In 2021 we worked with more young people who face barriers to university than ever before. More than 1,000 state school students took part in Application Mentoring, receiving 1-1 expert support from a specialist in the subject(s) for which they were applying. Here is what some of them made of their experience.
Lucja - Law
“My mentor consistently offered incredible advice.”
Lucja found that her mentor offered the expertise she needed in order to write an outstanding personal statement and learn more about the university experience.
“The best aspect of taking part in Application Mentoring was the constant support from my mentor. They had always replied to my messages promptly and consistently offered incredible advice in regard to university in general as well as my personal statement. So, when I began showing my personal statement to my teachers at school, not much had to be changed or improved due to the expertise and extensive knowledge of my mentor. After I submitted my first draft, my mentor found that my structure was reasonably okay, however, they did help me to reorganise certain paragraphs in terms of its contents, as well as tweaking the language I had used. Therefore, after the feedback I was able to alter my personal statement so that it was much clearer and more concise, and it also helped me to save some extra characters.
Overall, Application Mentoring has been extremely beneficial, and I would strongly recommend it to students who may be feeling overwhelmed about the university application process, as it will most likely help to ease any worries. Participating in Application Mentoring will provide additional support during the process of applying to university and ensure that the personal statement is completed to the highest standard.”
Tyanne - Chemistry
“I knew my statement had to be amazing and this is what my mentor helped to do.”
Tyanne’s mentor gave her support and tools to make the best possible Oxbridge application.
“Originally, I didn’t think Application Mentoring would be a great use of my time since I was an early applicant and didn’t want too may people looking over and ‘spoiling’ my personality which shone through in my statement. However, in taking part in the programme and having a mentor that was suited to my future career aspirations of Chemistry, it really helped because she had been through a similar process and knew exactly what phrases or key ideas to supplement into my statement. Being an Oxbridge applicant, I knew my statement had to be amazing and this is what my mentor helped to do, without ruining the idea of it being personal to me. As a result, I got an interview!
One thing I would say to people that are unsure about applying for the mentoring would be ‘to be selfish’. Just because your friends are not considering doing it, do it because it will really help improve and provide an alternate opinion on statements especially when a lot of schools have the mentality of ‘here you go, do it yourself’. In having the guidance, it helps with all aspects: structure, information, and sentence phrasing!”
Diya - Engineering
“OSCAR is especially useful because it offers so many prompts to help you get started.”
dIYA’S PLACE ON APPLICATION MENTORING WAS FUNDED BY wADHAM cOLLEGE, oXFORD
Diya benefitted from the OSCAR platform’s recommended personal statement structure and the extra support her 1-1 mentor provided.
“This opportunity was extremely beneficial, especially since my school lacked the same expertise. My teacher had recommended a website that divided the Personal Statement into three sections, but it wasn't as thorough as OSCAR's guidance. OSCAR is especially useful because it offers so many prompts to help you get started, and I was able to quickly create a first draft despite having only a vague idea of what to include the day before. My e-mentor helped me realise what I should and shouldn't include, as well as how to cut down, which was the most difficult for me.
To other students considering getting involved, I would strongly advise them to do so because they will have access to a mentor who can particularly target their requirements in terms of the personal statement and support, as well having access to a great website.”
Crystal - Economics
“I left the programme with a new understanding of my academic interests and motivation as well as confidence in my Personal Statement.”
Crystal’s place on Application Mentoring was funded by the Sutton Trust
Crystal valued the support Application Mentoring provided in writing the Personal Statement, but also in helping her to better understand her academic interests overall.
“I felt that the advice about writing a Personal Statement that I received from other sources was quite general, and I didn’t have a clear picture of how it should be structured. After joining the Application Mentoring programme, I was able to access the resources on OSCAR, which gave me very clear guidance about what admissions tutors were looking for, and broke the process down into stages which I could follow very easily. Working with my e-mentor to revise my drafts was incredibly valuable, as it gave me very specific advice on how to improve each one, often on things that I would never have noticed without this support. My e-mentor also helped me in other areas of the application process, such as advising me on how I should approach choosing my university options. The Application Mentoring programme was by far the most useful resource I had when writing my Personal Statement, but it also helped me to better understand why I wanted to study my subject and what I was interested in. My mentor challenged me to go beyond general statements and work out exactly what I enjoyed about the process and skills involved in studying my subject, so I left the programme with a new understanding of my academic interests and motivation as well as confidence in my Personal Statement.”
Daniel - Engineering
“This transformed the process of writing a Personal Statement”
Daniel’s place on Application Mentoring was funded by the Sutton Trust
Accessing the OSCAR platform gave Daniel a much-appreciated structure and focus with which to develop his Personal Statement.
“Taking part in the application mentoring is a decision I will never regret. Without it I would most certainly not be in the position I am today. Having access to the tools such as the personal statement builder meant I was no longer staring at a blank screen, with the overwhelming task of writing and structuring my personal statement with no guide. Instead, the task was broken down into 4 sections, each with a different focus, with tailored advice on each part- rather than the generic advice I was working with from my school. This completely transformed the process, making it so that I could focus on each part separately, with genuinely helpful prompts and suggestions along the way, and bring everything together at the end when I was ready.
I will be forever grateful for the help my e-mentor gave me. They were there for the entire process, providing me with help where I was stuck, feedback where I’d finished drafting a section, and the motivation I needed to keep myself to my own deadlines.”
Dominika - French & English Literature
“Applying to this scheme was the best decision I could have made.”
Dominika’s place on Application Mentoring was funded by the Sutton Trust
Dominika found that OSCAR and her mentor helped her with all the stages of the process, from researching her course through to additional tests and interviews.
“I decided to take part in Application Mentoring because I felt like my school wasn’t giving me the guidance I needed to understand the University Application process and the purpose of a personal statement. I think applying to this mentoring scheme was the best decision I could’ve made for myself; I wrote a unique personal statement that caught the eye of several universities, whilst also challenging myself to research my chosen area of study (French and literature) in order to create a more interesting statement.
On the OSCAR platform, my mentor and I kept a steady stream of contact and suggestions whilst I was writing my personal statement in August to October time, and then following that my mentor continued to offer advice and guidance when I asked for it. They were able to answer anything or at least point me in the right direction, which was incredibly helpful as I’m the first in my family to apply to university straight from Sixth Form. Application Mentoring didn’t only help me with my personal statement, but also with interview prep, researching university courses, and handling the hectic time of October to November of year 13 – especially when you are taking additional tests and interviews!”
