| 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. |
I enjoyed Maths and Physics at Secondary School and this lead me to study them both at A-Level. I love reading books about them particularly those on theoretical Physics. I have always enjoyed finding out what makes the universe work and studying Physics would allow me to find out more. A course in theoretical Physics would also allow me to explore and use Maths in a greater detail
My main area of reading has been in 'fashionable' Physics such as Wormholes, Black Holes and Super String Theory, all of which I find fascinating. I have also been following the current debate between Steven Hawkins and Peter Higgs about what gives matter its mass and the existence of the Higgs Boson
When I first started Maths at A-Level, I was doing single Maths. I have now realised that I will need more Maths to really understand more advanced Physics ideas and, because I like Maths for its own sake, I have taken up extra lessons. This will improve my understanding of calculus, complex numbers and other relevant areas
I have extended my computing studies at college into other areas such as programming in C++, Visual Basic, Delphi and developing 3D Models/2D Drawings using CAD software
Out of College, I have been part of an amateur dramatics society for many years and have played 'the fool' in Pantomimes such as Pinocchio in which I played half a double act of fairies! I play guitar and have publicly performed with friends on many occasions playing music from Hymns to Punk. I go touring on my bike as often as I can and I have extended this interest into a part time job in a cycle shop
I joined the scouts when I was six years old moving through the ranks until I became a senior patrol leader. Scouting has given me the opportunity to enjoy many activities such as orienteering, camping, back woods cooking and abseiling. My interest in water sports was also encouraged in the scouts as we often went kayaking and canoeing. I completed my Chief Scout Award at the age of fifteen which involved completing tasks from organising camps and troop nights to completing obstacle courses and building bridges
I hope that my love for Physics is obvious and I genuinely believe that I would enjoy and develop from a degree course in theoretical Physics and am determined to make the most of all the opportunities that university offers.
Reviewer comments
This is on the short side for a personal statement, with just over 2,300 characters out of a maximum 4,000 allowed. It targets the right areas that must be addressed in a statement and has approximately the right proportion of discussion for academics compared to outside interests and the right structure. There is some attempt to demonstrate interest and enthusiasm for the subject through a mention of outside reading and maths which is good, however the statement would benefit from more specific details and discussions on this.
The main problem with this statement is a lack of focus. It covers the right areas and the applicant has some good things to talk about but has failed to relate these to the degree or to explain why they are being mentioned in the personal statement. Simply stating that you did drama or that you have studied computing is not sufficient and a good personal statement should talk about the skills and how these would be of benefit to the applicant when studying the course at university. Sloppy grammar is also a problem which hints at carelessness. There is no excuse for missing out full-stops at the ends of sentences and every applicant should at the very least run their statement through a spelling and grammar checker in Word or a similar word processing package.
