When you're not interested in any major in particular

I have to write a personal statement within 2 days. Although personal statements aren't largely important as they should only take 2-3 hours, it is a huge problem for me if I don't have a particular major or subject in mind. the personal statement requires me to "Explain how you first developed an interest in the subject area/course for which you are applying.". I have no idea which university i want to apply, let alone the subject I want to pick. I did give a list of possible majors to apply to: health science, forensic science, nursing, veterinary. I can't pick ONE but i need a personal statement by then. How should I write it if I can't even pick a major.

Reply 1

MumofAleveller

9

Original post by Stella Amber

I have to write a personal statement within 2 days. Although personal statements aren't largely important as they should only take 2-3 hours, it is a huge problem for me if I don't have a particular major or subject in mind. the personal statement requires me to "Explain how you first developed an interest in the subject area/course for which you are applying.". I have no idea which university i want to apply, let alone the subject I want to pick. I did give a list of possible majors to apply to: health science, forensic science, nursing, veterinary. I can't pick ONE but i need a personal statement by then. How should I write it if I can't even pick a major.

Why do you have to write it within the next two days? The UCAS deadline isn't for months? If school is hassling you to submit one in the next 2 days you need to tell them that at the stage you haven't decided which courses you want to apply for so you cannot at the stage submit it.
I would suggest telling school that you are going to spend your summer holidays researching options and will complete your first draft by then. Otherwise you're wasting yours and their time.

Reply 2

please help me x

12

Hello,

First of all don't panic! I know it is easier said than done but most students don't know what they want to do and even those who do often end up changing their mind after starting. So please, panicking is the worse thing you can do right now as it will stress you out and you won't get anywhere!

Now, the personal statement is about you and how you have developed your interests. Not where you want to go- so don't worry about not knowing which university you want to go to. Though the courses you have picked out are very distinct, they all have a few common elements that show what you are interested in. The short version of it is, all of them involve passion for helping others, a need for a scientific mindset, teamwork & collaboration, critical thinking & problem solving as well as ethical & professional values. In your personal statement, I would recommend highlighting these as your skills with an occasional example such as extracurriculars you do to show your adaptability to suit all of these fields.

Your personal statement must also include some more generic things too, but make sure to relate it to the chosen fields. For example, projects and qualifications: they already know about GCSE's and your current predicted, so say about a project you took on or some extracurricular reading and research you have done, delve into that and how that interests you. If you haven't got a project in mind, some multidisciplinary one's you can do last minute and can write about are:

1. Investigate the connections between human, animal, and environmental health by exploring a zoonotic disease (disease that can be transmitted between animals and humans). Research the transmission, prevention, and potential solutions for managing the disease in both human and animal populations.

2. Create a simulated scenario involving a mysterious death where students from health sciences, forensics, nursing, and veterinary backgrounds collaborate to piece together the evidence, analyse forensic clues and arrive at a comprehensive conclusion.

3. Organise a mock emergency exercise or simulation, involving students from different disciplines to demonstrate teamwork, communication, and coordination in a crisis situation. Evaluate the effectiveness of the response and identify areas for improvement.

Other than that, any work experience/volunteering that is useful to each course I would recommend noting down and a relevant reading you have found interesting so they can see that you have researched into it. A quote can also be good either at the introduction or the conclusion to captivate the person reading it, up to you if you want to make the quote a joke like saying your teacher quoting aristotle "the more you learn, the less you know" and if that is the case that you hope to learn less and less about the world, or a deep quote like "Vincit qui se Vincit" (latin for he conquers who conquers themself). I would recommend if not a quote to do something similar to add a touch of personality and light-heartedness.

If you have any questions please do let me know and I apologise for how long this is, but I hope this helps :smile:

Reply 3

please help me x

12

Original post by MumofAleveller

Why do you have to write it within the next two days? The UCAS deadline isn't for months? If school is hassling you to submit one in the next 2 days you need to tell them that at the stage you haven't decided which courses you want to apply for so you cannot at the stage submit it.
I would suggest telling school that you are going to spend your summer holidays researching options and will complete your first draft by then. Otherwise you're wasting yours and their time.

As much as that seems ideal, many schools prefer it early so that supervisors can go over it and help you clean it up essentially to make it look as good as it can as soon as possible, so that student's can focus purely on studies and interviews in year 13.

Reply 4

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by Stella Amber

I have to write a personal statement within 2 days. Although personal statements aren't largely important as they should only take 2-3 hours, it is a huge problem for me if I don't have a particular major or subject in mind. the personal statement requires me to "Explain how you first developed an interest in the subject area/course for which you are applying.". I have no idea which university i want to apply, let alone the subject I want to pick. I did give a list of possible majors to apply to: health science, forensic science, nursing, veterinary. I can't pick ONE but i need a personal statement by then. How should I write it if I can't even pick a major.

Are you applying to UK universities? In the UK you apply directly to a specific subject at a certain university. It's not like the US where you just apply to the university (maybe indicating a preference in subject) and then pick what you want to focus on when you get there. In the UK, it's subject first, university second. So if you are applying in the UK the first thing you need to do is figure out what you want to study and why - then worry about which universities later.

The courses you indicated are very different and have very different careers, so you need to figure out what you want to do in the longer term to narrow things down. I would note healthcare professions (including vet med) normally require you to have completed a certain amount of work experience, and this can be useful in figuring out if it is for you. The other courses are less vocationally oriented so consider what you cover on the actual course. I'd note that you can work in the forensic science sector with any science degree practically, and you don't need a specific forensic science course - I'd also note this sector in the UK is small and not growing.

When you're not interested in any major in particular

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