I think this is a difficult question to answer, given the many aspects of university
applications. The process is not standardised; for example, some universities may ask you to
write letters of motivation or personal statements and others will not.

A big part of expressing yourself convincingly to a professional, academic audience is
confidence and proficiency in language. Aim for a tone in your writing that is comfortable
and natural to yourself – there is no use in big words and flowery synonyms if your syntax
and flow of sentences if off (run-on sentences, for example) or your text sounds bulky and
incomprehensible without a good dictionary at hand. Being true to yourself is a cliché piece
of advice but one which is applicable also in the use of language, grammatically. Also: make
sure to give your writing time. Drafting, in essays as in applications, is the key to granting
yourself the time needed to understand the argument you put forth when marketing yourself
toward a university and degree.

Another piece of, perhaps somewhat generic, advice is to aim for depth, not for
breadth. When explaining your commitments in and outside of school, such as SLC or MUN,
you will likely have more ideas than you can explain. And while a list may be imposing for its
sheer length, your application will only be convincing when you begin to explain it. You
should seek to outline not only what you have done, but also what it has done for you, and
how such personal developments have led you back to university. Third-level education is an investment into your growth; you should seek to clearly lay out how you have grown already,
and why/how you are committed to doing so in your future studies. This applies especially to
questions on why a university should offer you a place for a course, or why you would be an
ideal candidate.

Finally, I would recommend aiming for personal stories that remain professional. This
also holds truth when universities ask you to explain why you wish to study the subject of
your choice; the more thought-out your reason is, the better. To me, especially with personal
statements, there exists an almost frantic drive to be original and to write an outstanding
application of which every single sentence is something the university has never once read
before. However, if you invest the time and thought into starting broad, and narrowing down
your experiences at school or work, your commitments, and partially your personal life
(though keep the latter one appropriate), you will find that there will always be something
that makes your application unique. Even though the point at which you start may be broad,
seemingly unoriginal, and frustratingly sparse, think deeper; was there ever a conversation,
moment, or thought that sparked something within you? Deep down, think about what it is
you want to do, what of it you have done already, what inspired it originally, and how the
university degree will (help) fulfil that wish.

– Emma
English Literature Student