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Writing the Personal Statement: Translation MA Admission
Thread poster: potosi
potosi
potosi
United States
Aug 17, 2014

Hi, I am in the process of writing a general personal statement to send to Translation MA programs in the UK. I'm very nervous about the whole thing.

So far I am giving background about my international life (being brought up in another country), writing about my study abroad where I learned French (also a way to explain bad transfer grades), discussing what I want to "do" with my degree/why I want to translate and then talking a bit about why I chose the specific university.
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Hi, I am in the process of writing a general personal statement to send to Translation MA programs in the UK. I'm very nervous about the whole thing.

So far I am giving background about my international life (being brought up in another country), writing about my study abroad where I learned French (also a way to explain bad transfer grades), discussing what I want to "do" with my degree/why I want to translate and then talking a bit about why I chose the specific university.

Have you ever written a personal statement to get into a translation/interpreting program? Any tips or insights? I am torn at what to mention about "what I'll do with my degree/why I want the degree." I am not yet positive which direction I will go (I'm very interested in finding a niche in advertising/cosmetics industry), but I am tempted to mention something that sounds more "driven" like non profit work... thoughts on this? ▲ Collapse
 
DLyons
DLyons  Identity Verified
Ireland
Local time: 00:49
Spanish to English
+ ...
No need to be nervous. Aug 17, 2014

Just put in a convincing paragraph about your ability to fund the course.
 
Phil Hand
Phil Hand  Identity Verified
China
Local time: 07:49
Chinese to English
True ^^ Aug 17, 2014

British universities are not very picky about who they take for MA courses. This is not like your US college admissions essay. You just need to demonstrate that you're a functional human being, and that you have some vague connection to the subject of the MA.
 
Elizabeth Tamblin
Elizabeth Tamblin  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:49
French to English
Hi! Aug 17, 2014

Are you applying for a Distance Learning course? I applied to one of those a few years ago, and had to do a personal statement. I applied after the closing date for applications, so my statement was quite hurried - I think it was more or less my first draft that I submitted. Nothing special, simply stating that I had always had a love for languages, and would now like to pursue a career in translation. I just tried to convey my passion for language. They certainly won't expect you to be an exper... See more
Are you applying for a Distance Learning course? I applied to one of those a few years ago, and had to do a personal statement. I applied after the closing date for applications, so my statement was quite hurried - I think it was more or less my first draft that I submitted. Nothing special, simply stating that I had always had a love for languages, and would now like to pursue a career in translation. I just tried to convey my passion for language. They certainly won't expect you to be an expert in translation theory in advance!

I'm sure if you incorporate all those elements you mention in your post, you will have no problems at all.

Good luck, and I hope you get to do what you want to do. ▲ Collapse
 
potosi
potosi
United States
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks! Aug 18, 2014

I really appreciate all the answers, it's so nice to have a bit of an insight. I feel more confident now.
 


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Writing the Personal Statement: Translation MA Admission







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