Ancient history degree personal statement example (1b) Manchester offer

This is a real personal statement written by a student for their university application. It might help you decide what to include in your own. There are lots more examples in our collection of sample personal statements. 

Modern society can learn a lot from ancient civilizations as, despite the gap of numerous centuries, there are many parallels between now and then. Even with the vast changes in science, technology and politics, the underlying human nature and our yearning for a hierarchy within society, whether democratic or autocratic, never changes. It is through learning about the past, the way in which their society functioned and the values they held that we can learn more about today's world.

Ancient history has always been a passion of mine from museum visits to books; it has never failed to fascinate me. The subject first engrossed me after reading my way through the local library's collection on ancient history as a child and from then I have always had a keen interest in the subject. Growing up in an area steeped in Roman history only further spurred my interest on as I could see how they had lived, marvel at their seemingly advanced technology and compare and contrast with today's society. For this reason, I especially enjoy museum visits to see the history for myself. Despite not originally taking A level History, I could not escape my love of the subject and so am now completing it in one year.

I run an ancient History club in school which, as well as being thoroughly enjoyable, has extended both my team working and leadership skills. Running the club involves organising group research and then giving a presentation on a specific aspect of the era we are examining. I also have to prepare lesson plans for each session. Running the club is very easy for me because of my passion for reading about ancient history, from the occasional National Geographic article to 'The Search for Alexander' by R. L. Fox, a few examples of the books I enjoy.

Taking A level History, Biology and German has allowed me to indulge my passion for history whilst bolstering my appreciation for the sciences. I also studied AS level maths and chemistry, which I feel have helped me to get a good grounding in the sciences behind the humanities subjects, such as how science can teach us more about ancient civilisations' environments. One of the benefits of studying History has been the opportunity to improve my analytical, reasoning and essaying skills, as well as finding it an exciting and interesting subject. Taking German has sparked my interest in all languages, and I would relish the opportunity to study an ancient language as I believe them to be fundamental to our understanding of the past. I enjoy languages, and for me they are important when travelling, but I find that history is my true passion and an area in which I intend to pursue my career.

Over the past year, I have undertaken regular volunteer work which has helped me to further improve my team working skills as well as communicating with people of different generations. It also helped me to balance my time between school and social commitments. This was a valuable experience for me, as it has shown me the value of spending time with those who are otherwise lonely in life.

I have held various positions of responsibility within my school, from being a part of the school musical to being a prefect, joint leader of my sixth form's charities team and an emotional and academic mentor to younger students. I have always contributed greatly to my school and hope to continue to be able to do so, through participation in various clubs and activities. Outside of school, I enjoy rowing and regularly row with my local club.

Universities Applied to:

  • Birmingham - Offer (ABB)
  • Bristol - Rejection
  • Cardiff - Offer (BBB) Insurance
  • Durham - Rejection
  • Manchester - Offer (ABB) Firm

Grades Achieved:

  • History (A2) - A
  • German (A2) - B
  • Biology (A2) - B
  • Chemistry (AS) - c
  • Maths (AS) - c

I applied with accc in Biology, German, Chemistry, Maths respectively at AS and was taking History in one year. I was, however, predicted 3As in my A2 subjects.

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