It is interesting that when you write things down they seem to matter less. A trouble shared etc., even if only shared with a piece of virtual paper. Also when I have written something whiny I immediately feel much tougher and not whiny any more and would delete it, but I said that I wouldnt.


I have spent the last two days writing my son's university application personal statement. Most people have the right grades so your statement really matters. He appears to be taking nil interest, just saying 'But you'll do it so much better'. This is true as I have done two already but he is more of a blank slate than the girls. I need some launch pad for the bending of the truth and particularly for the actual lies. Maddeningly, I have lost the copies of the earlier statements which were small gems of their kind. I only have a rough draft of the first one which is very girly. I read my new attempt to S.. who said 'For f@ck's sake, you can't put he sang in the school choir'. I said, 'But I put that for both of you'. 'I know, but we're girls, do you have any idea what kind of boy joins the choir?' 'Okay, I'll put that he played in one of the school rock bands. Shall we say that he can play the guitar and the piano?' 'Why not. We could put in a Music grade'. '5?'. 'That's quite advanced, better to say 4 for both, and that he still practises'. 'Whew. Moving on. Shall I say that he is having Japanese lessons on his own time......?'

M.... took the work-in-progress cv. in to his tutor this afternoon, who said, 'Could you make the first paragraph more 'punchy'. No, no, no, I couldn't. I agonised over the f@cking thing for an entire evening. There is no other way to put it. No other thing left to say. But if I don't get it right every admissions tutor will just throw it in the bin. Oh what 'punchy' sentence can I think of?

The only university that M... wants to go to has started a blatant policy of discrimination against children from fee-paying schools. There was a big row about it in the papers some months ago where the university admitted it but said it was a mistake and they were going to stop at once. So that is why his tutor told him that perhaps he shouldn't bother to apply there? His sister got in there perfectly easily. There is something about him which seems doomed to low-level bad luck. Or maybe God has some other purpose for him. Perhaps he is the man with one sandal.

I just bet he's going to be accepted by every university except the one he wants. I bet it now - £5.00. I will send it to Re-Blogger if I'm right, even if their Comments never work. (They still don't, even after several e-mails from charming people there and at this site. They think it is my computer. Is that likely? What would I know).


- posted by Iris @ 10/07/2003 10:29:00 PM comment