Offers from Manchester, Exeter, Edinburgh and SOAS, with an interview from Cambridge.
A step-by-step guide on how to write a personal statement for university, with an example and general advice.
The subjects applied for were Spanish (studied before) and Arabic (ab initio), but the guide appl...
I applied for Arabic and Spanish; I’d studied Spanish throughout school, but I’d never
studied Arabic before. This meant I needed to talk about both subjects, giving me less time
and space.
[At first, you can just make the basic structure of a personal statement. Giving each point
equal weight, start with;
• Why are you interested in it? What first interested you about the subject?
• What have you done in the subject? How has this developed your skill? Mention
books, days out, what interested you in class, research you’ve done, whatever.
• What other things have you done (not in the subject)? How has this developed your
skill?
Try to always mention how this has helped you; this part is very important. I’ll use two
colours for point and effect.]
[Opening statement; try to interest the reader. What interests you about the subject?]
Languages have passionately captivated me in an obsession that has lasted from my first
days of Latin at GCSE. Three years on, I am as intensely invested as I was before, and the
world of wonder that was presented to me by my Latin teacher has never ceased to amaze.
[What interested you about the subject?]
My interest in the Hispanic world flourished at A level, as I was introduced to a wide range
of Spanish literature in its original language, such as Las Batallas En El Desierto, and the
work of Juan Ramón Jiménez.
[You can accentuate this a little and make it more professional. If you were mainly
interested in it because you liked tapas or there was a pretty Spanish girl at school, that’s
fine; you can put more weight on a more “professional” reason.]
[What have you done in the subject?]
For my English Literature novel coursework, I dove further into this, writing my essay on Las
Batallas En El Desierto, and exploring the complex social power dynamics between the
characters using the lens of feminism. This allowed me to see Latin America from a new
and more intimate perspective as I read it in the original language and discussed complex
issues that arose in it within my essay. Reading Jiménez’ poetry gave me the confidence to
, delve into other challenging works, such as El Coronel No Tiene Quien Le Escriba, and
explore the historical context within it such as the 1000 día guerra.
Furthermore, this pushed my interest onwards into Mexico and its cultures and traditions; I
wrote my Independent Research Project for Spanish A-Level on the Quinceañera and its
evolution. In October I visited Spain with my class and stayed with a Spanish family during
it. This accelerated my Spanish tremendously and gave me a head start to improve my
Spanish by using it in a natural setting.
[Now that I’m finished talking about Spanish, I’ll talk about Arabic, which I’ve never studied
before and so will prove more difficult.]
[Once again; you can give a more “professional” reason. The real reason I was interested in
Arabic was because there was an Egyptian takeaway near me with food that smelt really
good. That’s entirely it, and what pushed me to do it for my EPQ.]
However, I was mainly introduced to the idea of studying Arabic through my EPQ, in which I
asked about the importance of the Rosetta Stone to deciphering the language of Ancient
Egypt.
[My first draft for this ran, “This allowed me to improve my ability to research and write
extensively and talk in public; something that I have always struggled with.” Don’t mention
your weaknesses and don’t degrade yourself. You’re paying for this, don’t bully yourself.]
In order to come to a balanced conclusion, I read numerous books and articles on Ancient
Egypt, plunging into the topic head-on. This allowed me to improve my ability to research
and write extensively and talk in public, which has proved a useful skill since as prefect.
Furthermore, I also had an introduction to the Islamic world, which I explored through
reading A History of the Arab Peoples and beginning to learn Arabic.
[Unless you’re going to an interview, you don’t have to read every single book straight away
before you begin your personal statement; I’m still reading A History of the Arab Peoples,
with my personal statement submitted a month ago.]
[What have you done outside of the subject?]
My interest in languages is not purely restricted to Spanish, Latin and Arabic. Due to my
Dutch heritage, I was inspired to start learning Dutch autodidactically after visiting relatives
in the Netherlands, and currently am working towards my Staatsexamen NT2.
[Although I’m hoping to pass that exam, I don’t actually need to, since the results are due
after my personal statement is submitted.]
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