Expert help with your university application
JANE MARSHALL
OPTIMISING FUTURES
Value Added
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING.......
Thank you for coming on Wednesday night. You were the absolute star of the evening and students and parents have been raving about you. See you in June!
Head of Sixth Form
St Mary's School, Gerrard's Cross
I just wanted to express my gratitude towards you for the time you spent with me during the personal statement clinic. Your help with fine-tuning my personal statement, and general tips were genuinely so valuable to my application. I especially wanted to thank you for the interview practice and tips - I took your advice and worked on speaking slower and not saying 'like' every two seconds! I ended up getting 3 interviews and 3 offers from Imperial, QMUL and the University of Birmingham! Again, thank you so much for all of your help, it really made a difference.
AK, happy student
Reading
The sessions were amazing, student feedback has been incredibly positive and they are now all really keen to start researching and figuring it out! Thank you again and we would love to work with you again in the next academic year.
Assistant Headteacher
St Ignatius College, Enfield
We’ve had a bumper crop of Oxbridge offers this year – 43!! Beating our previous record of 29 by some margin. And while I’m not entirely sure how to explain the upswing – probably a combination of many disparate things – we are sure your advice had a direct influence, so thank you once again for that.
Oxbridge Coordinator
Woodhouse College
Thank you again for such a great talk, the students and staff really enjoyed it and the message was really clear about how to write a really good Personal Statement. Or not!
We will be continuing with this theme in tutorials next week and using your resources ongoing to the end of the year.
I look forward to arranging another event with you in the near future.
Careers Leader & HE/UCAS Coordinator
St Dominic's Sixth Form College
Jane, we received the news that our daughter has been accepted onto her Master's programme at Oxford! Outstanding work, thank you so much.
RB, happy parent
Paris
Thank you so much for coming in today! The great round of applause you got said it all. The students have sat through lots of talks this term on all sorts of aspects of the applications process, but nothing anywhere near as engaging as you!
Asst Head
Hampstead School
All my offers have been made and based on the fact that I got accepted to all of my options means that I can't thank you enough! I have decided to take Oxford as my first choice and Imperial as my insurance.
L, happy student
London
Thank you again for coming in to see us last week for the talk on Personal Statements.. The students loved it!
Head of PSHE and Careers
Leighton Park School
We showed the boys the video in small-ish groups over the last few days/ couple of weeks and feedback has been excellent. They were very impressed that you were the voice of the UCAS Personal Statement video we'd also shown them (and were strangely quick to pick up on this!). They seem to have been calmed and motivated at the same time by your words so that's something of a miracle: many thanks! Went out to parents last night, too and those I've spoken to were very grateful for your insights. All great: thanks again!
Asst Head of Sixth Form
Merchant Taylor's School
Comments from delegates at the UCAS Conference for HE Advisers:
-
Hilarious presenter who really picked apart the do's and don'ts and how there is no perfect route to a PS but there are a lot of imperfect ones! I've been to UCAS sessions on this topic before but I still learned a lot more that I hadn't been made aware of in past UCAS talks on this.
-
Great speaker who gave lovely examples of how not to and how to write sections. Was a very engaging session and I definitely got the sense that she knew her stuff. Was nice that she had been on both sides of the personal statement - from the Uni side and now helping students. Good advice on sources they can use for evidence and great handout.
-
Fabulous presentation, funny and informative, best session of the conference.
-
Loved this and the humour involved. I literally LOL at some of the comments! Fantastic speaker, very engaging, full of energy.
-
I really enjoyed this session, Jane Marshall was very good and I will be looking into booking her to speak to our students if this is possible.
-
Personal highlight. Outstanding.
I could not let the day go by without saying our enormous thanks and our gratitude that due to your help with the Personal Statement our son has today been accepted at LSE! I always wanted to let you know how he has done and nothing gives me greater pleasure than giving you this news. Our son and all the family are very grateful for your invaluable assistance and knowledge.
SK, happy parent
Gravesend, Kent
Thank you for your guidance earlier this year. Our daughter received a firm offer this morning from (her firm choice) Southampton to study History, and has two adjustment choices on offer from Warwick and Manchester. A good day!
One of the department heads said:
"Thank you for sending me this wonderful personal statement—it’s a really splendid piece of writing, as well as being extremely impressive."
SC, happy parent
Last year you gave me a great deal of help in writing my personal statement - I was invited to an interview at Oxford and I have been offered a place at New College!! Hence I am emailing you to say a great big thank you, for all the help and support you gave me when writing my personal statement, it really does mean a lot to me and I know that I wouldn't have been so successful if my personal statement wasn't so great!
R, happy student
London, UK
With much excitement, I am proud to inform you that I have received my unconditional offer from Kings College London. Thank you so much for your expertise and undying support that you've shown towards me, which is hard to express in words. Without all the help you gave me with my statement, this would never have been possible. Thank you so much.
AA, happy student
United Arab Emirates
I just wanted to say thank you for reviewing my Personal Statement last year. I had an interview and received an offer from Imperial which I achieved. Thanks very much for all your help at such a stressful time!
R, happy student
Hampshire, UK
I’ve just watched all your videos. You’ve done such a fabulous job! Watching them, it really felt like you were talking to me personally with the way you spoke and the way it’s been recorded. You are such a natural and gifted public speaker and it is a wildly different experience speaking to a camera without your audience. It must have been so hard - but your personality and the Jane 'sparkle' definitely come across. I also appreciated how you made specific reference to the Covid climate in which the students will be applying. And, as ever, you include such a broad range of examples which will draw the students in.
I don’t think anything can truly substitute for the ‘Jane Marshall - Live’ experience in our theatre at school and we will miss having you in person but all the advice you provide here in this format, is so invaluable to our students. I really hope they all make the most of the opportunity to access your videos - we will certainly be advising them to do so.
R, teacher
The Coopers' Company and Coborn School, Upminster
Online session with Jane Marshall – Why uni? and How to write an excellent Personal Statement
Average score 5/5
- ‘Very detailed, funny and enjoyable talk, extremely clear and useful - really engaging, energetic speaker, helpful insights into the dos and don’ts of personal statements with examples from real statements’
- ‘She was extremely helpful and very interesting to listen to. Thoroughly enjoyed!’
- 'Really great speaker, very engaging and interesting to listen to despite being virtual’
- ‘Jane was really helpful and I loved how honest and straightforward she was’
- ‘I really liked the way Jane Marshall presented the talk. She was really lively, very entertaining but also useful and clear. - 'I learnt a lot about the key things to include in personal statements and it definitely made me feel better knowing there were people like her who would potentially read it! Her enthusiasm made the details of the talk easier to remember - I would recommend her for next year as well’
Selection of student comments from school feedback
Beaconsfield High, Buckinghamshire
You are one of the most engaging public speakers I have ever listened to and I’ve listened to a few! I was speaking with some of the students afterwards and they thought it was insightful and really made them think about how their communication on paper is received by the reader.
E, teacher
Walthamstow Academy
Could I say a massive thank you to you for your talk last night, on behalf of all the students and parents who attended, both from our school and from two local schools. You were entertaining, informative and spot on with your advice to the students and I know they will have all benefitted from hearing you. One of our parents wrote the following to me this morning:
Thank you again for organising last night, very helpful information. I wish I had half of Jane's energy and even a quarter of her transferable skills!
LB, Head of Careers and Higher Education
Sutton High School (Girls’ Day School Trust)
It was definitely useful to find out what I should do more of to prepare for the interview such as suggestions of short books to read about the subject. It was also a surprise to be able to have a French conversation with Jane which was really good practice. Thank you very much !
A, student
Bullers Wood School, Bromley
I cannot thank you enough for helping us with this!
I would highly recommend you to all those students and parents who just need that extra bit of help finalising their Personal Statements. It’s hard enough for the children to get through their day-to-day studies let alone trying to get this under their belt, so any help is a god send.
SK, parent
Gravesend, Kent
Having to present a coherent argument about an aspect of a degree course I want to study made me stop and think very carefully as to whether I really do want to pursue that course! It was so helpful and I can confirm I stand by my choice!
H, student, Claires Court School
commenting after the Personal Statement workshop
Thank you so much for your inspiring work with our students today. Your workshops focused their attention very keenly on the courses they are looking at and enabled them to recognise the many transferable skills they didn't realise they have!
S, Head of Sixth Form and Head of Careers
Claires Court School, Berkshire
I have had superb feedback from a number of students, colleagues and even parents already, all saying how they found the different aspects of the day useful, informative and thought-provoking. And while it was perhaps a lot of information for some of our students to take on board in one hit, I’ve not had a single “issue”, “problem” or “it would be better if…” come my way. That is a real testament to your sessions and how engaging they were for the students
D, Head of Higher Education and Careers
Bristol Grammar School
Thank you so much for coming in on Tuesday - I've had so many positive comments about the session; everyone thought you were great and even colleagues who have been writing references and subject comments for years told me they picked up new tips, which was brilliant to hear.
C, Deputy Head and English Teacher
Cheltenham College
Jane’s advice and apposite guidance in my view is essential if students want to achieve their very best. Often talent gets missed simply because the “sell” is poor. Jane draws the best from students and works on their self-esteem. I speak both professionally having dealt with Jane for years as Director of Education in Gibraltar, and indeed personally given my daughter clearly benefitted and has recently received an offer to read Geography at Cambridge.
DG, parent and former Director of Education in Gibraltar
I was 55 when I decided to return to work after being self-employed and doing voluntary work for 25 years. Jane managed to put all of my work, courses, achievements and education into a coherent order and she gave me the confidence, as a more mature lady, to apply for jobs I wouldn't otherwise have applied for. Giving me confidence was absolutely key - Jane has this amazing ability to give you the self-belief and confidence to go for it! She did a fantastic job and did it with flair, ease and good humour - nothing was too much trouble, the turnaround was swift and professional and she shared my journey from start to finish. I can't thank her enough.
C, job applicant
Berkshire, UK
The school is doing an amazing job by bringing in Jane to talk to the students about university etc. My daughter was really enthused and it sounds like Jane was an amazing speaker!
Parent
The British School in The Netherlands
Jane literally took all the stress out of the entire process - my Master's application looked fantastic and I highly recommend Jane to anyone wanting to apply.
J, student
Berkshire, UK
I am so proud of both my children! Two Master's, two Distinctions, I can't thank you enough, Jane, for all the help you gave them with their Personal Statements. You're brilliant!
C, parent
Reading, UK
It does make a difference - our top 3 students you helped so much with interviews and personal statements all got offers and all got in! Thanks ever so much. You're a star!
M, HE Adviser
Sixth Form Consortium, Camden UK
Thank you so much! I can't tell you how incredibly helpful everything you did for me has been - the Personal Statement helped get me an interview and the interview practice helped me so much on the day and now I'm going to Cambridge! Thank you - you've been so brilliant!
B, student
Norfolk, UK
My daughter heard this morning that she had received a 2:1 degree, which is fantastic and more than we were hoping for. You were so helpful with her Personal Statement, which seems so long ago but really was the start of her dream to go to university. Thank you for everything you did, it made all the difference.
K, parent
Surrey, UK
Jane's help in preparing me for my Oxford interview was invaluable. The sessions were tailored specifically to both my course and university, ensuring that I was well prepared for the style of interview I would receive and knew exactly what to expect of the interview itself. Jane is hugely knowledgeable both in the subject matter that will be covered and the styles of question that are likely to be asked, and so was able to provide me with a wide variety of potential questions and a structured plan for preparing for the different question types, ensuring I was well prepared for anything that could be thrown at me. Jane's advice on how to tailor my answers to the different question types in the interview itself meant I was able to not only convey my knowledge of the subject effectively, but to do so in a confident and professional manner. Her wealth of knowledge and experience across an extensive range of courses and universities, alongside her enthusiastic and supportive nature means that sessions with Jane are incredibly useful to any student preparing for interview.
G, student
Beaconsfield, UK
This is the third job you have helped me secure, I keep coming back because what you do is so helpful and really makes me feel confident before the interviews. Thank you very much for everything.
Y, job applicant
London, UK
So helpful! What was really great in the interview was when you showed me how to negotiate my salary, it works every time!
C, job applicant
London, UK
Year 13 Medicine and Dentistry applicants had the incredible opportunity of talking to Jane Marshall about medical ethics in the NHS. The small group sessions gave students the chance to debate important issues affecting the healthcare system, including methods of tackling the obesity crisis, as well as the different aspects of a healthy doctor-patient relationship. Her insight and enthusiasm encouraged us to think about problems from different perspectives, and left us with a better understanding of the complex decisions that healthcare professionals take on a daily basis. We greatly appreciated Jane helping us prepare for our future interviews - it will undoubtedly prove invaluable in the coming months!
Year 13 Medicine and Dentistry students
Barnet, UK
We have just heard back from all of our Oxbridge candidates. I am very pleased to let you know that we have had 3 of our students receive offers! We have never had more than 2 students get offers from Oxbridge and so we are incredibly happy.
We recognise that the work you did with our students played no small part in their success and so extend our deepest thanks for your practice interviews with them. All of our students very much appreciated it, as do we.
A, teacher
Harrow, UK
You provided excellent advice to my daughter in preparing her personal statement, ensuring she focused on the most important aspects. This helped her prepare a strong statement that highlighted her passion for her chosen subject, and showcased all her relevant activities in a concise and powerful way. We are incredibly grateful for everything you did - her personal statement successfully secured her an interview at Oxford and offers from all her other university choices.
C, parent
Beaconsfield, UK
Both the medical applicants you helped have secured interviews – your help with their personal statements and mock interviews was extremely valuable.
F, teacher
The Billericay School, UK
Thank you for all the help you gave me with my personal statement - I'm eternally grateful. I sent off my application two weeks before the deadline and I've received all 5 conditional offers which I believe is because of the quality of my personal statement.
D, student
London, UK