Tell Us About Your Experience Of The Online Assessment As Part Of Your Application To The Maths Scholarships...
I was advised to apply for a Maths Scholarship by my university after I was offered a place on their PGCE course. I hadn’t heard much about the Maths Scholarship, so I wasn’t too sure what to expect! The process actually ended up being nice and simple, and I would advise anyone applying to not be scared and just go for it, as it was actually a very engaging process.
I distinctly remember the first sign that indicated receiving this Scholarship is not as simple as just getting a good university grade; a note in the application form that stated most applicants who fail will do so when writing the personal statement and answering the questions posed.
This made me stop and think of how I need to showcase my skills without any unnecessary waffle – which for a mathematician who is used to numbers over letters can be difficult! I opened up Word and pasted in every point that needed to be covered. I then read over my university application and pulled from that anything that was applicable to this application. Everyone’s way of working will be different, but for me this was the best method as there was a lot of overlap and it meant it reduced the demand of the statement.
Once finding out that part was successful, it was on to prep for the interview. I really enjoyed the process! It is common of children to ask why they are learning a topic, so to be able to research and prep round an answer was good fun.
The second part of the interview asking about how an ECT can use the topic to improve cross-curricular links allowed me to delve in to other subjects and recall lessons I had in art, science, English etc. that applied to number patterns and sequences. I was conscious that I was a little nervous for my interview, so I made a couple of cue cards with the key facts or prompts on to help me if I needed.
For anyone who is worried about interviews or nervous like I was, you have no need to. The interviewers put me at ease by making the process very informal in its chatting nature and they helped and pushed me to develop my answers. I think this was a great way of showing I was able rather than expecting a speech about my topic, and it allowed me to develop ideas on the spot.
The whole process was pain-free and done in such a way to better my chances, not just test like other assessments!
By Megan Field
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Message from the Scholarship Team
You can apply to the Scholarships with a 2:2 degree classification, providing you can demonstrate 'significant relevant experience'. Also you can apply before completing your subject knowledge enhancement course. See our eligibility criteria on our About Us page and our FAQs.
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