Now that the Ucas application season is in full swing, Studential is seeing a huge increase in visitors which is putting a strain on parts of the site. In order to combat this and keep our hosts happy, comments have been temporarily disabled on the main personal statements page, along with a few other changes.

Hopefully they will be back up soon, but in the meantime you can leave your general personal statements comments here.

Remember I have no control over the personal statements on the site and can't obtain specific samples for you. If the sort you want isn't there - consider donating it this year!

This post was last modified: 29/08/2008 06:07 PM by BadWolf.

um i got a link thru google for a pharmacy personal statement but pharmacy is not on your list of subjects so i was just wondering if u only have the one..or are there more?

hi i am looking for any dietetics personal statements. if you have any samples please could you post it up. thank you x

HI.

I was wondering if you think that there are any major differences between personal statements for arts and science degrees. It's just that I'm in a bit of a weird situation in that I want to apply to Oxford to do History but then all my other applications (Bristol, Cardiff and Nottingham) will be for biology (or maybe biochemistry). I know it's a bit early to be thinking about it now but I don't want to write a personal statement that only suits one or other. I've tried speaking to my teachers about it and they just say that I should try and be myself.

I spoke to these companies oxford editors thing oh and this ludicrously orange website company (i think it's http://www.personal-statement.co.uk) and they said that I should tailor my personal statement to my course.

I'm really confused and quite stressed about it. I know that Oxford applications go in early so I was going to submit one UCAS form for that and then change it afterwards when the rest go in. But, I don't know if Oxford will be my first choice.

If you have any suggestions then could you please email me angela_horshwood@hotmail.com or my school email angelahorsh@st-clares-convent.co.uk

Ms. Horshwood,

There are no rigid guidelines for how a statement of purpose should be written for any of the courses. The manner in which you present your thoughts and ideas in the SOP, be it for any course, really makes the difference.

Your SOP can take different styles, also called Naratives. The most common one is the chronological style, where you explain the highlights of your achievements pertinent to the course of study you are applying for in the order in which it occurred. Similarly, there are other ways, like the Bookend approach, where you start the essay with an enrapturing incident without mentioning the conclusion, and then insert the body as a flash back and finally come back to the present to complete the story.

That being said, SOP should in fact be tailor made for each course. While you can use one of the styles above, the body should contain enough information and evidences or incidents in your life that proves that you are naturally cut out for this course. Like some examples that evinces your true passions, in your case, you might want to say more about your visits to historical places. Make sure you send across a clear message stating that this is what you want to be doing no matter what. Take every opportunity to state you passion for the subject. The moment they spot a sentence that shows your ambivalent or vacillating attitude about the course, they reject your application. So please be very careful in structuring your sentences.

All the best in your academic endeavors.

Sam Collins.

P.S: Read the personal statement FAQs posted in the UCAS forms and personal statements section. Important info available there regarding styles and ideas.

This post was last modified: 11/02/2007 04:40 PM by samcollins.

Hi, just been looking at your tips for writing a personal statement. I was feeling abit nervous about writing it. Thanks for the ideas. Tessy

Good Day !
Thanks for your exellent web site.
I read some of personal statemant but unfotunatly I can't find their how to write personal statement on Religion / Islamic culture

Thanks

um i got a link thru google for a landscape personal statement but landscape is not on your list of subjects so i was just wondering if u only have the one..or are there more?

Hi There - We don't have any landscape personal statements - I guess Google messed up there. I had a quick look on the net and I can't find any available except for this extract: