Matt Green - Succeeding in Your Application to Dental School

Appendix

www.ucas.com

www.gdc-uk.org

www.bda.org

www.dentalschoolscouncil.ac.uk

www.ukcat.ac.uk

First edition September 2011

ISBN 9781 4453 7963 0

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I would like to thank all of the prospective university students I have supported in the past six years; they have enabled the writing of this book to become a reality.

At the time of writing, I have been supporting prospective university students with their university application for the past seven years and, in that time, I have amassed a wealth of experience and insight into the ingredients which go into composing an outstanding university Personal Statement. When I first began supporting individuals with their university application I found that the vast majority felt they received very little in the way of guidance a situation which can only result in a below par Personal Statement and a significantly reduced chance of a successful application for those concerned. It was with this conviction to level the playing field within the university application process that I made the decision to write this book.

According to UCAS, of the approximately 700,00 applicants to universities in the UK in 2010, around 490,000 were successful. To put it bluntly, around 70% of applicants were successful. To use an analogy, if you were in the Wild West and challenged to a game of Russian Roulette involving a pistol with one of its four bullet chambers loaded, would you consider a 70% chance of surviving good enough odds? Would you fancy your chances? It is precisely this situation which I am dedicated to addressing: removing the uncertainty from your university application.

Drawing upon my extensive experience of all aspects of applying to university, I embarked upon writing this guide in order to share my wisdom in planning, writing and improving a Personal Statement. This guide represents a comprehensive one-stop-shop for all those intending to apply to a UK university via the Universities and College Admissions Service (UCAS), and who therefore must write a Personal Statement. In this guide I cover the entire university application process: from the initial decision to study at university to the final careful edit of your completed Personal Statement, along with everything in between.

The advice, suggestions, recommendations and tips included in this guide apply to many degree subjects, all types of student, including school leavers, mature and overseas students, as well as parents and teachers.

Please note that the examples contained within this book are for guidance purposes only and must not be used as part of your application. BPP Learning Media does not agree with plagiarised applications and fully supports the crackdown on plagiarism mounted by UCAS, through the use of electronic systems to counter applicants merely cutting and pasting examples into their own application.

I hope that you find this guide both informative and helpful and would like to wish you the best of luck with your university application.

Chapter 1

In 2005 there were over 22,000 applications to study Medicine and Dentistry in the United Kingdom. Across the country, there are on average around five applications for each Dental School place on offer.

There are three steps in this application process:

Sitting the appropriate entrance examination where applicable (some universities require Dentistry applicants to sit the UKCAT; examinations take place between June and October in the year before successful candidates begin their studies).

Submitting a university application which includes the Personal Statement (mid-October deadline).