Personal statement

Hi everyone. I need some advice...
I want to apply to Human, Social, and Political Sciences (HSPS) at Cambridge University, but will apply to law for some of my other, if not, all my other University choices (otherwise I will find courses similar to HSPS). Does anyone have any tips on how to tailor a personal statement for both HSPS and Law? Btw.. I want to become a Human Rights Lawyer in the future :smile:

thank you

Reply 1

RebT

Hi! I applied for Law and received offers this year, I would just make your passion for the subject extremely clear, say something along the lines of ever since I did/watched/experienced this, I knew I would succeed at/be passionate about the law bc it gives people a voice etc etc etc
Also this is very common but make sure your interests stand out and set you apart from others, volunteering, sport, hobbies are all useful and will show the uni your motivation and dedication e.g practicing the same instrument for 5 years
The last thing I would say is triple check your statement and get others to read it as even a simple mistake can reflect very badly on you, especially in an English based degree. I would recommend grammarly as it really helped me when I was writing my ps
Good luck with your statement and I hoped this helped!

Reply 2

niteninja1

Don’t touch grammarly with a barge pole. There is a vulnerability that leaks everything you type and has led to plagiarism issue

Reply 3

CaitlinM1

Make sure you include work experience :smile:

Reply 4

Parliament

Cambridge allow you to submit an SAQ which can supplement a personal statement. This is intended for use when the course you're applying to at Cambridge is different to what you're applying for elsewhere, so will help you here. That said, HSPS and Law are very different - why not apply to HSPS-y courses elsewhere, or Law at Cambridge?

Reply 5

e^iπ

Original post by MichaellaO

thank you

Talk about your aspirations of becoming a human rights lawyer. I would contact the Cambridge college you wish to apply at in order to clarify this as well.

Reply 6

Doones

Original post by e^iπ

I would contact the Cambridge college you wish to apply at in order to clarify this as well.

No need. As @Parliament mentioned, the SAQ includes an additional PS for exactly this situation.

Original post by CaitlinM1

Make sure you include work experience :smile:

Work experience is not required for HSPS, or Law. It's only really expected for medics.

Original post by RebT

Cambridge, and most universities, are uninterested in extra-curriculars such as DofE, sports, playing an instrument. They should not be more than about 20% of a PS. However, super-curriculars directly related to your subject are indeed worth discussing.

Also TSR has a PS review service...

Original post by MichaellaO

Hi everyone. I need some advice...

Aside from the above, for PS advice check out the forum here:
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=1083

:smile:

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 7

e^iπ

Original post by Doonesbury

No need. As @Parliament mentioned, the SAQ includes an additional PS for exactly this situation.

That's right, I forgot the SAQ is sent to the applicants. before the interview.

Reply 8

Doones

Original post by e^iπ

That's right, I forgot the SAQ is sent to the applicants. before the interview.

It's sent straight after you apply in October, long before the interview :smile:

Reply 9

RebT

Original post by niteninja1

Don’t touch grammarly with a barge pole. There is a vulnerability that leaks everything you type and has led to plagiarism issue

That only happens if you are paying for the full version, the free version of it only corrects spelling and adds punctuation. It doesn't provide word substitutions or change structure in the free version and so anything linked to plagiarism would be impossible unless you did it yourself

Reply 10

MichaellaO

HSPS is a very unique course, allowing a lot of choice. I can choose between politics, sociology, anthropology, international relations and psychology in just the first year, and specialise in year 2 and three. I am incredibly drawn to this degree I have seen a combined social science course at Durham, but the choice is limited, as most of the options are languages. I feel that HSPS links to Law in not the most overt way, eg the law affects the social, political, as well as legal aspects of human life, and can conflict with certain cultures on an international scale.