Imperial Personal statement

Hi I am am international student getting ready for ucas application. I am almost done with my personal statement but just realized that I wrote my personal statement focused on one of the areas in the field which the imperial college london does not have as their module in the course while other 4 unis do.

Should I change a bit of my personal statement so that it mentions about one of the modules in the course at imperial college london or should I just leave it there?

Reply 1

ChildshDXB

If it is still talking about the topic of the course at imperial, I don't see why they would have an issue, as long as it all isn't abt it and mentions the course in general.

Reply 2

vnayak

Original post by ddii

Having received an offer from Imperial for my course for 2024 entry, I think I would be able to answer this sufficiently. I would recommend not writing your personal statement based on the modules offered. In mine, I talked about activities I have done in Computer Science, projects I have done, Maths-related things I have done (somehow forgetting to include UKMT Maths Challenges but this was fortunately mentioned in my reference from my teachers so I was covered) and other things. In fact, I only began looking at the modules after receiving my offer in December.

Your personal statement shouldn't just have one area of focus as it suggests that you are a one trick pony in that particular area. In mine, I talked about loads of different aspects. I talked about programming, AI and machine learning, Robotics, Cybersecurity and Automation (but it had a particular focus on AI because that's what I want to do in the future and I mentioned it in my conclusion).

Whether Imperial offers the module or not is irrelevant to the outcome because at the end of the day, all you are really doing is showing your interest in the course. Therefore, all you should be worried about is whether the things you want to talk about links with your course. If it does, mention in but if it doesn't but it's impressive, maybe mention it as like a side-note or just avoid it altogether.

I would also suggest using the personal statement reviewing system on this website, which is really good. Amazing people like @PQ will really help you with this.

You don't have long to send your application off! The UCAS deadline is 31st Jan but some universities shut off receiving applications earlier (I'm not sure about dates or the universities that do this but I remember seeing some university shuts off receiving applications on 25th Jan).

If you are keen to mention the modules, by all means mention them but it won't really mean much unless you have the activities to back up your interest. To be honest, your interview is more of the place where you are meant to mention the modules you enjoy in the course.

The personal statement is going to all 5 universities, and by running the risk of going too in-depth about a specific module offered by only some of your 5 universities, you may get rejected from the others as you don't appeal to them as much. I would recommend trying to find common ground between all 5 universities if you are set on mentioning the modules but otherwise be a bit more generic and simply mention the activities that you have done related to your course.

good luck and I hope you receive an offer!