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UCAS personal statement and application help 🙏🙏

I’m just about to enter year 13 and so should be starting my personal statement. I’ve realised after going to do volunteer work this summer that i want to do zoology at uni however i don’t do bio a level i do maths physics and chem and was planning on doing engineering before i went away.

I found at manchester that I can apply without doing bio so was planning on doing this as i still want to go to a russel group uni but a lot of them u have to have done bio to do zoology.
My plan was to apply for zoology at manchester then for civil/environmental engineering at other unis however then i’m really not sure how to write my personal statement as i can’t really focus on either subject.

My first question is if there’s any other top unis i can apply for without doing bio for a zoology course?
If not, how to integrate engineering and zoology into my personal statement?
Also any extra reading or courses i could do with bio or animals so that the uni can think that i am capable of doing zoology even without taking bio a level?
Finally if there’s any extra reading i can do which incorporates both environmental engineering and zoology?

Thank you so much!
Reply 1
i’m really not sure how to write my personal statement as i can’t really focus on either subject.
how to integrate engineering and zoology into my personal statement

The UCAS deadline isnt until January next year.

You have plenty of time to decide which subject you actually want to do and to write a focussed PS for that subject. You cannot write a convincing PS for two subjects and it will be obvious to all of your Unis that you are not committed to 'their' subject. Its one of the quickest ways to get multiple rejections.

Work out what you want to do. Go to Open Days in September/October and listen to the subject presentations for several different courses/subjects, ask questions and look around. hen think about the reality of doing each subject.

You have months to think about this and make a decision.
Even longer if you still can't decide and decide to take a gap-year.
Reply 2
Original post by McGinger
i’m really not sure how to write my personal statement as i can’t really focus on either subject.
how to integrate engineering and zoology into my personal statement
The UCAS deadline isnt until January next year.
You have plenty of time to decide which subject you actually want to do and to write a focussed PS for that subject. You cannot write a convincing PS for two subjects and it will be obvious to all of your Unis that you are not committed to 'their' subject. Its one of the quickest ways to get multiple rejections.
Work out what you want to do. Go to Open Days in September/October and listen to the subject presentations for several different courses/subjects, ask questions and look around. hen think about the reality of doing each subject.
You have months to think about this and make a decision.
Even longer if you still can't decide and decide to take a gap-year.


The thing is i know that i want to do zoology but since i don’t do bio a level there’s not a lot of unis that i can apply for so probably have to apply for more than one subject
Original post by emma.34_
I’m just about to enter year 13 and so should be starting my personal statement. I’ve realised after going to do volunteer work this summer that i want to do zoology at uni however i don’t do bio a level i do maths physics and chem and was planning on doing engineering before i went away.
I found at manchester that I can apply without doing bio so was planning on doing this as i still want to go to a russel group uni but a lot of them u have to have done bio to do zoology.
My plan was to apply for zoology at manchester then for civil/environmental engineering at other unis however then i’m really not sure how to write my personal statement as i can’t really focus on either subject.
My first question is if there’s any other top unis i can apply for without doing bio for a zoology course?
If not, how to integrate engineering and zoology into my personal statement?
Also any extra reading or courses i could do with bio or animals so that the uni can think that i am capable of doing zoology even without taking bio a level?
Finally if there’s any extra reading i can do which incorporates both environmental engineering and zoology?
Thank you so much!

cant help much but before I move on check if there are any that allow bio AS on top of other grades? if you really want to and are able to do, maybe with your school maybe privately.. although it might be too much on top of what youre doing right now, just a suggestion tho
Original post by emma.34_
The thing is i know that i want to do zoology but since i don’t do bio a level there’s not a lot of unis that i can apply for so probably have to apply for more than one subject

Your options would be limited without biology but it is not impossible to meet the requirements for zoology. Here are a few zoology courses that you meet the subject requirements for:

https://www.gla.ac.uk/undergraduate/degrees/zoology/#entryrequirements

https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/zoology-bsc-hons-c300/2025/

https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/ecology/zoology/#entry-requirements

https://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/2025/00663/bsc-zoology/entry-requirements/#course-profile

https://le.ac.uk/courses/biological-sciences-zoology-bsc/2024

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/degree-programmes/852/C300/zoology/

https://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/zoology-bsc

Applying for more than one subject could be risky if the courses aren’t very similar. Have you considered other biological or natural sciences courses (e.g. ecology, marine biology, conservation biology, environmental science, biochemistry)?
Reply 5
Original post by bibachu
Your options would be limited without biology but it is not impossible to meet the requirements for zoology. Here are a few zoology courses that you meet the subject requirements for:
https://www.gla.ac.uk/undergraduate/degrees/zoology/#entryrequirements
https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/zoology-bsc-hons-c300/2025/
https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/ecology/zoology/#entry-requirements
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/2025/00663/bsc-zoology/entry-requirements/#course-profile
https://le.ac.uk/courses/biological-sciences-zoology-bsc/2024
https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/degree-programmes/852/C300/zoology/
https://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/zoology-bsc
Applying for more than one subject could be risky if the courses aren’t very similar. Have you considered other biological or natural sciences courses (e.g. ecology, marine biology, conservation biology, environmental science, biochemistry)?


thank you so so much!! i’ll have a look now - i have considered the other ones but still just thinking about the bio restrictments :/
Reply 6
Original post by bibachu
Your options would be limited without biology but it is not impossible to meet the requirements for zoology. Here are a few zoology courses that you meet the subject requirements for:
https://www.gla.ac.uk/undergraduate/degrees/zoology/#entryrequirements
https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/zoology-bsc-hons-c300/2025/
https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/ecology/zoology/#entry-requirements
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/2025/00663/bsc-zoology/entry-requirements/#course-profile
https://le.ac.uk/courses/biological-sciences-zoology-bsc/2024
https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/degree-programmes/852/C300/zoology/
https://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/zoology-bsc
Applying for more than one subject could be risky if the courses aren’t very similar. Have you considered other biological or natural sciences courses (e.g. ecology, marine biology, conservation biology, environmental science, biochemistry)?


do you think that it would be possible for me to do conservation bio or ecology somewhere?
Original post by emma.34_
do you think that it would be possible for me to do conservation bio or ecology somewhere?

You’ll have to check the requirements for different universities.

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