By: Arthur Hall
Submitted: 2010-10-23 18:20:26 | Word Count: 946
Forget good grades; college students hoping to get into University are now being judged by a personal statement. There are students who have worked their butts off since they were in school, ensuring they gained great GCSE and A-Level results, but yet have had their dreams shattered because of their personal statement.
Students Under Pressure
This is just another way of making things difficult for young people who want to succeed, leaving room for students to feel deflated, and wishing they had asked someone else to write their personal statement, as so many other students did.
It is not right that students who are not exceptional writers are being based solely on their writing skills. Students are not being given a fair chance because of their personal statement, meaning that their whole future is determined by two pieces of paper.
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Some may argue that a personal statement is just like a CV, but in reality, this is just too much pressure put on students. Not only do they need to revise and study hard for year after year, they now have to make their personal statement seem like they have been doing every activity under the sun just to get into further education. When in reality, all they could do was study hard and, if possible, juggle studying between a part-time job to put something in their purses and wallets to help them survive in this economic crisis.
Students Rejected from University
In the UK, thousands of students have not got into University this year, let alone their number one options, regardless of what A-Level grades they achieved. This is just typical, and another reason why students are finding it increasingly difficult to follow their ambitions. If students are depressed about having to go to a University that was not on their choice, or depressed about having to wait until next year to try again, they are in for another whirlwind three or four years down the line when they graduate. The pressure does not stop.
University Graduates Seeking Work
University graduates who are keen to get into work are not even given a chance because of lack of experience, yet, why have employers failed to realise that if no one is ready to take graduates on, not even for work experience, how are they supposed to gain experience? Students are having to plod alone, scraping any free work they can get when really they should be allowed to get stuck into a career with a salary and train as they go along.
What is the point of gaining qualifications if they are not good enough? It seems that the student who left school and went straight into work has achieved more experience and gained one up on the qualified student. It’s the young people who did not go to college or University who have managed to work their way up, so by the time they are 21 they are on a sufficient level of work and salary. Unfortunately, the students with all the qualifications still have to start in the exact same place as the unqualified student did, and so by the time they have reached a reasonable level, it is the unqualified student that becomes their manager!
So does hard work really pay off? Is it worth going to University or just going straight into work from college, or even forgetting college in the first place and going straight into work from school and begin training? For, not only are graduates struggling to get into their choice of work after gaining a degree, younger students can not even get into University in the first place to even begin the struggle of finding a job.
People Ready to Help Students
What is frustrating is that it always comes down to this – “it’s not what you know, but who you know.” So, in essence, hard work does not really pay off, it’s all about how many contacts students have in their contacts list. It does not matter if students have worked hard all their life. If they are not fortunate enough to know someone who can help them in their desired sector of work, there is no hope. There are students who have left college and University with below average grades, but if they have the connections they shoot straight into a job.
It seems that to get far in life there are more obstacles put in the way than ever before, and only a small percentage are getting through.
Students Need More Support
There needs to be more available opportunities for students who would like to get into a career before the age of 30. Internships and work experience are all well and good, but are another challenge to even get accepted into, and some companies refuse to do them at all point blank.
Students are brushed to one side by managers and top executives, who have forgot how difficult it was for them to get into a career years ago – which was still twice as easy back then as it is now. How are students and graduates expected to fend for themselves without a salary?
Once students have left University, and the student loan has finished there is no help for them. Without a job, it seems the only way to get financial help is to have a child. There should be some sort of financial help awarded to students on their graduations other than a certificate in an envelope that they thought would be rolled up and tied in a ribbon! Students are not rewarded enough and have to literally search to the ends of the Earth to find some employer who will give them a chance.
