Can I write a personal statement about Archaeology and English? Help!

I really want to study something to do with English/lit in Uni but am not entirely sure what, I've recently also become quite interested in archaeology. i was wondering if I am allowed to tailor my PS to both areas? How do I do this? Thank you!

Hi there,

The UCAS website itself has some advice and says that you can actually try to apply different course and give slightly different advice depending on your situation!

- It is easier if all five of your choices are the same because admissions tutors are keen to hear why you've chosen that course, the reasons you're enthusiastic about it, and what aspects you want to learn more about at uni.

- In most cases, you can only write one personal statement in your application

- If your 5 choices aren't all the same, It isn't unheard of for a student to apply successfully to five diverse courses with one application. So don't be put off from applying to a variety of courses if you're genuinely interested in them.

1. If there are only slight differences in the course, try to make everything in your statement as relevant as possible to all five choices. If you've included some joint or combined degree courses, make sure that each discipline or subject is addressed in some way.

2. If there are big differences between your course choices, it might be possible to blend your statement in a way that everything you write provides evidence of your skills, academic interests, and the way you think that's relevant to all of the courses you've chosen.

Or, you could take the honest and transparent approach, and openly explain why you've chosen to apply to different courses by providing reasons/ evidence for each.

It's important, to put across your commitment to your chosen subjects as earnestly as you can.

3. If just one of your choices is completely different from the others,

It often happens that admissions staff will agree to accept a separate personal statement for that specific course, sent directly to them.

But you have to make sure you contact that particular university first, to make sure that they're aware.

Make sure you check the websites of the universities you are applying to, they might have received previous enquiries about this and have published specific advice around it.

You can also try sending an email or ringing the specific universities department to ask them for advice!

Some courses won't have a problem if they can see that you've applied to a mixture of courses, but some may not make you an offer if your statement lacks focus, which is a risk when applying to multiple subjects.


I hope thats helpful

All the best

Jubilee - UoP Rep