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Personal statement

Hello everyone,

I'm currently working on my personal statement, but I'm torn between two professions: electrical engineering and geology. I am open to studying either field in the future. Is it acceptable to write a personal statement that includes my interest in both electrical engineering and geology? Would it be appropriate to express my eagerness to pursue either option, or would that be considered wrong?

Thank you in advance for your advice.
Original post
by maturestudent14
Hello everyone,

I'm currently working on my personal statement, but I'm torn between two professions: electrical engineering and geology. I am open to studying either field in the future. Is it acceptable to write a personal statement that includes my interest in both electrical engineering and geology? Would it be appropriate to express my eagerness to pursue either option, or would that be considered wrong?

Thank you in advance for your advice.

If you're torn between two professions, does that also mean that you're torn between two different degree courses? The reason I ask is that even though you could apply for both, and get offers for both, ultimately you'll need to decide between them (unless you plan to do two degrees).

Reply 2

Original post
by DataVenia
If you're torn between two professions, does that also mean that you're torn between two different degree courses? The reason I ask is that even though you could apply for both, and get offers for both, ultimately you'll need to decide between them (unless you plan to do two degrees).

Thank you for your response.
Yes, I am applying for both courses, but I will only study one of them at the uni. I will make my decision based on the university I prefer, the course modules, the assessments, and the attendance requirements.
I would like to know if I should write one personal statement suitable for both course's application or if I need to write separate personal statements for the electrical engineering and geology applications.
Original post
by maturestudent14
Thank you for your response.
Yes, I am applying for both courses, but I will only study one of them at the uni. I will make my decision based on the university I prefer, the course modules, the assessments, and the attendance requirements.
I would like to know if I should write one personal statement suitable for both course's application or if I need to write separate personal statements for the electrical engineering and geology applications.

UCAS doesn't allow you to provide more that one personal statement. So whatever personal statement you upload to UCAS will be sent to each of your choices. Some universities allow you to provide a separate personal statement to them, in addition to the UCAS one. So if you want to provide two, check which of your five choices accept an additional one. If they're all the Electrical Engineering or Geology ones, then you can tailor your UCAS personal statement towards the other subject. If your two subjects were more similar, you could try to create a personal statement which covers them both - but I don't see how you could cover Electrical Engineering and Geology at the same time.

You say that you'll make your decision based upon "the university I prefer, the course modules, the assessments, and the attendance requirements." Of those criteria, which is the one you can't assess now, before you apply? By not making a decision, you're compromising your application - not just the personal statement, but also because you'll only have two or three choices for the course you ultimately decide upon.

Finally, are you applying in the current UCAS cycle, for a September 2025 start? Or will you be applying towards the end of this year (or perhaps January next year) for a September 2026 start?

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