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Personal statement line of interest??

In my personal statement, would it be better to do a deep dive on one particular aspect of my subject or very broadly talk about the different facets of what interests me about the subject?

Additionally, if I were to talk about a main line of interest, would it be bad if it’s specifically a section of the subject that isn’t taught until like, year 2 of the course? Like my interest right now won’t immediately help me when I begin the course?

Thanks for the help I’m just a bit confused about how I would go about writing a strong one catered to my interests!

Reply 1

Original post
by Siriir
In my personal statement, would it be better to do a deep dive on one particular aspect of my subject or very broadly talk about the different facets of what interests me about the subject?
Additionally, if I were to talk about a main line of interest, would it be bad if it’s specifically a section of the subject that isn’t taught until like, year 2 of the course? Like my interest right now won’t immediately help me when I begin the course?
Thanks for the help I’m just a bit confused about how I would go about writing a strong one catered to my interests!

The general response was that it doesn’t matter as long as you’re showcasing evidence of interest and aptitude (I was also so unsure about this, so I asked a bunch of people before I applied).

One admissions tutor did point out that students who try to cover too many different subject areas run the risk of coming off as too superficial (i.e. skimming the surface of arguments and not critically engaging with the material enough).

On the other hand, some students lose the focus of the degree as a whole because they are clearly passionate about one particular aspect but not anything else (e.g. one student who wrote about nothing except the crime in her personal statement for law).

However, both approaches can be done perfectly well and the consensus was that it genuinely does not matter. My personal view is that it’s nice to touch on your subject exploration journey in your personal statement if you’re covering different subject areas, i.e. how did you discover an interest in these areas, what led you from one to another?

(For context, I am a law applicant, so this might be completely different for other degrees)

Reply 2

Original post
by nwar
The general response was that it doesn’t matter as long as you’re showcasing evidence of interest and aptitude (I was also so unsure about this, so I asked a bunch of people before I applied).
One admissions tutor did point out that students who try to cover too many different subject areas run the risk of coming off as too superficial (i.e. skimming the surface of arguments and not critically engaging with the material enough).
On the other hand, some students lose the focus of the degree as a whole because they are clearly passionate about one particular aspect but not anything else (e.g. one student who wrote about nothing except the crime in her personal statement for law).
However, both approaches can be done perfectly well and the consensus was that it genuinely does not matter. My personal view is that it’s nice to touch on your subject exploration journey in your personal statement if you’re covering different subject areas, i.e. how did you discover an interest in these areas, what led you from one to another?
(For context, I am a law applicant, so this might be completely different for other degrees)

That’s super insightful to think about! I’m thinking of applying for a philosophy degree, which by the name is incredibly broad - but I think I could show similar principles to what you’re talking about! Thank you so much for your reply, I’ll keep the final point in mind as well, it sounds like a super thorough approach to structuring a response😄
(edited 10 months ago)

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