This is a real personal statement written by a student for their university application. It might help you decide what to include in your own. There are lots more examples in our collection of sample personal statements.
Information processing has been the major advancement in the last century and I want to be the part of the progress that has yet to come. It fascinates me how life changing applications are developed by a small number of inspired people, who are highly imaginative, intelligent and have an ability to think laterally like no one else. I believe I possess these features alongside a real enjoyment of solving problems of any kind, be they mathematical questions, logical puzzles, or algorithmic designs.
Expressing complex patterns, using the language of mathematics and aiming for neat and efficient solutions are principles that link computer science and maths closely, hence my natural interest in both. Taking Mathematics and Further Mathematics allowed me to expand my knowledge and understanding of pure maths, including functions and algebra while introducing me to new aspects like calculus. Decision maths has been particularly rewarding, preparing me for the challenges encountered within the computing field, like adopting and developing algorithms to efficiently solve real-life problems. I also look forward to taking the STEP exams in the summer, confronting me to solve complex maths questions for my own personal satisfaction and as enrichment of my problem solving skills.
Outside of my academic subjects I develop programming skills, finding real life applications to be the most exciting tasks. For example, I have written a calculator of complex numbers using C++ and an object-oriented paradigm, as part of my maths revision. This has proven to be a useful program for checking my exercise answers, as well as consolidating my knowledge of addition, subtraction and multiplication of complex numbers. I also enjoy algorithmic challenges, for which I once implemented the sieve of Eratosthenes to write a generator of prime numbers within specified intervals. I look for opportunities to widen my interest through interesting books and articles. James Gleick’s ‘The Information…’ made me realise that despite computer science being a young discipline, it is surprising how many of its concepts and ideas date from centuries ago, from the first algorithms to the first computational devices. This inspires me to be aware of recent advancements that have a great futuristic potential such as quantum computing.
I look forward to studying many aspects of computer science in detail that are already fascinating me. They include computer graphics, network security, and cryptography. I have recently signed up for an online course on ‘Machine Learning’ organised by Stanford University. It will hopefully introduce me to basics of AI, and give an insight into what computer science lectures are like. I am also enthusiastic about games development due to its surprisingly complex structure and its way of bringing maths content to life, for example mechanics modelling of a moving car or transformation matrices altering the perspective.
Recently, I tutored a GCSE student preparing for maths exams, finding it demanding and exacting to think of ways to explain maths logically and comprehensively. Sport activities are essential in my life. In the past I have been competitively involved in athletics and basketball, and currently I am improving at a kickboxing club. My background as an immigrant from Poland, who had to learn English as the second language in the last 4 years, has allowed me to adapt to different environments readily, giving me an advantage at university.
I believe my passion for technology and ability in mathematics combined with my desire to succeed will make me an excellent Computer Scientist, while the degree itself should equip me in invaluable skills that would take me to the forefront of research or an inspiring career.
Universities Applied to:
- Imperial College London - Offer (A*AA) - Firm
- Southampton - Offer (AAA) - Insurance
- Cambridge - Rejection after pool
- Bristol - Offer (A*AA)
- Bath - Offer (AAA/A*AB)
Grades Achieved:
- Maths (AS) - A
- Further Maths (AS) - A
- Physics (AS) - A
- Chemistry (AS) - A
- Maths (A2) - A*
- Further Maths (A2) - A*
- Physics (A2) - A*
Comments
I just want to add that my Imperial offer also included STEP, which I failed to do well in (shame... and it was only step 1...) but they've let me in anyway :). STEP is a great form of enrichment but think twice when putting it on your personal statement/ucas if you don't need to and you are not sure about having enough time to prepare for it.
Also, for anyone in the position 'Are my GCSEs enough...', I got very very average GCSEs (3A*, 2A, a couple of Bs and 2C) and still did pretty well in the application process (look above) so the answer from me is that GCSEs don't mutter that much.
Reviewer comment:
- Good opening paragraph to explain the desire of the applicant and what they enjoy about the subject. It could be beneficial to link an area of experience at the end of this section to really start the statement well.
- Suitable tone, formal enough and use of language is adequate.
- Great links to activities in the subject outside of school to their interest in higher education. This shows the applicant is thinking seriously about learning at a higher level and is particularly noteworthy when they talk about lectures.
- Size of extra-curricular section is spot on, 20%.
- Few instances of incorrect grammar
- A few randomly capitalised words
- Final sentence is too long. Split this into two sentences to end the personal statement in a concise and memorable way.
Find expert advice on writing an excellent personal statement over on The Uni Guide.
