Download the example personal statement on the right…Written by a successful applicant who has now graduated from Oxbridge, this personal statement is annotated by its author, with all the insights hindsight can bring.
Download the example personal statement on the right…Written by a successful applicant who has now graduated from Oxbridge, this personal statement is annotated by its author, with all the insights hindsight can bring.
Download the example personal statement on the right…“I have a keen interest in current affairs but have recently been inspired by the deeper level of understanding gained from the writings of leading economists. Galbraith’s ‘Great Crash of 1929’ was a truly insightful read and I was shocked that our current crisis could occur when we have such a strong understanding of the past.’
Tristan was successful in his application for Economics but he is a little older and wiser now, and his assessment of his Economics personal statement is incredibly enlightening for those trying to figure out their own first drafts: ‘This is actually really risky in hindsight! Quite a bold statement that would likely be picked up on in an interview. Admissions tutors could easily disagree with the comment. With something like this it would have been smart for me to have been very prepared to argue my case…’ Tristan’s not wrong: last year 64% of Oxbridge interviewees were asked about their personal statement.
Knowing how to write an Economics personal statement is just half the journey, you need to be sure that you can confidently talk about any comments or topics you include. We’ve provided an Economics personal statement example for you to download and understand what aspects go into creating an excellent personal statement that’ll get the attention of admissions tutors.
Download the example personal statement on the right…Written by a successful applicant who has now graduated from Oxbridge, this personal statement is annotated by its author, with all the insights hindsight can bring.
Download the example personal statement on the right…Written by a successful applicant who has now graduated from Oxbridge, this personal statement is annotated by its author, with all the insights hindsight can bring.
Download the example personal statement on the right…Written by a successful applicant who has now graduated from Oxbridge, this personal statement is annotated by its author, with all the insights hindsight can bring.
Download the example personal statement on the right…“At school, I have contributed to many extracurricular activities, which I have found especially rewarding. Currently, I sit on the School Ball Design Committee and I am the captain of the school hockey team. These have taught me the importance of being able to work both within a team and as an individual, which during work experience I saw was a fundamental part of the medical profession.”
Here, Hannah is discussing how she handled a difficult element of the Oxbridge Medicine personal statement that also extends to other prestigious universities. Many universities see extra-curricular activities as a necessity for demonstrating an individual’s self-drive and ‘get up and go’. There’s no doubt that most Oxbridge admissions tutors will admire you if you rowed in the Olympics or reached the peak of Kilimanjaro, but it is well known that this is not going to win you a place. They want to know about your commitment and potential for your subject. In Hannah’s statement, she is able to directly relate her extra-curricular work back to Medicine. This is important as it helps strike the balance between having interests and ensuring they don’t meander too far away from your genuine passion, which in Hannah’s case was Medicine.
Download this Medicine personal statement example to see how a successful applicant approached the difficult statement, and how she would change it now, with hindsight.
Your complimentary “So you want to go to Oxbridge? Tell me about a banana…”
If you’re looking for resources and advice before making your application to Oxford or Cambridge, then you’ve come to the right place! We have been industry-leading experts in applying to Oxbridge since 1999, amassing quite a catalogue of info, tips, and tricks to help you get into the best position possible to get that elusive Oxbridge offer you’ve been dreaming of.
We’ve condensed the stuff that most people want to know into our free E-book “So you Want to Go to Oxbridge? Tell me About a Banana…”. Packed full of over a decade’s research and up-to-date advice on how to prepare, Tell me about a banana draws on the experiences of thousands of successful Oxbridge graduates and how they would approach the application process if they had to do it all over again.
Good personal statements bring up an idea about the course that is a reason you have engaged with it, and then uses the reading as examples to back this up.
Bad personal statements try to make a mini essay out of each subject they bring up in order to try to demonstrate knowledge of the text or idea. You don’t have enough room to show what you know – see the statement as a springboard for the interview. If your interviewer is interested in the fact that you’ve explored a certain idea, they will expect to see what you know in the interview.
Check your personal statement – you cannot sum up a complex academic idea in a sentence so check it doesn’t look as though you’ve tried to do this. Instead, demonstrate your interest in that idea, but referencing the reading you’ve done in it. Then expect to follow this up if you have an interview.
The personal statement is a springboard for your interview…
You’ve done your reading. You’ve made your brainstorm. You’ve possibly even got a first draft. Now it’s time to put the cherry on the top…
Here are our suggestions for compiling, refining and perfecting that Personal Statement.
We’ll consider ways you can improve upon structure and content, style and tone, the extra-curriculars conundrum and honesty.
The Personal Statement is your chance to show that you can structure your thoughts. If it feels ‘bitty’ and put together in a rush, it could suggest your essay writing may leave something to be desired. Equally, if it’s too verbose and full of fluff, will the tutors want to read essays from you for the next three years?
Support every point with personal examples, but avoid broad clichés. Every mathematician has a “love for numbers” and historians are always “passionate about the past informing the present” so ditch those worn out sentences and decide how you are different from the competition.
A couple of years ago, Cambridge announced that a shocking number of their applicants for medicine had started their Personal Statements with exactly the same line.
“My passion for medicine began when I received a chemistry set for my eighth birthday …”
Remember, Personal Statements are a chance to show what is unique about you, so copying what others have said online is an absolute no-no, and at all times you should strive to write something that is authentically ‘You’. Whilst you can take advice, your personal statement needs to be your own work.
It is up to you if you want to open with an arresting, personal or original first line but avoid going too over the top. Straying into cliché or sounding insincere are big Personal Statement bloopers.
Allow the first paragraph to answer: why am I applying for this course? Why am I specifically interested in what it has to offer? Who am I?
Use these to provide in-depth, well-explained examples as to why you are a strong applicant for your course. Use further reading to provide the core narrative and illustrate your interests. Avoid the temptation to merely list your accomplishments or be too anecdotal without showing relevance.
Explaining what you learnt or enjoyed about a specific book is worth more than listing all the books you’ve ever read. Engineering and Medical applicants may want to draw on their work experience, a Geography student on a field trip. You must analyse your experiences – not just tell a story.
As for reading, you should never mention a book if you are not going to go on to say what you found interesting about it. Chances are that the tutor has read (or even written!) the book, so they are not interested in the fact that you have read it, but rather what you think about it.
This might mean that you have to be selective about which books you include so that you can fit everything in. Try to pick those books that advanced your knowledge, but make sure that these are respectable books (not on your school syllabus, though) and are pitched at the level you need as an Oxbridge, Law or Medicine graduate. If you need any suggestions, see our reading recommendations.
Make sure you end on a strong, positive note. The content is the most interesting part, but most people will pick up from the first sentence of the final paragraph when they’re scanning something. It can help to link your conclusion back to something you said in your introduction.
Your conclusion should be personal and above all, simple.
It’s very difficult to say something wholly original – don’t detract from your strong content by putting something overly flowery at the end.
Oxford and Cambridge have stated on multiple occasions that they are looking for an applicant who can demonstrate a genuine enthusiasm and aptitude for their subject, rather than someone who has been captain of the cricket team, plays violin or is even head boy or girl. On the other hand, one of our tutors who did Engineering at Oxford was told by his Professor that there were candidates academically stronger than him, but his impressive extra-curricular activities demonstrated that he would be able to handle the demanding work load. So the jury’s out!
Our advice would be to emphasise your academic interests rather than your extra-curricular achievements, so follow the guideline of around 1/5 of your personal statement being devoted to your extra-curricular.
Oxford and Cambridge’s primary concern is your academic motivation, achievements and potential – and this need to occupy most of your personal statement. That said, remember that your personal statement will be read by admissions tutors at other universities – who often say they want to see evidence of extra-curricular activities, gap year plans (if relevant) and career aims. Try to link your extra-curricular activities to your subject as much as you can. Use them to illustrate how you have developed as a student rather than just listing them.
Crucially, your Personal Statement is not the only thing that Oxford and Cambridge will read about you. Your teacher’s reference should cover any positions of responsibility in the school, your contribution to the classes you are in, any health, social or learning difficulties that might have affected your education and your school’s opinion of you, so none of this needs to be included in your Personal Statement. If there is anything that you’re not sure about, check with your teacher, or with us.
Likewise all your academic achievements are recorded on your UCAS form, so you don’t need to explain your GCSE results or your predicted grades in the Personal Statement.
Remember that if you are applying to Cambridge you will have to fill in the SAQ (Supplementary Application Questionnaire), so if there is something specific about the Cambridge course that you are particularly interested in, you can explain here. Very handy!
Your Personal Statement should flow as well as excite. You want the admissions tutors to see that you can write with clarity and precision. This doesn’t mean that you should get someone else to write it for you. It’s essential that the style, language, tone and vocabulary are your own so only include words and phrases that you would be comfortable using at interview. At the same time, do not be too informal: making jokes is dangerous and likely to strike the wrong note, sound over-confident or fail to impress. And beware of overusing superlatives. It is believable that you are ‘fascinated’ and ‘committed’ to your subject, but not ‘completely fascinated’ and ‘utterly committed’.
A big interview blooper is only talking about things that you’ve already covered in the personal statement. If they ask a broad question like ‘what plays have developed your interest in Jacobean theatre?’ make sure you’re armed with a couple more plays beside the ones you mentioned on your statement. They’ve already read that. Don’t bore them by re-hashing information they already have about you.
When you’ve done your personals statement, have a breather! But not for too long. Remember, by the time you have an interview in December, the admissions tutors know that the personal statement was probably written about 6 months ago. They’ll want to know what you’ve read and done since. Don’t know what to do next?
+44 (0)20 7499 2394
Our Oxbridge-graduate consultants are available between 9.00 am – 5.00 pm from Monday to Friday, with additional evening availability when requested.
Oxbridge Applications, 14 – 16 Waterloo Place, London, SW1Y 4AR
