
'Phew, so glad that's the last statement I'll ever have to write.'
WRONG!
Now my sister is applying for university herself... and she has shamelessly coerced me into 'helping' her write hers.
And by 'helping', I mean she writes me a list of ideas and we Skype. And then I end up rephrasing everything because 'it sounded so much better when you said it' and my sister seems to have forgotten how to structure an actual sentence.
Lies, I'm sure... but she's willing to suck up if it means I'll do most of the work!
Sisters can be sneakily clever that way... although I'm pretty easy when it comes to being coerced. Put anything chocolate related that's edible in my way and I'll happily be your slave for day* (or a couple of hours... depends on what treat I get).
And boy does she know this... I find myself editing most of her work and helping her with assignments.
Luckily she keeps me well supplied with new music and book recommendations, so a possible win-win situation?
Well... we'll see if she gets accepted with my awesome personal statement advice.
If not... It was nice knowing you all :)
*conditions apply
So we've all had to do one at some point during our degree. Whether it's because your computer had a meltdown, you forgot the deadline or you were simply too lazy to actually write it (yeah... I've done all three) an all-nighter is sometimes the only way out.
Those dreaded deadlines seem to pile up on each other. I keep picturing evil lecturers gathering together asking themselves, "Are these deadlines too far apart? Of course they are! Lets put them all in the same week, I'm sure the students will appreciate it." *evil laughter*
So as deadlines loom closer, students start gathering in the library, searching for the perfect quotes to put in their essays. But, obviously, the library operates on a 'first come, first served' policy resulting in the best (and sometimes only) texts on the subject being taken and held hostage until after the hand-in.
Sometimes, you do get lucky and manage to stumble across some obscure text your classmates have overlooked. This is when you do your happy dance, earning weirded out stares from library workers. Oh well... totally worth it.
So it comes down to camping out in the library, which involves venturing to Tesco in search of munchies and energy drinks, and picking out your comfiest outfit (some people just go in their pjs) and settling down for the night. It usually helps to have a friend in the same situation to keep you motivated.
And what happens next can be one of two things:
1) You actually sit down and start writing, getting a good head start and finishing off in time for a quick nap before your hand-in or
2) You procrastinate on Facebook, or stare blankly at the wall until you realise it's 6:30am and you have written only your name and the essay title in a Word document. So you panic and power type probably the best essay you've ever written (writing under pressure tends to do that for me).
If you're a no. 2) kind of person, you'll probably be seen swearing at the printers 10 minutes before hand-in and sprinting to reception praying you get there on time.
But when you do finally hand it in, a massive weight gets lifted off your shoulders and as you slowly make your way to the SU bar for a well deserved drink you make the following promise:
'Next time, I'll do it all a week in advance. No more all nighters.'
... Like hell you will.
Its the same concept as cover letters, you shamelessly lie about your level of awesomeness in order for the Uni to accept you.
