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.
‘Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings.’ – Nelson Mandela
I will never forget the day my teacher showed my class the 1993 Pulitzer prize-winning photograph of a vulture waiting for a child in poverty-stricken Sudan to die of starvation. It was the first time in my sheltered 12 year old life that I genuinely started to care and become aware about the tragic effects of poverty in the world.
That powerful image piqued my interest in economics and prompted me to think about socioeconomic inequalities and stratifications of wealth distribution in this world. By taking Economics in my A-levels, I began to appreciate the implications of macroeconomic policy changes on an individual and societal level. After reading ‘The General Theory’ by John Maynard Keynes, I was surprised to see that many of his arguments on the power of speculation could be related to the current global economic downturn. Further reading in ‘The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008’ by Paul Krugman made me feel that the current economic conditions made Keynesian policy prescriptions more relevant than ever.
Born in Malaysia where race-based laws still exist, I myself have been the victim of poor macroeconomic regulation, where the presence of neo-apartheid laws and ultra-protectionist policies by the government in certain industries have crippled the country’s efforts to present itself as an investor -friendly target on the international stage. Such economic challenges coupled with the limitations of speech and a lack of transparency and accountability by the government allowed me to better appreciate the significance of governance, philosophy, and economics. Consequently, I nurtured a great passion in public policy as well. Through the reading of philosophy and economic literature, I am convinced that the in-depth study of the philosophical side of economics would be fascinating.
My passion for economics can only be matched by that of mathematics. I find it extremely rewarding when I encounter and subsequently understand abstract mathematical theories. In my last year of high school, I competed in the national maths competition where I was rewarded with a high distinction award. Understanding the importance of developing critical thinking and instilling entrepreneurism, I co-founded the Young Entrepreneur Club in high school. During my involvement with Young Entreprise as the Assistant Managing Director, I learnt valuable lessons of time-management, commitment and leadership. At the end of the year long YE challenge, our enterprise emerged as state champion with shareholders enjoying a record breaking 400% return on their investments. I am proud to announce that the current club is still actively nurturing business leaders of tomorrow two years after I left it.
Since young I have always been active in sports, captaining my state’s olympic handball team besides holding a black belt in Karate-do and earning a spot in the school football team. I truly believe in a holistic development of an individual is important.
During my tenure as president of the district Leo club, I frequently organised trips to old folk’s homes and orphanages as part of our social responsibility initiative. I vividly remember the melancholic smiles of the children of St Joseph home when they bade us farewell after a trip to the Butterfly Farm. The knowledge that unlike us, they had no family to go back to profoundly unsettled me. This further strengthened my resolve to create an awareness of social responsibility amongst members of society to reach out to the less unfortunate. As I have not gained financial independence, I believe this is the best way for me to give back to the society.
As a recipient of the prestigious Sime Darby corporation scholarship, I managed to secure financial sponsorship for my tertiary education. This brings me one step closer to my dream of becoming an economist one day, and with great enthusiasm and excitement I look forward to committing the next few years of my life to the university community.
Universities Applied to:
- LSE - Offer!
- UCL
- Warwick
Reviewer comments:
- Great use of books to show interest outside of A-levels as it shows the engagement of the applicant to the subject outside of school. It would be beneficial to answer the question "why did this interest you" in this section.
- Good section on philosophy but would be best to reference to some titles. Currently the section lists a few topics and explores them but there is little connection to outside reading or specific learning.
- Extra-curricular section needs to be cut down, aim for 20%.
- It is very cliched to include or start with a quote. Use this space to expand in other areas.
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