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applying for HSPS but law everywhere else?

hi i know it’s a bit early to ask since i only finished my gcses this year, but i’ve considered law for years and will likely apply for law at uni.

however, recently i had a look at the HSPS degree at cambridge and it’s pretty much exactly what i would like to study. i’d do a conversion course to law after. but as its exclusive to the uni, i’ll still apply to law for the other four unis, but im just concerned as that means my personal statement will be only law focused.

i know for HSPS they have a separate add on mini personal statement (forgot the name of it) for you to explore your interest in HSPS but as far as i know, most applicants apply to one of the sub-areas of HSPS for every other uni (like IR, sociology etc). i reckon law is pretty different from HSPS other than their option to specialise in sociology and criminology after first year (but i probably wouldn’t choose that track anyway as i would like to explore other interests before fully focusing on law).

therefore i am worried about coming across as not that interested in HSPS as i wouldn’t be applying to similar areas for my other unis.

would it be a problem? how would i combat this? should i just apply to law at cambridge?

Reply 1

Smcgfx

Original post by MissNoName

hi i know it’s a bit early to ask since i only finished my gcses this year, but i’ve considered law for years and will likely apply for law at uni.
however, recently i had a look at the HSPS degree at cambridge and it’s pretty much exactly what i would like to study. i’d do a conversion course to law after. but as its exclusive to the uni, i’ll still apply to law for the other four unis, but im just concerned as that means my personal statement will be only law focused.
i know for HSPS they have a separate add on mini personal statement (forgot the name of it) for you to explore your interest in HSPS but as far as i know, most applicants apply to one of the sub-areas of HSPS for every other uni (like IR, sociology etc). i reckon law is pretty different from HSPS other than their option to specialise in sociology and criminology after first year (but i probably wouldn’t choose that track anyway as i would like to explore other interests before fully focusing on law).
therefore i am worried about coming across as not that interested in HSPS as i wouldn’t be applying to similar areas for my other unis.
would it be a problem? how would i combat this? should i just apply to law at cambridge?

I am in the exact situation, I am also applying for HSPS for Cambridge, but law at other unis. Its about finding a topic that links to both in your personal statement, but Cambridge do understand that you are applying to other unis as well so I think as long as you are integrating parts of HSPS you should be fine.

Reply 2

bibachu

Original post by MissNoName

hi i know it’s a bit early to ask since i only finished my gcses this year, but i’ve considered law for years and will likely apply for law at uni.
however, recently i had a look at the HSPS degree at cambridge and it’s pretty much exactly what i would like to study. i’d do a conversion course to law after. but as its exclusive to the uni, i’ll still apply to law for the other four unis, but im just concerned as that means my personal statement will be only law focused.
i know for HSPS they have a separate add on mini personal statement (forgot the name of it) for you to explore your interest in HSPS but as far as i know, most applicants apply to one of the sub-areas of HSPS for every other uni (like IR, sociology etc). i reckon law is pretty different from HSPS other than their option to specialise in sociology and criminology after first year (but i probably wouldn’t choose that track anyway as i would like to explore other interests before fully focusing on law).
therefore i am worried about coming across as not that interested in HSPS as i wouldn’t be applying to similar areas for my other unis.
would it be a problem? how would i combat this? should i just apply to law at cambridge?

Realistically, you would probably be rejected if your personal statement was centred around law as a HSPS applicant. HSPS is one of the most competitive courses at Cambridge and admissions tutors will be looking for a personal statement that demonstrates a passion for human, social and political sciences. While they acknowledge that your UCAS personal statement will likely be centred around a specific track or subject offered within HSPS for other universities to see (e.g. an anthropology focused personal statement), the additional personal statement is there for applicants to demonstrate their interest in the Cambridge course specifically. It is also significantly shorter than the UCAS personal statement. Cambridge offers law as a subject. The first question an admissions tutor would ask is if you are really committed to the course you’re applying to, and with a law personal statement, if you make it to the interview stage, it’s very likely that they will ask why you didn’t just apply to study law. I can’t tell you whether it’s impossible to get in or not, but think of it from the perspective of an admissions tutor: would you rather give an offer to an applicant who can clearly demonstrate an interest in certain or various aspects of HSPS in both their personal statement and interview or give the offer to an applicant who was able to do so in their interview but only talked about law in their personal statement? If you want to study HSPS look at similar courses offered at different universities, such as politics, sociology and anthropology. Look at the modules and the course content, because there is bound to be some overlap. If you want to study law, look at the structure of the law course at Cambridge and other universities to see whether this is something that would be well suited to your interests.