The Student Room Group

What can you use in your personal statement?

I'm currently in Year 12 studying psychology, philosophy and politics. I want to apply to study law at university, and I have some questions about what I can include on my personal statement.

Firstly, I do have work experience, but not in law. My work experience is in general surgery in a hospital (and will be doing optometry work experience in the Easter), but I know that I can tailor this experience to law in my personal statement as I've already done it on a scholarship application and my teachers approved. I've also attended a networking careers day at a top law firm, so this is something I'll be mentioning too.

Secondly, I understand the general structure that most successful personal statements follow, and I have planned out elements of it, but the ones I have questions around are academics and wider knowledge.

For academics, all my subjects can link to law very easily and I have a few ideas or case studies that I can use to demonstrate that. I'm just wondering, should I mention all my subjects or would this be too much? I know there's a 4000 character limit so I'd like to know if it's better to focus on one or two more in depth or just briefly mention every one of them. I'm also thinking of doing an EPQ on either counter-terrorism in the UK or the rehabilitation of s*x offenders, so would that be better to mention instead of one of my subjects, or should I just put in all of it?

In regards to wider knowledge, I know most people say you should read a book - especially if the degree your applying to has a lot of reading in it. I do have a book about the ethics of organ transplantations that I can read and link to philosophy and law, but I don't know if I want to have this much focus on healthcare law, since my work experience is already going to cover this. I do like listening to podcasts (no, not just true crime), so I wanted to know, is this would be something I could include instead? I think I might benefit from this more, since I want to practice in commercial law within either a real estate or competition law practice group and I'll be able to demonstrate my more niche interests through podcasts. I'm really into agriculture regulation (within competition law) and real estate development, so I can definitely find some podcasts that talk about these topics, but I'm not so sure about books. I'm trying to keep my knowledge up to date as well, so as a politics student, I enjoy watching debates in different Houses about these topics.

If there's anyone who has done a personal statement (law or non-law) and can answer some of my questions I'd be extremely grateful! As well as this, I would love to know what course you applied for and what universities gave you offers, as I'm mainly targeting Russell Group universities.
You don't need to relate the subjects you're taking currently to your proposed degree programme at all. Frankly I would consider that a waste of space in your PS character limit. The admissions tutors already know if they are or are not relevant in terms of subject matter or transferable skills and don't need you to repeat that. You can and should just write about your specific interest in pursuing that degree (and if it relates to a professional field, that vocation as well). This may follow from things you have studied in 6th form but need not. You should do wider reading, and you should also try and read more than just one thing...if for no other reason than to actually gauge your own interest in the field. There's no reason you can't focus on one particular subdiscipline of the field in your PS if that's what you've read about. You don't need work experience for law. Also the work experience you've done isn't really relevant either.

An EPQ doesn't really add value for admissions purposes. Do it if you have a nice project that you'd still do much the same work on reading around and exploring and it fits the EPQ mark scheme otherwise. Don't do it if you think it's just something to add to your UCAS application and personal statement to get "brownie points" as that's not how it works and the time would be better spent just doing wider reading in that case.

For me, the concern here is that you've alluded to all these things you're going to write about but none of them seem to have much of anything to do with demonstrating why you are interested in that subject area and what you have done to engage with it. Writing potted summaries of your A-levels with vague allusions to legal implications they may bring up, doing unrelated work experience and vaguely linking it to the subject at hand, having only read one thing in relation to it (beyond your curriculum or otherwise apparently?)...these do not paint a picture of someone interested in law to me, but someone trying to justify applying to it because you wish to do the course for other reasons (which I suspect have a lot to do with perceived prestige and salaries associated with the legal profession).

I would suggest going back to the drawing board and starting with the fundamental question of why do you want to do a law degree. Bearing in mind that a) you can become a lawyer with any degree and b) the study of law and the practice of law are different things. There's plenty of time to do a lot of reading around the area over the summer and to actually understand what it means to study law, and also what the practice of it is really like. As well as to actually explore the field as an area of academic inquiry in itself.
(edited 1 month ago)
Reply 2
Original post by artful_lounger
You don't need to relate the subjects you're taking currently to your proposed degree programme at all. Frankly I would consider that a waste of space in your PS character limit. The admissions tutors already know if they are or are not relevant in terms of subject matter or transferable skills and don't need you to repeat that. You can and should just write about your specific interest in pursuing that degree (and if it relates to a professional field, that vocation as well). This may follow from things you have studied in 6th form but need not. You should do wider reading, and you should also try and read more than just one thing...if for no other reason than to actually gauge your own interest in the field. There's no reason you can't focus on one particular subdiscipline of the field in your PS if that's what you've read about. You don't need work experience for law. Also the work experience you've done isn't really relevant either.
An EPQ doesn't really add value for admissions purposes. Do it if you have a nice project that you'd still do much the same work on reading around and exploring and it fits the EPQ mark scheme otherwise. Don't do it if you think it's just something to add to your UCAS application and personal statement to get "brownie points" as that's not how it works and the time would be better spent just doing wider reading in that case.
For me, the concern here is that you've alluded to all these things you're going to write about but none of them seem to have much of anything to do with demonstrating why you are interested in that subject area and what you have done to engage with it. Writing potted summaries of your A-levels with vague allusions to legal implications they may bring up, doing unrelated work experience and vaguely linking it to the subject at hand, having only read one thing in relation to it (beyond your curriculum or otherwise apparently?)...these do not paint a picture of someone interested in law to me, but someone trying to justify applying to it because you wish to do the course for other reasons (which I suspect have a lot to do with perceived prestige and salaries associated with the legal profession).
I would suggest going back to the drawing board and starting with the fundamental question of why do you want to do a law degree. Bearing in mind that a) you can become a lawyer with any degree and b) the study of law and the practice of law are different things. There's plenty of time to do a lot of reading around the area over the summer and to actually understand what it means to study law, and also what the practice of it is really like. As well as to actually explore the field as an area of academic inquiry in itself.

Firstly, my interest in law has nothing to do with salaries or prestige, and I dislike that you've insinuated that. While I understand you're trying to help, I think you could have worded some of this better. Yes, I'm interested in commercial law, but that's not because I'm money hungry - it is possible to have a genuine interest in the commercial sector. I only discovered that after visiting a commercial firm.

I didn't talk too much about my work experience and how it relates to law because I don't want anything I say to be plagiarised, in case I want to use it. I'm not trying to mention all these things for "brownie points", I just wanted to show that I am actively engaging in legal affairs, since I don't study A level law. The reason I did work experience in a healthcare setting was to see the law working in practice. I am interested in healthcare regulation, so for me to gain knowledge from the professionals who have to follow these rules helped me understand the depth of specific policies (e.g. the extent of duty of care in regards to infection control and factors that could be used in defence against clinical negligence claims). I wanted to do my EPQ for myself. Quite frankly, I don't care about the grade, I just feel that this is a good opportunity for me to learn how to research and engage people while writing about lengthy topics. In regards to my A levels, the main points I were going to mention were a case study I did in psychology which about a specific person's international trial. This was a major trial as this person committed several crimes against humanity, that I do not wish to mention. I am very aware that I can become a lawyer without a law degree, but I have my reasons for wanting to study law, that are quite personal, so again, I do not wish to share them. I know what it means to study law, so no, I'm not someone who has just had this thought on a whim.

The main thing I wanted to know about was whether I should focus on only one or two subjects (including my EPQ) to talk about in my PS and whether I can use podcasts. Obviously, I will read more books, I just currently don't have access or the resources to find ones in either, the areas that I'm interested in or law in general.
Original post by bibachu
Firstly, my interest in law has nothing to do with salaries or prestige, and I dislike that you've insinuated that. While I understand you're trying to help, I think you could have worded some of this better. Yes, I'm interested in commercial law, but that's not because I'm money hungry - it is possible to have a genuine interest in the commercial sector. I only discovered that after visiting a commercial firm.

I didn't talk too much about my work experience and how it relates to law because I don't want anything I say to be plagiarised, in case I want to use it. I'm not trying to mention all these things for "brownie points", I just wanted to show that I am actively engaging in legal affairs, since I don't study A level law. The reason I did work experience in a healthcare setting was to see the law working in practice. I am interested in healthcare regulation, so for me to gain knowledge from the professionals who have to follow these rules helped me understand the depth of specific policies (e.g. the extent of duty of care in regards to infection control and factors that could be used in defence against clinical negligence claims). I wanted to do my EPQ for myself. Quite frankly, I don't care about the grade, I just feel that this is a good opportunity for me to learn how to research and engage people while writing about lengthy topics. In regards to my A levels, the main points I were going to mention were a case study I did in psychology which about a specific person's international trial. This was a major trial as this person committed several crimes against humanity, that I do not wish to mention. I am very aware that I can become a lawyer without a law degree, but I have my reasons for wanting to study law, that are quite personal, so again, I do not wish to share them. I know what it means to study law, so no, I'm not someone who has just had this thought on a whim.

The main thing I wanted to know about was whether I should focus on only one or two subjects (including my EPQ) to talk about in my PS and whether I can use podcasts. Obviously, I will read more books, I just currently don't have access or the resources to find ones in either, the areas that I'm interested in or law in general.

You've missed my point which is I don't actually think those things on the whole really do indicate an engagement in "legal affairs". It still feels like you are trying to make other things you have done (A-levels, work experience, etc) fit the law context rather than just engaging in legal matters directly.

You don't need to have studied A-level Law to do a law degree and indeed the vast majority of students won't have. However they will have read around the subject a fair bit and have engaged with it in other ways. If the EPQ is on something you intended to explore otherwise and you think that thing fits into the EPQ mark scheme then it's perfectly reasonable to pursue that, however if it does not really fit into the structure of the EPQ you would be fine just exploring that on your own. If the "relationship" with your A-level subjects is just a single case study then you don't need to go into any great depth about the subject in question, you can simply note "we discussed X topic in my A-level Y class and this led me to explore Z legal topic..." then follow on with your analytical writing about that topic.

As for "I have reasons for wanting to study law but they are personal" that is probably what you do want to be writing about. Why you specifically want to study that specific subject - then relate that to what you've done to explore the subject area and prepare to study it. Also plenty of people discuss podcasts or tedtalks they attended or MOOCs they do in their PS. It's not an academic essay so you don't need to be formally citing things and avoiding certain sources, although you do need to critically evaluate the material (both for your own sake and to demonstrate that ability to the people reading your PS).

Regarding the healthcare work experience the thing I would caution is to avoid conflating clinical governance with legal regulatory issues. While obviously regulatory requirements will form the backbone of the clinical governance of a healthcare organisation, there will be policies they have which aren't specifically based on legal regulatory matters and will be based on other factors e.g. clinical factors or simply internal corporate policy. Also bear in mind it's a law degree and not a philosophy degree, so while practical ethics are of some relevance I would probably think you should ground that in legal case studies/black letter law issues and avoid focusing on general philosophical issues in ethics.

In any event if you don't like how I've worded things you have no obligation to read it. The things I've written are as much for the other students who will read this in future invariably as they are for you specifically.
Original post by bibachu
I'm currently in Year 12 studying psychology, philosophy and politics. I want to apply to study law at university, and I have some questions about what I can include on my personal statement.
Firstly, I do have work experience, but not in law. My work experience is in general surgery in a hospital (and will be doing optometry work experience in the Easter), but I know that I can tailor this experience to law in my personal statement as I've already done it on a scholarship application and my teachers approved. I've also attended a networking careers day at a top law firm, so this is something I'll be mentioning too.
Secondly, I understand the general structure that most successful personal statements follow, and I have planned out elements of it, but the ones I have questions around are academics and wider knowledge.
For academics, all my subjects can link to law very easily and I have a few ideas or case studies that I can use to demonstrate that. I'm just wondering, should I mention all my subjects or would this be too much? I know there's a 4000 character limit so I'd like to know if it's better to focus on one or two more in depth or just briefly mention every one of them. I'm also thinking of doing an EPQ on either counter-terrorism in the UK or the rehabilitation of s*x offenders, so would that be better to mention instead of one of my subjects, or should I just put in all of it?
In regards to wider knowledge, I know most people say you should read a book - especially if the degree your applying to has a lot of reading in it. I do have a book about the ethics of organ transplantations that I can read and link to philosophy and law, but I don't know if I want to have this much focus on healthcare law, since my work experience is already going to cover this. I do like listening to podcasts (no, not just true crime), so I wanted to know, is this would be something I could include instead? I think I might benefit from this more, since I want to practice in commercial law within either a real estate or competition law practice group and I'll be able to demonstrate my more niche interests through podcasts. I'm really into agriculture regulation (within competition law) and real estate development, so I can definitely find some podcasts that talk about these topics, but I'm not so sure about books. I'm trying to keep my knowledge up to date as well, so as a politics student, I enjoy watching debates in different Houses about these topics.
If there's anyone who has done a personal statement (law or non-law) and can answer some of my questions I'd be extremely grateful! As well as this, I would love to know what course you applied for and what universities gave you offers, as I'm mainly targeting Russell Group universities.

Hi @bibachu
Firstly, if you can tie your work experience back to why you want to study law, then maybe include it eg. what did you experience during this work experience and what's a law perspective on this.
In a personal statement you really want to get across your passion for studying law as well as why you think you'd be good at studying it. Therefore if you do an EPQ make sure to include it as it demonstrates more university style work. You could talk about a particular area of law that interests you, and what other activities you've done to explore this area whether it be reading, podcasts webinars ect.
Hope this helps!
-Jasmine (Lancaster Student Ambassador)
Reply 5
Original post by Lancaster Student Ambassador
Hi @bibachu
Firstly, if you can tie your work experience back to why you want to study law, then maybe include it eg. what did you experience during this work experience and what's a law perspective on this.
In a personal statement you really want to get across your passion for studying law as well as why you think you'd be good at studying it. Therefore if you do an EPQ make sure to include it as it demonstrates more university style work. You could talk about a particular area of law that interests you, and what other activities you've done to explore this area whether it be reading, podcasts webinars ect.
Hope this helps!
-Jasmine (Lancaster Student Ambassador)

Thank you so much for the advice! I was thinking of doing my EPQ on counter-terrorism since that area of criminal law really interests me. I've decided to focus my personal statement on two types of law (criminal and competition) and explore different sectors within them - health and life sciences (competition law) and counter-terrorism and violent crimes (criminal law). For my work experience, is it okay to include any experiences I've had that have given me insight to law that aren't necessarily work experience? I've visited a law firm, attended law talks from legal professionals and will be going to the high court on a trip. I don't know whether I can include these as they aren't necessarily work experience, but I gained a lot of knowledge about different areas of law through them and I wondered if universities would want to know about it. I've narrowed down my wider reading to a medical law book, a competition law podcast (slightly outdated in certain areas but it gave me the foundational knowledge I needed) and a medical law lecture series. Ideally, I would only want to mention two of these and I'm not sure which one to pick. My academic side is going to be focused on criminal law, so I wanted my wider reading to show my interest in the sector of competition I want to go into, but I also want to demonstrate a wider interest in competition law. There is a different area I could mention competition law in (my law firm visit), but again, this depends on whether I can write about it or not.

I've actually looked into the Lancaster course for law and I'm wondering if you could provide me with any insight regarding how the course is structured and your favourite aspects of it? My main concern about Lancaster is a potential lack of diversity and experiencing racism, not only in just the university but in the city. I'm from London so I'd like to know if there's a lot of activities to do there or if you would have to travel to bigger cities for a bigger range of activities. Any further insight you could give me would be much appreciated!

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