How much theory to add in my personal statement?

There's this topic that I'll be writing about in Q1 of my statement to show my interest and enthusiasm for chemistry, but I'm not sure how much detail to add about it in terms how it actually works. It's about a specific chemical, and I wanted to write about how I find its method of action inside cells fascinating etc etc.
I'm a little worried that not going into specifics will make it look like my knowledge is superficial and/or I don't know what I'm talking about. On the other hand, I thought that maybe a lot of detail would be a waste of character count because the uni admissions tutors probably already know this topic in great depth, and it would end up looking like a lecture where I'm just spewing theory? I'm not sure how to strike the balance here.
I'd really appreciate any advice

Hi there! (:
maybe just giving an example of some applied use for the chemical you find interesting and how that peiqued your interest? - means your not having to explain a bunch of things and can still link that back to your interest without it being too wordy!, anything applied that you maybe got to find out about at school and then done your own bit of research on😊
unis are aware of the word count and wont be expecting big explanations, they are just looking to find out a bit about you, your passionate for the subject & any extra-ciriculars/skills that could translate well to future study!
hope this helps a bit, if theres anything else let me know - also did a chemistry ps, (albeit a few years ago😅) but happy to have a chat about it (:
Emily
Year 3, Chemistry
Official University Of Strathclyde Rep

You could also maybe just pick the bit of theory you found most interesting and mention it like that. I think it'll strike a balance between knowing enough and seeming genuine.

Hii there, thank you so much, I'll definitely try giving an applied example! 😊 I actually did some research about this chemical and its uses, so I think I'll easily be able to write about it without rambling.
Wow, it's so cool that you're studying chemistry at uni; I hope you're really enjoying it! Do you have a favourite topic? I'm asking because I'm always interested to learn some new chemistry outside of my A levels haha.
Also, may I ask how you ended up choosing to study chemistry at uni, and not some other subject? I personally was going to go with biochem, thinking it was a 50 50 mix of bio and chem. Then I found out that it was mainly biology so I switched to chemistry with medicinal chemistry, because I'd rather do more chemistry than more biology, if that makes sense.
I'm also sort of stuck with the first sentence of my statement: everything I come up with sounds very generic and cliche 😞. I was wondering if you have any tips for starting off a chemistry PS?
Thank you again! 😊

Hii there, thank you so much, I'll definitely try giving an applied example! 😊 I actually did some research about this chemical and its uses, so I think I'll easily be able to write about it without rambling.
Wow, it's so cool that you're studying chemistry at uni; I hope you're really enjoying it! Do you have a favourite topic? I'm asking because I'm always interested to learn some new chemistry outside of my A levels haha.
Also, may I ask how you ended up choosing to study chemistry at uni, and not some other subject? I personally was going to go with biochem, thinking it was a 50 50 mix of bio and chem. Then I found out that it was mainly biology so I switched to chemistry with medicinal chemistry, because I'd rather do more chemistry than more biology, if that makes sense.
I'm also sort of stuck with the first sentence of my statement: everything I come up with sounds very generic and cliche 😞. I was wondering if you have any tips for starting off a chemistry PS?
Thank you again! 😊

no problemo!! (:
Yep!! - been really enjoying it, very busy atm as im also trying to secure my placement year for next year but overall super fun, having a great time so far with the labs this year😊
kinda go between things with whats my favourite, but generally really love physical chemistry! - finding it really interesting to see the sorta behind the scenes of why the reactions work the way they do and what factors u can play about with to alter this! - also really enjoyed my electrochemistry module last year, really interesting!🤗
I was also between biochem and a few other similar courses when i was picking, for me between the 2, it was mainly just that i was always asking at open days and things like that about the chemistry involved more so than the biology lol 😅 - In first year i chose to do a molecular biogy module as one of my options, maybe worth looking into if you get any optional/elective modules and seeing if you could do something like that if your interested, would give u that mix for first year (:
a few of my friends are on medicinal chemistry courses and generally we do pretty similar modules, only difference for this year is they are doing a chemical biology module & a more synthetic based lab. where i do a analytical and forensiscs lab & a more forensic based module! 🙂
just had a wee check on UCAS to see what i'd even written lol and honestly mine was pretty generic too😅- i know since i did my ps its now changed to the question format so mine is just a total wall of text!, the main thing the admissions team will be looking at is your passion for the subject & ability to suceed in a uni evnviroment - you just need a short setence saying how youve been really interested in chemistry, excited to learn more about it & then you can go on to mention how this passion led you to looking into the chemical you've been interested in! (:
Emily
Year 3, Chemistry
Official University Of Strathclyde Rep

Hi, I'm not doing a Chemistry degree. I want to do a Geography degree but I've started off my personal statement by saying about why I thin geography is important to study.