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Recent politics and international relations personal statement?

Hi!

So I am applying for this course and am an early applicant (15 October is the UCAS deadline). And I am looking at Cambridge and LSE, which are obviously highly competitive so I want to look at some successful personal statements for this course (because I know LSE don’t interview) but I haven’t found many recent ones and most on studential and TSR are like from the early 2000s which isn’t helpful because it was way less competitive then than it is now!

I would appreciate any advice on where I can find any recent, successful personal statements to highly selective universities for politics and international relations.

Thank you!

EDIT: I don’t take A Level Politics so my knowledge has only come from wider reading! I take History, English Literature and French
(edited 1 year ago)
Start with - "I realised I wanted to study Politics and IR at University when......"
ie. when you read something, covered a particular topic in A levels, realised something important about a particular incident/event in the news etc etc.
This is a much more atttention-grabbing start than the usual 'I'm interested in this subject because..' as it gives you a 'straight in' start to a particular example of your interests in this subject area.

Do some extra reading etc so that you have topics that you can discuss in detail - you need two or three short chunky paragraphs that are very academic in focus. Finish with a vert=y short summary of 'what else I do apart from A levels' and why/what you get out of doing it. Job done.

How to Write a Personal Statement - the basics - https://www.bath.ac.uk/guides/writing-a-personal-statement-for-an-undergraduate-course/
Useful extra-reading list from Cambridge - good for all Unis - https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/sites/www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/files/publications/super-curricular_suggestions.pdf
Reading list from Sheffield - good for relevant documentaries - https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/politics/undergraduate/courses/reading-list
Useful podcasts (practice taking notes) - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/category/factual-politics
How to incorporate all of this into your PS - https://www.worc.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/files/page/supercurricular_guide_0.pdf
Original post by McGinger
Start with - "I realised I wanted to study Politics and IR at University when......"
ie. when you read something, covered a particular topic in A levels, realised something important about a particular incident/event in the news etc etc.
This is a much more atttention-grabbing start than the usual 'I'm interested in this subject because..' as it gives you a 'straight in' start to a particular example of your interests in this subject area.

Do some extra reading etc so that you have topics that you can discuss in detail - you need two or three short chunky paragraphs that are very academic in focus. Finish with a vert=y short summary of 'what else I do apart from A levels' and why/what you get out of doing it. Job done.

How to Write a Personal Statement - the basics - https://www.bath.ac.uk/guides/writing-a-personal-statement-for-an-undergraduate-course/
Useful extra-reading list from Cambridge - good for all Unis - https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/sites/www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/files/publications/super-curricular_suggestions.pdf
Reading list from Sheffield - good for relevant documentaries - https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/politics/undergraduate/courses/reading-list
Useful podcasts (practice taking notes) - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/category/factual-politics
How to incorporate all of this into your PS - https://www.worc.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/files/page/supercurricular_guide_0.pdf


That’s really helpful, thank you!
Original post by sciencegcsesss
Hi!

So I am applying for this course and am an early applicant (15 October is the UCAS deadline). And I am looking at Cambridge and LSE, which are obviously highly competitive so I want to look at some successful personal statements for this course (because I know LSE don’t interview) but I haven’t found many recent ones and most on studential and TSR are like from the early 2000s which isn’t helpful because it was way less competitive then than it is now!

I would appreciate any advice on where I can find any recent, successful personal statements to highly selective universities for politics and international relations.

Thank you!

EDIT: I don’t take A Level Politics so my knowledge has only come from wider reading! I take History, English Literature and French

i would be happy to PM you my personal statement - it is for history as well as politics and IR, so not all of it will be applicable, but it may give you a better idea of structure and what to potentially include! i ended up getting offers from all five places i applied to (oxford, LSE, UCL, york, and edinburgh). lmk if you'd be interested. supercurriculars are the key to success when applying to the top unis so definitely make sure you've done some reading and have a few areas of study that are of particular interest to you :smile:

edit - i should have mentioned that my PS is definitely recent haha i applied last october!
(edited 1 year ago)
Please do not share your own PS with anyone else - you have no idea where it might end up.
Original post by McGinger
Please do not share your own PS with anyone else - you have no idea where it might end up.

there's hundreds if not thousands already on TSR. plus i found it very helpful to look at past personal statements from people i knew who had thankfully done similar-ish courses - if op doesn't have anyone they can ask then it'd be a shame
Original post by franklyfruity
i would be happy to PM you my personal statement - it is for history as well as politics and IR, so not all of it will be applicable, but it may give you a better idea of structure and what to potentially include! i ended up getting offers from all five places i applied to (oxford, LSE, UCL, york, and edinburgh). lmk if you'd be interested. supercurriculars are the key to success when applying to the top unis so definitely make sure you've done some reading and have a few areas of study that are of particular interest to you :smile:

edit - i should have mentioned that my PS is definitely recent haha i applied last october!


That’d be great, thank you so much :smile: Wow, congratulations on your offers!
Original post by franklyfruity
i would be happy to PM you my personal statement - it is for history as well as politics and IR, so not all of it will be applicable, but it may give you a better idea of structure and what to potentially include! i ended up getting offers from all five places i applied to (oxford, LSE, UCL, york, and edinburgh). lmk if you'd be interested. supercurriculars are the key to success when applying to the top unis so definitely make sure you've done some reading and have a few areas of study that are of particular interest to you :smile:

edit - i should have mentioned that my PS is definitely recent haha i applied last october!


Hi! :smile: Just to let you know, if you have tried to PM me your personal statement I haven’t received it.
(edited 1 year ago)
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Original post by franklyfruity
i would be happy to PM you my personal statement - it is for history as well as politics and IR, so not all of it will be applicable, but it may give you a better idea of structure and what to potentially include! i ended up getting offers from all five places i applied to (oxford, LSE, UCL, york, and edinburgh). lmk if you'd be interested. supercurriculars are the key to success when applying to the top unis so definitely make sure you've done some reading and have a few areas of study that are of particular interest to you :smile:

edit - i should have mentioned that my PS is definitely recent haha i applied last october!


Hey. I'm applying to Lse this year and was having some difficulty writing my personal statement. Could you please send me yours?
Hey, Im applying for IR too and I was wondering if I could see your personal statement, because it would be really helpful to see an example. Also it would be great to hear how your degree is going now after your first year - any advice would be much appreciated! :smile:

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