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Calling all Oxbridge philosophers!

I am in the middle of writing my Personal Statement and I am very definitely talking the "mini debate" line, and talking about a philosophical issue in some depth in an attempt to showcase my intellectual ability... but I am stuck on the old "soul" cliché....

So, what did you lot write about in your personal statements? Did any of you tackle a cliché like "the universe", "the soul", "the existence of a god" etc?

Not going to steal ideas (will PM people my finished PS if they want proof that I didn't pinch their idea), just need an idea of the kind of subjects that Oxbridge looks kindly upon.

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Are you applying for straight philosophy at Cam, or one of the joint courses at Ox? It makes a difference, with a joint course you have to put a slant on the philosophy so it is relevant to your other subject as well. Of course doing just philosophy that doesn't matter.
Reply 2
Avatar for Adhsur
Adhsur
15
I am doing philosophy at Cambridge right now (going into second year). I will be pleased to look over your personal statement for you if you like. You can also try the personal statement subforum. Don't quite know what you're asking though. I mentioned topics I was interested in, yes, but didn't treat my statement by any means as a philosophy essay.
Reply 3
Avatar for kizer
kizer
15
No, I didn't go into a philosophical question in the PS, and I don't think they would expect you to! Then again mine was for PPE, which is only 1/3 philosophy.
the only vaguely philosophical thing i wrote was about pigeons... i did link pretty much everything else to the skills required for philosophy though. JUst make it a personel statement - write what you thnk and what you want to write - don;t just do what other people tell you is a good idea, or 'the format' and you should be fine
Straight Philosophy.
Thanks guys! I was advised that in order to stand out, I had to explore an issue as opposed to talking about myself. Afterall, "Hi, I'm Elanin and I want to study philosophy because..." is pretty mundane, however dressed up and well written it is.

It seems that every route I take is "to be avoided".... "don't talk about the soul, you'll seem like a bible-basher/it's so last century/they might think you are too emotional" etc etc. I really don't want to stick to the tried and tested "talk about yourself, what books you have read and your A Level choices" formula. I can't muster any intellectual enthusiasm for it, and I have no confidence that I can write well about something that bores me (which, in the end, talking about myself does). My current statement focuses on how the existence of a soul that governs self-awareness, understanding, intuition etc would stand in the way of true AI, and how what the potential for a complex enough computer brain to gain a soul would be.

Any suggestions?

Adhusr - I will send you a copy once I have finished it :smile: would love some advice!
Reply 7
Avatar for Laus
Laus
13
Hey! I'm also applying for straight philo at cam and I'm finding it difficult to know what to write. Should I take the pigeon root or opt for another animal? A monkey perhaps :smile:
Well, I was told to avoid horses. Apparently that makes me seem like a "silly emotional little girl".
I really, really think you need to stop listen to what all these (i'm sure, well meaning) people keep telling you and just write your own thing - the reason soooo many personal statements are pretty much the same, and therefore unorigional, is because everyone listens to what people who 'know better' tell them to do. I'm of the opinion that if you sit down and work out exactly what all the reasons are that you want to study philosophy and why it's o interesting to you, then just write it in a coherent page of writing, if you want it enough your enthusiasm will shine through the page anyway. Obviously it's probably prudent to pointout how what you do relates to your subject, esp if there are any particularly good examples of commitment (a philosophy/debating soc or something... dunno), but other than that, you have free reign - it's your statement!
If while you're writing it and you have any particularly crazy ideas, write them down, and don't dismiss them just explore them and see what people think.

In the end, thousands and thousands of people write these every single year, and while some definitely stand out more than others - better written, interesting idea/format etc, the likely hood that you're gonna come up with a really original idea compared to all the others the admissions tutors have read, is pretty darned unlikely, so i'd go for enthusiam every time.
I just wrote about why I wanted to study Philosophy, and then listed some books I had read and what I liked about them (e.g. 'This book was a good introduction to ancient philosophy', 'this book dealt with this issue well', etc. Other than that, I just wrote about my extracurricular activities. The personal statement isn't as important as the interview- if anything, it just gives the interviewers a few ideas as to what to ask you about. Example- 'I see you've read this book...what do you think of this bit?' They aren't expecting you to talk about a philosophical issue at length: that's what the interview is for.
Reply 11
Avatar for johnrambo
johnrambo
2
If Oxbridge is your main priority then you don't necessarily need to outline your entire point of view in the personal statement. If you write something slightly interesting/controversial then the chances are they will pick up on it in the interview and ask you to justify/explain it. There's no need to write a thesis. Of course, its equally likely that they don't mention your personal statement at all; most probably because they don't set much store by something you have spent the best part of six months pouring over and asking the advice of every vaguely qualified individual you know.

My honest advice (pretty much what i did) would be to explain your interest in philosophy, explain how any extra curriculars related to philosophy and generally say how great you are as a student and why. I don't think much more specific advice than that would help you. Just try to be slightly original- as much for the five other choices as anything- and really think about what you write and why you wrote it. If you think through exactly why you write what you write the chances are you will end up with something half decent, and, with any luck, slightly original.
Reply 12
Avatar for coldfish
coldfish
12
Schmokie Dragon
I am in the middle of writing my Personal Statement and I am very definitely talking the "mini debate" line, and talking about a philosophical issue in some depth in an attempt to showcase my intellectual ability...


I don't mean to stamp all over you individuality, but I think that this is a really really bad idea. You can't go into a philosophical issue in any depth in a personal statement, and it seems like a massive massive risk to take without a good reason. If you really were very very good, it might work. However, you're more likely to just make yourself look more than a little bit foolish. It's called a personal statement because it's about you, so make it about you.

You can make a personal statement personal without making it completely different to everybody else's. Talk about which issues you find interesting or have studied etc, by all means, but please don't try to stick a mini-thesis into your PS.

Just my opinion.
Exactly. I don't understand how anyone can go into enough detail for something like that, considering the word limits.

If you really want to be individual, maybe mention a book that not many people will have read before applying (most people will be familiar with Descartes, Plato etc, so go for someone a bit different). Only do so if you have a genuine interest though, otherwise that's just a bit pretensious.
Well, I have read Machiavelli and Turing and I also have "Zero - The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" and "The Emperor's New Mind" in my pre-interview reading list. I have never studied Philosophy before so am at a bit of a loss as to what is particularly contraversial or interesting.
Schmokie Dragon
Well, I have read Machiavelli and Turing and I also have "Zero - The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" and "The Emperor's New Mind" in my pre-interview reading list. I have never studied Philosophy before so am at a bit of a loss as to what is particularly contraversial or interesting.


I hadn't studied it, so I read generally the popular philosophers (Plato, Descartes, Russell, etc). But I didn't try to make mine too individual, I just hoped to come across as enthusiastic. They're not expecting you to be outstanding at this stage- you've hardly studied the subject.
I have also read Plato, Russell and Descartes... and I have the usuals such as Hume, Mills, Neitzche and Aristotle, plus a few others.
Schmokie Dragon
I have also read Plato, Russell and Descartes... and I have the usuals such as Hume, Mills, Neitzche and Aristotle, plus a few others.


Well if I were you I'd mention about 3 of those briefly and say what I liked about them. But as others have said, it's a subjective thing, so do what feels right.
Reply 18
Avatar for johnrambo
johnrambo
2
Schmokie Dragon
Well, I have read Machiavelli and Turing and I also have "Zero - The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" and "The Emperor's New Mind" in my pre-interview reading list. I have never studied Philosophy before so am at a bit of a loss as to what is particularly contraversial or interesting.


It sounds to me like you have a fairly solid angle working there. I'd stick with the Turing, Zero and Penrose side of things if I were you. There's no need to go for breadth when you have a fair bit of depth on the more scientific side. Of course, if you havent read them yet, that is always a bit of a risk, but if you genuinely feel you can read, understand and think critically about those three books then that would enable you to stand out to an adequate degree. Having said that, you are applying philosophy, so they won't necessarily be impressed if you can outline the development of quantum mechanics and say exactly why it contradicts general relativity. Concentrate on the philosophical issues: it may be better to stick with something you really understand and show what you can do with it than be at the limit of your understanding, struggling to understand even your own position.

It's tempting to try and write the most mindblowingly amazing PS they have ever read, but you are more likely to come across like an idiot that way. A personal statement won't get you in, nor will it prevent you from getting in; but, if I were you, I'd stick with a fairly conservative formula and stand out with the content.
Reply 19
Avatar for Coth
Coth
I think most philosophy students' experience of their first tute/supervision is having the essay they've slaved over for all of their first week at uni be systematicaly ripped to shreds for sloppy thinking by the tutor, or at least I've heard alot of stories to that effect. I think the risk of disscussing a point of philosophy and doing it badly should outway the chance to stand out.

Bog standard PSs work, that's how 95% of people get their places, I wouldn't be too quick to depart radicaly from it. You have the interview in which to shine.

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