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LSE Personal Statement - How do I write it?

Hello, I'm applying to LSE and would appreciate any tips for the PS!

I know LSE puts a super heavy emphasis on PS compared to other unis and they want you to talk about academic findings/analysis/ideas you discovered during your extra-curriculars and supercurriculars. How much analysis do you need and how deep should it be? What does LSE actually look for in personal statements other than intellectual curiosity and things that you did?

Additionally, I want to apply for IR and History at LSE so my PS is split 50/50 for both topics right now. However, I'm worried as there's only 25 spots for this program and wondering if I should add LSE IR as another choice on UCAS. However, since half of my PS is about history, this is probably a bad idea and just be a waste of a UCAS choice slot?
Original post by FloatingOtter
Hello, I'm applying to LSE and would appreciate any tips for the PS!

I know LSE puts a super heavy emphasis on PS compared to other unis and they want you to talk about academic findings/analysis/ideas you discovered during your extra-curriculars and supercurriculars. How much analysis do you need and how deep should it be? What does LSE actually look for in personal statements other than intellectual curiosity and things that you did?

Additionally, I want to apply for IR and History at LSE so my PS is split 50/50 for both topics right now. However, I'm worried as there's only 25 spots for this program and wondering if I should add LSE IR as another choice on UCAS. However, since half of my PS is about history, this is probably a bad idea and just be a waste of a UCAS choice slot?

Generally I would advise not putting two LSE choices on your UCAS application.

My suggestion would be to choose 3 things you've read about history or IR and talk about what you learnt, what you found most interesting, what you disagreed with. That should be the main content of your PS.

A little few sentences at the bottom about other interests should do fine.
Reply 2
Original post by 04MR17
Generally I would advise not putting two LSE choices on your UCAS application.
My suggestion would be to choose 3 things you've read about history or IR and talk about what you learnt, what you found most interesting, what you disagreed with. That should be the main content of your PS.
A little few sentences at the bottom about other interests should do fine.

What about different programs at different schools? If my PS is 50/50 split between History and IR but I want to apply for only politics/only IR/only history at another uni, would that ruin my chances at the other uni?
Original post by FloatingOtter
What about different programs at different schools? If my PS is 50/50 split between History and IR but I want to apply for only politics/only IR/only history at another uni, would that ruin my chances at the other uni?

Not usually no, but the simpler you make the application choices the easier it is to cover in a PS. And the less competitive unis will be less fussed about how focused your PS is on that particular discipline.
Reply 4
Original post by 04MR17
Not usually no, but the simpler you make the application choices the easier it is to cover in a PS. And the less competitive unis will be less fussed about how focused your PS is on that particular discipline.

this is really useful, thank you so much!
Original post by FloatingOtter
Hello, I'm applying to LSE and would appreciate any tips for the PS!
I know LSE puts a super heavy emphasis on PS compared to other unis and they want you to talk about academic findings/analysis/ideas you discovered during your extra-curriculars and supercurriculars. How much analysis do you need and how deep should it be? What does LSE actually look for in personal statements other than intellectual curiosity and things that you did?
Additionally, I want to apply for IR and History at LSE so my PS is split 50/50 for both topics right now. However, I'm worried as there's only 25 spots for this program and wondering if I should add LSE IR as another choice on UCAS. However, since half of my PS is about history, this is probably a bad idea and just be a waste of a UCAS choice slot?
Generally you need to talk about no more than 3 books. Also, LSE is usually looking for a 'stellar' UCAS Personal Statement.

Advising-Advisers-2018-The-Personal-Statement.pdf (lse.ac.uk)

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