| 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. |
I have a strong desire to learn more about the basic concepts of life at a molecular level, and also develop valuable scientific skills to parallel the best biologists in the world have. The variety of things that interest me ranges from immunological responses of the body to neuroscience and drug use. If I was given the opportunity to study in these fields I would grasp it firmly. The Biomedical Sciences degree will offer me the chance to study all of these components to a greater depth. The choice of a degree in Biology was an easy one and my maths skills will aid me in a biological career.
I am reading Ben Goldacre’s Bad Science. It is a great book; it tells us how we can discover how some people misuse data and terminology in their favour to trick us into buying their products in the market. I have also read The Language of Genes by Steve Jones and it is a very fascinating book, it is an easy way to learn about genetics and it stretches my knowledge further than the A-level.
I attended the University of Surrey summer school from 15th-17th July where I gained a valuable insight to university life and the Biology course they have. It was a very enjoyable time; I met people with similar interests to me. I am also fortunate to have the opportunity to work at Crawley Hospital; it is a chance for me to improve my social skills and get to work with people who have suffered from a stroke.
Inside the college, we completed a chemistry project in association with a local pharmaceutical company Novartis. In college we undertook the synthesis of aspirin where we analysed it at Novartis using a range of spectroscopy tests including TLC, NMR scans and Mass Spectrometry. In the college open day, I helped the biology department out when the year 11’s came to a taster evening for A-level biology, I was running the centrifuge stall where I explain to the parents how this machine works, and how interesting the A-level course is. I also helped my maths teacher with a lesson on basic differentiation with students from a local school.
I currently run for a local athletics club called Crawley AC. I train on average 4 times a week and compete against other clubs in southern men’s leagues, more specifically, I run mainly 400m or 200m distances. I also used to play football; I played from the U11’s until the U17’s where I decided I should devote more time to athletics.
I have made considerable progress during my A-level studies and I feel my current level of attainment is a truer reflection on my academic abilities than my GCSE results may suggest. Following up from my ABBU at AS, I have plans on making up for the U in French by taking up AS further maths, I am hoping to up my B grade to an A grade in chemistry this year, and I have plans on re-taking my B in unit 2 for Biology to get an A grade. I wouldn’t apply to the top universities in the country if I felt I couldn’t complete the course and enjoy it. I would relish the opportunity to get a chance to be taught from world class lectures in the field of biomedical research.
Universities Applied to:
- University of Oxford (Biomedical Science) - Rejection - Below average BMAT scores and GCSE's was feedback provided
- University of Warwick (Biomedical Science) - Offer (ABB) Unconditional Firm
- University Portsmouth (Biomedical Science) - Offer (BBC) Insurance
- Kings College London (Biomedical Sciences) - Offer (AAB) Declined
- University of Surrey (Biomedical Science) - Offer (ABB) Declined
Grades Achieved:
- Biology (A2) - B
- Maths (A2) - A
- Chemistry (A2) - B
