I am currently putting together my application for my Masters. I am predicting issues in getting into my primary choices because I missed the required grade for most of these though there were issues in my life, including medical and financial, which hit me during the latter half of my degree.

While I am not making excuses for my results completely and my issues is a long story, my grade average each year dropped several percentage though I did score, in at least some modules, consistently with my first year. It was my final year that hit me hard because my final projects both weighed a lot – a big mistake on my part to choosing to do that given that had happened earlier on in my degree.

I am still wanting to do a Masters . However, I know I screwed up my Undergraduate and now have to put an application together which will at least get me considered. I am getting more experience to boost it (I went to America for the Summer to study) but I have a bad case of writer’s block relating to my personal statement.

Hi Charlie, would it be possible for you to email/go to see one of your previous undergraduate tutors? I think they will be able to help you best as they know your work and will need to write your references; I think if you are honest with them about the personal problems you had during your undergraduate course they should support your application, as they know what you are really capable of. They will also help you with your personal statement and suggest different places were you could apply.

When it comes to writing your statement, I think its a good idea to try to tailor what you are writing to the department you are applying to, for example your research interests. That way they can tell that you have researched the course proplerly. Also mention why you want to do a Masters level course and what you want to get out of it, as well as the type of career you have in mind. Make a special point of your work experience, that will really help you - however try not to use it as an obvious 'fix' for your undergraduate degree, if that makes sense. You come across as being really enthusiatic and motivated to do a Masters course, that is what they are looking for. Good luck, Natassia

I believe I have support from a couple of lecturers at my Undergraduate University so I should be covered there but I really supect I will be having to do damage control whatever my University says. Beyond that a lot of the improvement I need now is down to me getting some experience.

My main concern at the moment is approaching an application without going to the extreme of saying it was x,y and z was the blame but I have to explain it at some point because I have a half a year which has 0%s across the board because I withdrew from a semester and then took the following semester off before repeating the one I withdrew from on my official transcript. (That was just a brief overview just x)

Therefore, I have been toying with the idea of including a short insert in my personal statement which says (and this is a rough draft) "While my undergraduate degree was marred with issues which became a contributing factor towards my final degree outcome, I am keen to move beyond these blemishes and prove myself as a enthusiast student that has used my gap years as a worthwhile experience that would benefit me as a student at X University" or something to that effect. I would then go on to discuss what I have done since my degree, what I have learned from these experiences and where this is leading me and how it would link into my Masters at that particular University.

What do you think about this? I suppose I can answer questions about X,Y and Z at any interviews I get but I don't want to be shown the reject pile from day 1 because of my official transcript.