Examples of personal statements

Examples of personal statements

1. Examples of personal statements

1. Modern Languages

The importance of languages for me stems from the fact that it allows communication both from within
our own and across a range of other cultures. Growing up in a household where both English and
Yoruba are spoken allowed me to engage in the vibrant Nigerian culture contrasting to the Western
society I live in. My eyes were opened to the opportunities of studying languages after a Spanish
Exchange trip to Murcia where I enjoyed the warm hospitality of a Spanish student and her family.
Being so immersed in the culture and experiencing the lively and friendly atmosphere, my language
levels improved immensely. Since then I have taken part in another exchange in Madrid and visited
Barcelona with school.

Whilst discovering Spanish film, I was attracted by the headstrong and diverse female characters in
Pedro Almodovar's 'Volver' and 'Todo Sobre Mi Madre'. This encouraged me to sign up to a study day
about his films that I will attend later on this year. I have also enjoyed reading Latin American
literature such as 'Crónica de una muerte anunciada' with its themes of honour, destiny, machismo,
guilt and responsibility. After reading Lorca's 'Yerma', I was able to compare the traditional Spanish
society, where women lacked freedom, to the more modern society presented by Almodovar's
independent women. 'Las palmeras en la nieve' deals with the Spanish presence in West Africa and
taught me about the effect it had on the societies.

I became interested in Italian after taking part in some FutureLearn courses for beginners and I was
surprised by how quickly I was able to pick up grammar and vocabulary due to its similarities with
Spanish. Films such as 'Ladri di biciclette' and 'Roma città aperta' from the post-war genre of
neorealism educated me on how WWII affected Italy. On FutureLearn, I am also currently exploring a
course on Cultural Studies and Modern Languages and I have been particularly interested by the way
powerful slogans can demand national reform such as the anti-psychiatry movement in Italy 'La libertà
è terapeutica'. I look forward to learning more about Italy's history and film as well as the challenge of
learning a new language.

As a Young Leader in Girlguiding UK, I have developed leadership skills while running sessions for
the young Guides. Through hard work and determination, I have raised GBP5500 over the past three
years in order to represent my county and region with great pride during the international
opportunities for which I have been selected. During my trip to Mexico in 2014, I worked in an
orphanage and food bank. Throughout the trip, I was eager to practise my Spanish and became
interested in the history of the development of the Spanish language in Mexico after visiting Aztec
pyramids, which led to me doing some research on the Aztec Empire and the Spanish invasion of
1519. This summer I volunteered in South Korea with Girlguiding and took part in an enriching
Cultural Youth Camp. I was fascinated by the Korean culture and the Hangul alphabet and would like

2. to develop this interest at a later date.
Having gained a scholarship and consequently moving school for sixth form, I have had to adapt to a
new environment. My commitment in school led to me being selected as a prefect. In order to share
my enthusiasm for languages, I worked with a Year 8 Spanish Class explaining important grammar
points to students and helping them to improve their conversational fluency.

At MFL Breakfast Club it was encouraging to hear such a wide range of job prospects from various
people who use languages in their careers. I hope to get involved in clubs and societies at university
as well continuing with sports such as athletics which I have competed in regionally. I look forward to
the stimulating experience of not only developing linguistic fluency, but also deepening my cultural
understanding.

2. Chemistry

My imagination has been sparked by my studies at A Level, in part by being introduced to the work of
great chemists, such as Linus Pauling and William Knowles, the latter being a particular inspiration of
mine, having read about him in Sam Kean's 'The Disappearing Spoon'. Especially interesting is his
work on the synthesis of the laevorotatory enantiomer in 1968, a revolutionary discovery of 'L - Dopa'
used in the treatment of Parkinson's Disease. His research and work created an opportunity to
improve the welfare of many people suffering from the disease, something I would be immensely
proud of achieving during my life.

My passion for Chemistry developed further while researching emerging UK-based firms for an
Economics project. I found a company, Sirius Minerals, which aims to begin the extraction of large
reserves of an inorganic compound used to make fertilizer, much like the ammonia produced by
Haber's process. This particularly interested me, as it provides alternative options for transition of
chemistry outside of the laboratory. Although not as directly life-changing as work in research for new
treatments, large-scale industrial projects such as this are based in chemistry and require a skilled
comprehension of the processes that will occur, alongside managing the economic expenses in
industry.

Between lessons at school I enjoy mentoring three AS chemists, helping them with peer-to-peer
advice on revision techniques, solidifying my own knowledge by conveying theories and ideas
surrounding the first year of the A-Level course in the process. I was accepted as a part of a small
group, through my membership of ChemNet, to work on the isolation, IR spectroscopy and mass
spectrometry analysis of trimyristin, hosted by the Royal Society of Chemists. I extracted the triester
from nutmeg, due to around 25% of nutmeg's mass consisting of trimyristin. This, in turn, led me to a
deeper insight of surfactants and the roles of their polar hydrophilic 'heads' and organic hydrophobic
'tails'. This taste of lab work challenged me to work methodically for long periods, a lesson that will
hold me in good stead given the weekly lab hours of a Chemistry degree. I was introduced to another

3. area of chemistry outside of my A Level studies, following my attendance at a seminar on applied
chemistry and biochemistry. The speaker gave a detailed description of the chemistry of human
blood, explaining the various influxes of our red blood cells' pH and their related affinity to binding with
oxygen to form the oxyhaemoglobin complex. I will be attending another seminar in November, this
time on Arsenic. Although not directly related to my current studies, I enjoy broadening my
understanding outside of the classroom and textbook.

I am an avid sportsman and natural leader, having captained school rugby teams from U12s through
to 2nd team and played for the 1st team, I was also a member of the 2016 Kent County Cup winning
squad playing for Sidcup RFC. I also play 2nd XI football. These roles have led me to have a clear
and confident ability to communicate and cooperate under pressure. My sporting experiences have
helped me to learn how to define myself amongst a group and taught me many lessons including
leading by example in both my work rate and mindset.

I am looking forward to expanding my organic studies in particular, to extend my knowledge on how
more complex molecules interact and react with the body. I know a degree in Chemistry would open
up a large range of careers options, however, I am particularly interested in research work on the
pharmaceutical treatment of life-changing diseases, such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and early onset
dementia.

3. History - Oxbridge

My first taste of the diversity and fascination of History was in viewing classified documents regarding
a local WWII POW camp, at the National Archives. I was surprised by how one primary source
provided such a connection to the past and intrigued by the hand written comments scribbled on the
page which helped me to form my own judgement, something I had never done before. Since then I
have continued to form and debate my own opinions of the past, critically exploring the greater
influences that it had and I look forward to contributing to the never-ending discoveries Historians
make.

I am intrigued by the role that leaders' personalities play in shaping historical change and was struck
by the seeming contradiction of Stalin's successful centralisation and Nicholas II's failed attempts to
cling to these same values. Initially I had thought it was Russia's entry into WWI that had put an end
to Tsarist Russia, thinking that any leader would have met the same fate, but after watching Worsley's
'Empire of the Tsars: Romanov Russia' and reading Maisse's book 'Nicholas and Alexandra' I began
to see the importance of personality. I found Maisse's emphasis on the Tsar's naivety and over
reliance on a mystic connection with his people a convincing way of understanding what Figes has
called 'The People's Tragedy'. Conversely, I had the opportunity to discover Stalin's paranoid
personality when writing my EPQ on his control of Soviet composers and use of their music as
propaganda. Despite having played this music, as a flautist in the National Children's Orchestra, I had

4. never considered how much it had been manipulated by Stalin. I was helped by the research skills I
gained from writing articles at Think Publishing and those I used at the World Schools' Debating
Competition. I enjoyed the immediacy of consulting primary sources and I felt a closeness to history
that I had never before experienced. I enjoy the historic study of human behaviour and the ways in
which the opinions and actions of ordinary people are as complex as those of leaders, something I
first experienced reading Browning's 'Ordinary Men'. When researching the WWII POW camp I was
surprised by the officers' benevolent treatment of the inmates. In an effort to discover whether this
reflected British public opinion at the time, I read 'Britain's love hate relationship with foreigners during
WWII', which revealed that people's attitudes were dictated by self-interest. To gain some political
context, I read 'Island Refuge' by Sherman, whose analysis of the importance of economic and social
concerns in the reaction to refugees helped me to understand why it was that the public was wary of
them and visiting New York's Museum of Jewish Heritage enhanced my understanding of the
discontent among refugees. It seems to me that key to understanding the past lies in knowing the
exact context for seemingly inexplicable, immoral behaviour.

One of the most interesting aspects of History is that it is destined to be repeated and that we face the
same geo-political problems now that occurred in the last century. I was fascinated by Hosking's view,
at a lecture I attended, that history is simply the repetition of a cycle, which he explained through
Putin's aggression in the Ukraine. I enjoy making connections across vast periods of time, which have
seemingly little in common and found Karatani's referral to Marx in his essay 'History and Repetition
Today' intriguing. I don't completely agree with Marx's view that great events in history are often
repeated twice, 'once as tragedy and twice as farce' but I find it more convincing than the progressive
view that history is a permanent advancement. I look forward to continuing my study of History, which
will give me the opportunity to immerse myself in events which I am currently unaware of and use
these new discoveries to gain a greater understanding of the big questions the study of History has
confronted me with thus far.


4. Economics and Politics - Joint Honours

The importance and relevance of economics related disciplines to the modern world has led me to
want to pursue the study of the subjects at a higher level. I am particularly interested in the practical
application of economics in government policy, and to what extent it has a role in the economy. I have
found myself mostly engaged with post-war British politics, especially the end of post-war consensus
on Keynesian economics and the beginning of the Thatcherite period with monetarist and supply side
economic thinking. This led me to do my History A level extended essay on whether it was Labour
weakness or Conservative strength that enabled Mrs Thatcher to win three consecutive elections.

My ability to understand contemporary UK economics and government policy objectives was well
illustrated by my Macroeconomics AS grade, where I discussed the possible effects on the UK
economy if the pound began to fall in value, for which I achieved the highest mark in the year with

5. 69/70. Although I do not consider myself a free marketeer, to give myself a better understanding of
the thinking behind differing economic policies in Britain and around the world, I attended the post
Brexit discussion at the free market think tank Institute of Economic Affairs, and a talk entitled the
'Rise and Fall of Nations' at LSE, which gave me an insight into the possible future winners and losers
in the global economy. From studying post war British politics, it is evident that perceived economic
strength was the foremost factor that decided many elections in the UK, evidenced by Labour's loss in
1979 following the 'winter of discontent'. However, much has been said about the economic damage
that Brexit might bring to the UK, so it would be interesting to study contemporary politics at university
and see how other issues affect the outcome of elections. I took part in a human geography
competition where I wrote an essay on the idea of 'Trade not Aid' in which I discussed the need to
reduce global inequality of wealth. I found that there are compelling arguments for and against the
case. Given the current austerity imposed by the government, Britain's 'generous' figures for foreign
aid have been highlighted by the likes of UKIP as a way to reduce the deficit. By entering this
competition my understanding of analysing government spending has improved; for instance, the
trade-off that policy-makers must consider when choosing where to spend money, for example, the
opportunity cost of spending money on foreign aid is that you cannot spend it on education. It is these
political decisions which interest me. I have tried to further my understanding of economic theories
beyond the A level syllabus. A book that has made me question the status quo was 'Economics after
capitalism' by Derek Wall, which questioned the norms of private enterprise and low taxes associated
with capitalism, and instead attacked the social injustice of inequality, something that I strongly
believe the government should try to reduce.

I have represented both football and cricket first XI school teams since year 11. In October of year 12
I gained my level one football coaching badge. Coaching young children every weekend has helped
me develop leadership and communication skills, which has been useful in my role as a year 7
mentor, helping pupils with organisation and any problems. Patience and commitment are perhaps
the most important qualities I have learned by doing this.

The recent political and economic problems in the UK have reinforced my understanding that both
subjects are interrelated and have a huge impact on our everyday lives. Studying at university would
provide an ideal environment where I can further my knowledge, and, more importantly, formulate and
alter my current ideas on the subjects. I feel my passion for both Politics and Economics makes me
an ideal student for a joint course, and I look forward to getting involved in both academic and social
aspects of university.