Personal statement minor help (NatSci)

Greetings,

I'm applying to NatSci for the 2021 entry. Other than cambridge I'm applying to Imperial, UCL, Edinburgh and a "safety" uni (probably birmingham).

The thing is, in my other unis I'm specifically applying to CHEMISTRY WITH YEAR ABROAD courses. I was wondering what/how should I write my statement

How do you people shape your PS for both natsci and chem? And if I mention/not mention my intention of travelling abroad (the reason I'm going for abroad program), how is it going to affect?

Thanks. (I posted something about natsci vs chem in the UCL forum though. Not sure which to apply)

Reply 1

Paralove

Focus on Chemistry. Cambridge are used to this sort of thing.

I'd keep the abroad stuff more general if any other choices don't have it as a year abroad; you could imply either year abroad or vacation work.

Don't forget you have the additional personal statement in the SAQ for Cambridge so you can talk specifically about the Cambridge course there.

Reply 2

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

I don't think you need to write about the year abroad aspect in your personal statement necessarily; often you can move onto (or off from) the year abroad version of the main course once you are already at the uni, depending on individual circumstances anyway, so it seems a bit pointless to expect students to write about somewhere they might be studying at some point in the future (particularly if they won't yet know even necessarily which country they may be studying abroad).

As for natsci vs chemistry (or anything else) it's sufficient to write about just "the other thing". For Cambridge specifically you need to fill out the SAQ which has an optional additional statement section if you wish to write about the natural sciences course specifically, just for them. As above they are used to and expect many (if not most) natsci applicants to also be applying to single subject science courses elsewhere, and have this additional statement section to accommodate students who wish to discuss broader interests met by the natsci format that may not be otherwise feasible to write about in the personal statement.

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 3

vyper47

Original post by theJoyfulGeek

I'm also applying to NatSci at Cambridge for 2021! However, I'm also applying for other NatSci courses and Biomedical Engineering, so I have a slightly different problem...

For your year abroad, you could talk about why you love languages in the extracurriculars section? I don't know though - I'm in the same position as you!

Nice! I absolutely love the tripos system. I would love to take one of the "exotic" courses like earth/materials sciences there. More the merrier!

Reply 4

vyper47

Original post by theJoyfulGeek

I'd love to do Maths B, Physics, Chemistry, and Cell Biology - what about you? :biggrin:

Maths (the usual), Chemistry, Physics and an exotic (earth/materials - both are awesome!) :biggrin:

I might even drop physics and do two exotics, hehe

Reply 5

vyper47

Original post by artful_lounger

Thanks!

Oh about that transfer from or to the usual course thing - do you think the abroad versions of the courses are more/less selective than the usual? Like, if I apply to the abroad version rather than the usual, does it hurt/elevate my chances at all?

Reply 6

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by vyper47

I really doubt; unless places on the exchange programme are strictly limited (which to be fair may be the case as the ERASMUS+ scheme collapses amid Brexit), they probably will consider all applications centrally, and even if the places are limited it's very likely if for any reason they are unable to offer you a place on the "with year abroad" course but you meet the requirements otherwise that they would offer you a place on the main programme. If you want to be considered for the year abroad though, apply to that course to make sure!