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In Year 12 - How to start building my Psychology personal statement for Cambridge?

I'm thinking of applying to Cambridge next year (Psychology) and I would just like to know what sorts of things or what type of person they are looking for. Are there any specific things/activities/clubs that your had done that you would consider to have benefitted you at all? Do you recommend I take up anything this year that would give me a better chance?

Thank you
Reply 1
Original post by LenniesRabbit
I'm thinking of applying to Cambridge next year (Psychology) and I would just like to know what sorts of things or what type of person they are looking for. Are there any specific things/activities/clubs that your had done that you would consider to have benefitted you at all? Do you recommend I take up anything this year that would give me a better chance?

Thank you


They are looking for people who are really interested in Psychology and have a high academic standard. They don't mind what type of person you are.
Read the course description really carefully and compare it with those from other good universities.Then I would read as much as you can about aspects of Psychology that you are interested in. If you live near to a city see if there are any free public lectures you can attend. Your personal statement should be about 75% academic for Cambridge. Not just a list of books but what you found interesting, what you learned from them and from your A level studies. If you see any essay competitions that you can enter at Cambridge or elsewhere they are worth doing, even if you don't win, because you can refer to extra studying and research.
Original post by LenniesRabbit
I'm thinking of applying to Cambridge next year (Psychology) and I would just like to know what sorts of things or what type of person they are looking for. Are there any specific things/activities/clubs that your had done that you would consider to have benefitted you at all? Do you recommend I take up anything this year that would give me a better chance?

Thank you


I'd think of a personal statement as a love letter to your subject - why do want to devote 3 years of your life to it? What do you find interesting about it and what have you done about this?

We're not at all interested in irrelevant extracurriculars and you certainly shouldn't be taking things up just to impress us. Remember that you're supposed to enjoy this exploring your subject! Reading a bunch is always a good place to start. We're not prescriptive in what we'd want you to read either - anything you find interesting is fine! Radio/TV documentaries/podcasts etc. are good - iPlayer or iTunes or soundcloud or....

A number of Cambridge colleges and other institutions also tweet links to interesting online content under the #ExploreYourSubject hashtag.
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 3
You should write your personal statement in the form of an ode. That'll really stand out.
Obviously your personal statement is well personal, but if you're just starting I'd recommend checking up examples.

https://www.studential.com/personal-statement-examples/psychology-personal-statements

there are a few crap ones but also some solid ones here from Oxbridge/Russell-Group applicants and honestly it was a God send when I started my own psychology personal statement. This is more to check structure, common themes and writing styles as well as a place to start, essentially take the best aspects from these and use it to build the foundation for your personal statement.

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