| 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. |
Studying Maths at university is for me something which seems a natural extension of my interests so far in life. I find Mathematics fascinating; fun, sometimes frustrating, but most of all beautiful. The idea that once proved a mathematical truth is true forever is a somewhat powerful one. The geometric truths proved by the ancient Greeks remain just as true today as they were then: developments since have not made them any less true.
Whenever opportunities have arisen to indulge in Mathematics beyond formal education, I have taken them. [Blah about local pop maths quiz]. The most interesting extra-curricular Maths activity I participated in was [extra-curricular Y12 university maths thing].
This was a course run by [a university] for three days, to give Y12 students a taste of what university Maths is like. The emphasis was on open-ended problem-solving rather than just applying a method to a solved type of problem. I worked in a team of five investigating rational tangles, which for our purposes were defined as the "tangle" formed when the fixed ends of two pieces of strings were passed over and under one another. We were informed that a given tangle had a unique rational number associated with it.
We investigated into how various moves affected the invariant, and what other transformations could be performed on the tangle- for instance, how the mirror image of a tangle was related to the original. The nature of the course, exploring the implications of the definitions we began with rather than just solving set problems, was exciting and different.
My main pastime while not studying is reading for pleasure. I enjoy reading immensely: I will read almost anything, though of course I prefer content related to my own interests. Books of fact, fiction, narrative or description: all these are my bread and butter. I especially enjoy books which illustrate a concept using a narrative structure. I rather enjoy books about Maths which do this, because they often provide a framework in which new ideas can be encountered. A book that did this to some degree that I recently enjoyed reading was "The man who loved only numbers", a biography of Paul Erdos.
This was a stellar read: the Mathematics that Erdos worked on during his life and his own life story are captivating. The thing that stuck in my mind that I enjoyed the most was one point in the book, when a statement was made on finding a pair of relatively prime numbers in a set of integers between 1 and 2n, but a proof was not immediately shown. The book was about to explain the proof; I put down the book, before I read the explanation, and proved it myself. On returning to the book I confirmed my proof. This was an incredibly satisfying moment!
I take part in a variety of other activities, both in and out of school. I am a regular member of my school's debating society, and have prepared and participated in competitions. This has increased my passion for earnest and frank discussion on any subject and my awareness of the importance of logically structuring an argument. I am also involved in the Amnesty International group at my school: I am a strong believer in human rights and their importance for the peaceful co-existence of us all. Related to this is my participation in [a particular national youth group (rather like scouts)]. I have been involvedwith them for the greater part of my life, and through it I have become the confident and happy person that I am today.
My drive to achieve, and coupled with my huge appetite for knowledge and innate curiosity, are what motivates me to learn as much as I can, as often as I can. By studying Mathematics at university, I hope to feed this appetite, to learn more, and to understand more. Why in particular do I feel that Maths is above all else what I want to study? Simply because of its structure, its universality and its beauty.
Universities Applied to:
- Emmanuel College, University Of Cambridge, Mathematics G100 - Offer A*, A, A, 11 in Maths, FM and Physics. Firm Choice.
- Warwick University, Mathematics G103 - Offer AAA + [2 in STEP or Merit in AEA]. Insurance choice.
- Bristol University, Mathematics G103 - Offer AAB with FM or AAA with just Maths. Declined.
- Manchester University, Mathematics G104- Offer AAB with FM. Declined.
- Imperial University, Mathematics G103- Offer AAA in Maths, FM, Physics, with As in all modules. Declined.
Grades Achieved:
- Mathematics A2 - A*
- Further Mathematics A2- A*
- Physics A2- A*
- Chemistry A2- A*
- Philosophy AS- A
- STEP II- S
- STEP III- S
- AEA in Mathematics- Distinction
Reviewer comments:
- Great section about the taster course as it shows the applicant is interested and actively participating in university-like experiences.
- Good section about reading, although areas can be cut and focussed on the part relevant to mathematics.
- Extra-curricular section is a good length
- A few randomly capitalised words
- Some spacing is not correct
- There are gaps left in the personal statement for more sections/text. Make sure to add these because it is easy to forget to edit when submitting on Ucas.
Find more help with writing your personal statement
On The Student Room
On The Uni Guide
- How to write an excellent personal statement in 10 steps
- Advice from universities on writing your personal statement
