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Personal statement for two subjects

Hi all,
As someone who has two subject passions in maths and physics and genuinely can’t decide between the two, I was wondering if writing my personal statement on two different subjects would be detrimental. I don’t want to do a maths with physics course just one or the other (depending on the uni I get offers from e.g. phys at Cambridge/Durham, maths at imperial/warwick). Would I be sacrificing any effectiveness within my personal statement in doing this (especially when I intend to apply to very competitive unis)?

Any council would be appreciated. Much thanks :smile:

Reply 1

Admit-One

Universities Forum Helper

It’ll definitely be a hindrance for competitive unis.

You could try contacting them and ask if they’ll accept a statement submitted directly, but they’re not obliged to.

Reply 2

A Light Lilt

Original post by Zac_#Hall

Hi all,
As someone who has two subject passions in maths and physics and genuinely can’t decide between the two, I was wondering if writing my personal statement on two different subjects would be detrimental. I don’t want to do a maths with physics course just one or the other (depending on the uni I get offers from e.g. phys at Cambridge/Durham, maths at imperial/warwick). Would I be sacrificing any effectiveness within my personal statement in doing this (especially when I intend to apply to very competitive unis)?
Any council would be appreciated. Much thanks :smile:

You should be totally fine, there's a huge amount of overlap and it is best to emphasise an interest in applied Maths over an interest in the fluffier parts of physics for an application anyway. Plus a huge number of applicants do apply for Maths with physics at some places, straight physics at other and maths at yet others. It's not unusual at all to read a Physics Personal statement that heavily leans into Maths or vice versa. These applicants all have to write a single personal statement (I would know this as its exactly what i did lol).

I'm not actually sure what you mean by "physics at cambridge" though. There is Natural Sciences which is a more general science course and only really worth doing if you also have an interest in biology/ chemistry/ materials/ etc. (this is like 60% of your first year and its kind of miserable if you aren't up for it). There is also the Maths with Physics and Maths courses, and the Maths with physics option will allow you to go into 2nd year physics or 2nd year Maths. It's basically perfect for someone in your position.

I really think you should be applying for Maths with Physics at Cambridge basically, if your interest is just in those 2 subjects. The only sensible alternative would be straight Maths (also a good choice as the tripos leans heavily towards applied anyway). Both the Maths with Physics and the straight Maths course will be expecting a personal statement very heavily about maths and physics.

(edited 10 months ago)

Reply 3

melancollege

Universities Forum Helper

If you're aiming for Theoretical Physics, this would be much easier to blend in to a Maths personal statement. Our Applied Maths department at Cambridge is actually called DAMPT - the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics.