Have I got enough to write in my personal statement (Durham)?

I want to apply to Durham for History and Politics (2025) (A*AA)

-I did 7 months of volunteering whenever I had free days at Chatsworth House (historical home).
-I did work experience as the local district council governance department. (It was set up with an MP but we had the election the week before)
-I'm doing an EPQ on Misogyny and Incels
-I'm reading Normal Women (women's history book) and Women in Westminster by Rachel Reeves.

Should this be enough for my personal statement or is there anything else anyone would recommend I do to add in??? Should I look into doing a work experience week in the October half term with an MP?
Thanks x

Reply 1

BeingBoring

The most important thing to remember with a personal statement is that it is your chance to tell the tutors why you want to study this subject. Extra curriculars are useful for demonstrating to them that you have motivation to learn more about the subject beyond what you may be studying already in your coursework, but just listing off all the volunteering and work experience you are doing isn't going to get you a place. You need to contextualise these experiences, what drew you to do it, what did you get out of it, what did it inspire you to do next...? The tutors want to know about the learning journey that you are on because going to university is about guided self study and they really want to see if you are capable of doing that. If you think about what you have done and how you are going to write about it then I think that you probably already have plenty to be talking about. Just make it personal, talk about how you felt, but keep it focussed and to the point.

Reply 2

Cathy Linton

Hi,

I applied for Durham last year and got a place, starting in September 2024!

Are you going to an open day at all? If so, my advice would definitely be to ask the tutors/lecturers running your subject session what they look for in the personal statement - they'll be able to give you some really specific guidance for that course. I did that (for philosophy, not history) and they said the main thing they look for is interest. Looks like you have plenty of experiences so I think if you tie those to why you are passionate about history and politics (your reading, EPQ and MP visit will be good for that) and why you are interested in Durham specifically (e.g maybe look on their website and reference some volunteering opportunities they have that link to yours) you're in with a decent chance. Just remember to avoid listing experiences.

Best of luck!!!!

Reply 3

miac16

Original post by Cathy Linton

Hi,
I applied for Durham last year and got a place, starting in September 2024!
Are you going to an open day at all? If so, my advice would definitely be to ask the tutors/lecturers running your subject session what they look for in the personal statement - they'll be able to give you some really specific guidance for that course. I did that (for philosophy, not history) and they said the main thing they look for is interest. Looks like you have plenty of experiences so I think if you tie those to why you are passionate about history and politics (your reading, EPQ and MP visit will be good for that) and why you are interested in Durham specifically (e.g maybe look on their website and reference some volunteering opportunities they have that link to yours) you're in with a decent chance. Just remember to avoid listing experiences.
Best of luck!!!!

I went to the open day on friday but i live so far away we were rushing about the city and didnt get much chance to ask specific questions of the proffessors, ill look through the pictures ive got of the slides and the leaflets they gave us though!! im definitely planning on writing around my experiences and not just listing i just didnt know if id be best getting a few more to have more substance in my ps.

Btw, how did getting into your college work? did you get your top choice? I saw st marys on friday and it was so gorgeous but i dont want to get my hopes up if im probably not going to get to go there!

Reply 4

Cathy Linton

Original post by miac16

I went to the open day on friday but i live so far away we were rushing about the city and didnt get much chance to ask specific questions of the proffessors, ill look through the pictures ive got of the slides and the leaflets they gave us though!! im definitely planning on writing around my experiences and not just listing i just didnt know if id be best getting a few more to have more substance in my ps.
Btw, how did getting into your college work? did you get your top choice? I saw st marys on friday and it was so gorgeous but i dont want to get my hopes up if im probably not going to get to go there!

Glad you had fun on your open day - maybe try emailing your professors? They'll likely have contact details on their slides and will appreciate you being proactive in getting in touch. I definitely think you've got enough experiences on your statement though so don't worry about that!!!

College wise, when you accept an offer from Durham you can rank them from first to 16th choice. Definitely wouldn't set your hopes on one though as it's not super common to get your first choice.

Best of luck!!!!!!