university personal statement

emily2017hi

so im writing a personal statement for my law course. i study a level biology and a level psychology and I have no idea what to write about them in my personal statement.

Reply 1

Sinnoh

Original post by emily2017hi

so im writing a personal statement for my law course. i study a level biology and a level psychology and I have no idea what to write about them in my personal statement.

Then don't. The point of the personal statement is to show why you want to study the course, you should definitely be able to do that without making tenuous links to unrelated A-level subjects

Reply 2

StrawberryDreams

Original post by emily2017hi

so im writing a personal statement for my law course. i study a level biology and a level psychology and I have no idea what to write about them in my personal statement.

Hey! It can feel difficult sometimes to work out what is useful to add in when it comes to A-levels, so I would recommend the following:

- Link back elements you have enjoyed about your psych and bio courses that relate to law. For example, maybe you did a module on using forensic evidence during a case for biology or you took a module on speaking with psychiatrists to understand a defendants situation better for psychology, these relate to law.
- Talk about some elements of the course that you have taken the initiative to do extra research on that relate to law. For example, reading certain studies or research papers from Psychology surrounding courtroom behavior
- Talk about skills you have gained from these courses that will help you in your law course, like proper data analysis, finding supporting evidence to lead onto the next stage of a process, following protocols and procedures etc.

I hope this is helpful :smile:

Please don't worry - personal statements are hard!

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 3

emily2017hi

Original post by StrawberryDreams

Please don't worry - personal statements are hard!

okk this definitely would help me!! Thank you so much

Reply 4

emily2017hi

Original post by Sinnoh

Then don't. The point of the personal statement is to show why you want to study the course, you should definitely be able to do that without making tenuous links to unrelated A-level subjects

my teachers are encouraging us to write about all of our a levels, this is why I asked. thank you.

Reply 5

StrawberryDreams

Original post by emily2017hi

okk this definitely would help me!! Thank you so much

You're welcome :biggrin:

Good luck on your application!

Reply 6

emily2017hi

im applying to a law course, i need to talk about a level biology on my personal statement. and I have no idea what to write

Reply 7

usha_hehe

do you really need to? I don't really know what I would write either about biology for a law degree, I thought that you would rather need to talk about law and stuff, though I'm not really an expert, I applied to med haha

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 8

emily2017hi

Original post by usha_hehe

i was thinking the same, but my teachers are telling us to mention all our a levels so I'm a tiny bit confused lol. maybe I can mention that biology has helped me to analyse data better?? lol, it sounds so pointless

Reply 9

Muttley79

Original post by emily2017hi

You should not be talking about your A levels - that is what your reference is for - talk about why you want to do the degree. There are many pointers on the PS section on TSR.

Reply 10

emily2017hi

Original post by Muttley79

You should not be talking about your A levels - that is what your reference is for - talk about why you want to do the degree. There are many pointers on the PS section on TSR.

ive talked about why i want to do my law degree, thank you. my teachers are encouraging us to write at least one sentence about each of out a levels and how it helps us understand out course better. but as you could tell, linking Law and Biology is not easy

Reply 11

usha_hehe

Original post by emily2017hi

my teachers are encouraging us to write about all of our a levels, this is why I asked. thank you.

just don't do it, it's wasting space on your ps. they can't actually do anything about it if you don't, it's yours at the end of the day

Reply 12

Muttley79

Original post by emily2017hi

Don't do it - it's YOUR PS ....read the guidance on here.

Reply 13

Clearing and Applications Advisor

Original post by emily2017hi

Because it’s not linked. Trying to relate courses like this is stupid. Admissions staff know which subjects are helpful for the degree applied for - they don’t need to read 20 identical explanations of the curriculum in a PS. That’s not personal or unique to you.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.tes.com/news/teachers-and-academics-disagree-over-what-makes-good-ucas-personal-statement%3famp

Reply 14

N1GHTSH4D3

Original post by emily2017hi

my teachers are encouraging us to write about all of our a levels, this is why I asked. thank you.

I was advised the same when also applying for law so I tried to link each A level subject to law even if it was a very niche area of the subject that concerned law even if it was just a sentence or so.

Reply 15

N1GHTSH4D3

Original post by usha_hehe

You could always link biology A level to issues of medical negligence in law, or forensics, or even reading medical journals, etc. It's a stretch but it's a good starting point to build on your own research and law is the sort of subject that encompasses so many aspects of life and other disciplines.

Reply 16

Admit-One

Universities Forum Helper

I've no idea why schools are still giving out this advice. If you are having to stretch to link it back to the course that you are applying for then it isn't relevant.

These sentences just get skimmed over by admissions staff who have to read 40, 50, 60 statements a day.

Reply 17

surreal12

The point about personal statements is that the university wants to know about you, you could write why you would like to change from Biology to law and how your course can help you with a law degree, for example, an experement you did that didn't turn out to be how you expected but you didn't give up or it changed your prospective on the matter, is one way of explaining that you're determined, even when something doesn't go as expected, so there are ways around it.

it's also not just about your qualifications, but your intrests, hobbies, expereinces ect ect....

It is a good idea to do some reasearch, such as read a book or article or (covid permitting) visit a court (you can find details of your local court here:https://www.gov.uk/find-court-tribunal), as a way of showing law is something you're really intrested in

I would also second what N1GHTSH4D3 said.

The bottom line is, you know you, this is your chance to explain to the university what is unique about you (I'd imagine there aren't many students who have studied A level Biology who are applying for law, use that to your advantage, if you can) and don't write about anything that you don't want to be asked about in the interview.