Personal Statement for Chemistry (or fields related to chem) - Where do I even start?

I have started writing a personal statement (PS) but I'm stuck and don't know where to start. I have spent the summer working on things that I think (?) will be of use to my PS but I don't know how to put it all together.
For reference this is what I did:
- Internship for a university's science department.
- Read books on the areas of chem I'm interested in (cosmetic, organic)
- Listened to podcasts about clean energy?? I only started it because the internship I did was working with algae in experiments as a possible way to solve waste and provide energy which lead me into researching it bc I found it interesting.
- I did a science fair project about meat rotting back in my first year of highschool but not even sure if that can be used or is of relevance?
- I'm really into skincare formulations so I watched a lot of YT videos on the chemistry behind skincare.
- Did basic MOOCS.

Any tips would be 100% appreciated ))))!!!!

I started liking chemistry because of skincare. This interest started when I was in primary school and continued through high school, especially during the pandemic. I liked it so much that I thought about becoming a dermatologist. However, I found out that what I really liked was understanding how different ingredients work together. For example, I was really interested in how some ingredients in sunscreen can stop or soak up sunlight.

Think about how you might turn this into an introduction (without posting it anywhere on TSR as plagiarism checkers will detect it).

Oh, okay I didn't know that could happen! I think I will just relate it to my early interest in organic and physical chemistry which was strengthened by my AS curriculum. I'll try looking for a book that speaks more about the science behind skincare for more clarity when writing.

You don’t necessarily have to find a book on it.

You already have a lot of supercurriculars you can write about, so it’s worth ensuring you don’t have too many (otherwise you won’t be able to write in enough detail how each has benefited you given how you have limited space in your PS - only 4000 characters including spaces or 47 lines iirc).

And yes, that’s an excellent idea as it keeps it both personal and relevant.

I started liking chemistry because of skincare. This interest started when I was in primary school and continued through high school, especially during the pandemic. I liked it so much that I thought about becoming a dermatologist. However, I found out that what I really liked was understanding how different ingredients work together. For example, I was really interested in how some ingredients in sunscreen can stop or soak up sunlight.

By the way, you shouldn't post anything online that you will be including in your PS, as it will get cached by google and flag on UCAS's plagiarism checkers. You can obviously discuss in broad terms what you might want to include but avoid writing specific detailed structures or similar. This will also ensure no one else will steal your PS structure and use it...

Thanks for the tip! I actually had no idea and thank god I know now...

Thank you so much for the advice! I'm just worried it will sound cheesy if I go "Since primary school..." as I see its frowned upon to say you've been passionate "as a young child".

Unfortunately every year we get some people who post their full PS on TSR and then they have to rewrite the whole thing! So it is good to be aware of.

A lot of people start with something to that effect and are fine.

I started my personal statement for chemistry from the last admissions cycle with “I am drawn to studying chemistry at university as …” and ended up with an offer from Oxford (though that was more to do with the interviews than my personal statement’s structure or contents).

Wow that's great and congrats on the offer. I haven't even thought about which unis to properly apply to, and I probably won't until I get my AS results back. Interviews sound too scary to me though.

Oh my god that's unfortunate. I gauge they wanted some opinions on their own personal statement. TSR does offer help in looking at one's PS no?

Interviews for chemistry are only ever conducted at very competitive unis, i.e Oxford and Imperial. Most unis either offer/reject you without interview.

That's good to know. If I achieve the necessary grades, I'll consider applying to those competitive universities, though I won't set my hopes too high. Do they interview all applicants?

All the ones they consider, yes.

They can reject some pre-interview, but as far as I know, those who are rejected pre interview for chemistry at Oxford and Imperial are mostly those whose predicted grades don’t meet the entry requirements.

I think I will stick to applying to safer schools... better safe than sorry!