Personal Statement

[SilverGlitterBaubles]

How do you suggest writing a personal statement that fits the narrative for two possibilities of studying? DC is undecided about which field of study making personal statements about both difficult. Has anyone covered more than one option?

Yeh my dd applied for two courses, Eng lit and class civ. She angled her PS to talk about her passion for literature relating to stories of Ancient Greece!

Tbf most unis don’t use the PS to differentiate really. What subjects - are they close to each other?

Not especially close - Law and Geography

What’s the grade profile? Are they looking at very competitive institutions?

There are some unis that say they use the PS to differentiate between very strong candidates for competitive courses where lots meet the entry criteria. Do not assume it’s not read. Or that GCSEs are not considered.

Personally I think law and geography are going to be diificult. Does any Law course need the pre test? I would think career goals would be different too. So writing about why you want a course and how you meet the criteria could be a challenge in the new format. I would suggest she draws up a spreadsheet on pros and cons of each subject and suitability for studying them. Also would it be a 3/2 choice in favour of which subject? For law, which can be very competitive, cutting down from 5 choices seems a bit daft. If it’s a low tariff uni it’s less of a concern.

The only course I can think of that would cover both law and geography is Land Economy at Cambridge.

However, I think it would be possible to write a personal statement that covers applications to both law and geography if you focus on areas of interest where the disciplines intersect.

A quick google brought up the following, which your DC could read and reference:
https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/law-and-humanities/law-and-geography/C55B22DB1C935D1A62B3A4D83DAFCEFA
https://academic.oup.com/book/10012/chapter-abstract/157401480?redirectedFrom=fulltext
https://academic.oup.com/book/10012/chapter-abstract/157402324?redirectedFrom=fulltext
https://geographical.co.uk/culture/why-do-geographers-matter-in-the-world-of-law

The issue is that she hasn't quite figured out what it is she wants to do. Law was it until recently and now she has had a wobble and is doubting this so looking at other options.

@SilverGlitterBaubles My DS applied to 4 choices for History and 1 choice for History & War Studies. His PS was mostly made up of insights about various history books and the focus of those books were primarily on war-time events. So he was able to straddle both subjects quite well. He has had 5 offers.

I wonder if this helps with Law & Geography:

https://academic.oup.com/book/10012/chapter-abstract/157401480?redirectedFrom=fulltext#:~:text=The%20collision%20of%20law%20and,which%20the%20Forest%20Law%20operated.

Also there's going to be a lot of laws to do with town planning, preservation of the natural environment which tangentially connect the two.

The other thing of course, is she could split the PS into two sections where she focuses on each subject while finding a way to connect them?

Hmm law and geog are quite different aren't they. I think the examples of my DD and @Fredistheonly's DS are a bit closer together (as in – for class civ DD was able to focus on the books that related to it).

Tbf tho for DD’s choices I doubt if the PS was a factor. I would think that, yes, for law, as a quite competitive course, it may be considered. That would depend on the university tho. Can you share where she is applying @SilverGlitterBaubles ?

@TizerorFizz Writing a PS is a lot more nuanced than saying why you want to study it and how you meet the criteria. The subjects you're studying at A level or the A levels you've achieved are already listed separately on the application. Rather, it is about demonstrating suitability for the course through original insights on the subject to be studied, that have been gained from academic study in and outside of school, additional reading /other experiences.

A paragraph for geography and a paragraph for environmental issues/ law.

Universities would probably assume applicant is applying for a joint course.

Thanks all lots of useful information here.

I think a connection between geography and law in terms of the environment and planning considerations so perhaps urban development could be an angle. The thing is she has experiences in each subject area to draw on it's the combination that is throwing her.

@SilverGlitterBaubles Yes there is land and property law. However it’s not what most law applicants would talk about but it’s a link. Do Geograohy courses care about this though. I would look at her grades and interests. Most law students are interested in a law career. Is DD? How do her exoerurbves weave into a PS for law? Or geography? Is there a stronger leaning one way or another? Reading? Activites? Interests? ,

Demonstrating suitability for the course is not much different meeting criteria.UCAS says talk about why you are a good candidate. Suitability is not always academic. Most unis that give info on writing a PS and UCAS do give a clear steer on what applicants should consider but it’s very difficult to write coherently about these two as they are very different and tenuously linked.

Not all unis / courses look at the personal statement so I would start by ascertaining which ones do, and go from there. She might be lucky and find it's ignored by one subject at the unis she's applying for, but scored by the other for example.