university of southampton personal statement

Advice for applying to study STEM subjects

Your personal statement is an important part of your application. For many, it can seem like a daunting exercise, but in fact it’s your opportunity to show universities who you are and why you are an excellent choice for their course. To help you write a personal statement that will secure your place at your university of choice, our STEM admissions tutors have put together some top tips below.

Your personal statement

Many people do not know what they want to do in the future – and that’s OK! Many just know they like a particular subject area and want to pursue it further. Some have wanted to pursue it since an early age or have developed an interest in it recently.

Whichever best describes you, tell us, in your own words:

• The topics that fascinate you
• What you hope to achieve through studying your subject and give an idea of where this might fit in with your longer-term aims
• What sparked your initial interest in the subject
• Why you chose this particular course
• How you think the subject relates to the real world and society – think about its applications, the research that’s happening in the area and its global impact

Dr Lindsay-Marie Armstrong, Director of Admissions (Engineering)

“I enjoy reading about what you think are the next big challenges that we face as a society. Understanding the role you think engineering will play in solving global problems, even before you get to the course, is extremely valuable.”

The three most important things to demonstrate: passion, motivation and enthusiasm

Back up your passion and motivation with evidence. Explain why the subject fascinates you and what engages you.

 You could discuss:

• Videos, podcasts and lectures
• Work experience
• Topics you’ve studied

Professor David Smith, Admissions Tutor (Physics)

“Try to evidence your claims about yourself. i.e. rather than ‘I love physics’ write ‘My interest in physics led me to read this book or attend this lecture or take an optional physics club’. Remember you might be asked about your claims in an interview.”

Professor Russell Minns, Admissions Tutor (Chemistry)

"Don’t worry if you’ve not managed to get work experience, it’s not necessary for most subjects. Instead have a think about other things you’ve done outside of school or college that demonstrate your transferable skills."

We understand that it can be difficult to get relevant work experience and it’s not usually necessary for studying most subjects at university. But you can demonstrate valuable transferable skills and experience in many environments, such as:

• Part time work
• Sports activities
• Organising social activities or charity events
• Personal achievements from your hobbies

“Above all, tell us what you’ve done. This is much better than only talking about what interests you. This might be personal projects, or experiments with technology at home, but say something about your real experiences and how you learned from them.” 

Dr Dave Millard, Director of Admissions (ECS)

Personal statement top tips

• Tell us about your hobbies, interests and other activities, including employment or voluntary work, which show who you are as a person and demonstrate relevant skills
• Try not to use clichéd phrases, saturate your personal statement with superlatives, or try too hard to impress 
• Be honest and true to yourself and your interests, then read it through and see if it is a true representation of you, and demonstrates your passion
• Tailor the statement to your chosen course. Generic and formulaic statements do not demonstrate you as an individual and your genuine interest. We want to see your voice coming through in the statement
• Discuss your other subjects and how they link with each other
• Example personal statements online may be useful for inspiration but avoid plagiarising text from these. This is easy to check by UCAS and admissions tutors
• Take care with grammar, spelling and punctuation, and avoid writing in note form; try to get someone else to proofread, or read it over backwards – it helps you to spot mistakes in your own writing
• Remember, that all information in the personal statement may be drawn upon at interview, so be truthful about your knowledge, experience and motivations 

Application tips

• Make sure your subject choices meet the course requirements
• Don’t be afraid to aim high and choose one university course with entry requirements above your predicted grades
• You can include other qualifications not directly relevant to the application (e.g. music qualifications)
• Double check that all information is accurate such as qualifications, education and contact details

Good luck with your application! If you’d like to discuss any aspect of your application with us, please email us at [email protected]

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"Writing a personal statement might seem like a daunting task but it really should not be difficult. Think of your personal statement as a way for you to give us a few more details about you – about your story, your interests and your motivations. I enjoy reading through personal statements of applicants and see the diversity of stories and interests that motivate students to apply to study chemical engineering with us."

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How Universities Use Your Medicine Personal Statement

Check our table to see how every Medical School uses your Personal Statement - and find out which ones place a strong emphasis on this part of your application.

Med Schools And Personal Statements

• Find out how Med Schools use Personal Statements
• Learn why it’s important to understand this
• See every Med School’s Personal Statement policy

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You need to understand how universities use your Medicine Personal Statement because you’ll need to know whether it can make – or break – your UCAS application .

How Do Med Schools Use Personal Statements?

In general, there are five main ways that your Personal Statement could be used by Medical Schools:

• Not used in any part of the selection process at all
• Read but not assessed
• To shortlist candidates to invite to interview
• To form the basis of questions at interview
• To help decide between two candidates who are otherwise equally tied

For example, Brighton and Sussex say they will not use your Personal Statement in the selection process – whereas others, like King’s College London , will look at it when considering applicants to shortlist for interview.

Make Sure You Stand Out

Get The Best Personal Statement Advice

Why Do I Need to Know This?

It’s important that you know how your target Medical Schools will use your Personal Statement, so you can decide how much effort to put into it.

For example, if you’re applying to universities that won’t use the Personal Statement for shortlisting candidates at all, you may be wiser to dedicate more time to preparing for the UCAT or BMAT . Likewise, if you’re applying to universities that place a greater emphasis on your Personal Statement for Medicine, you’ll need to really scrutinise how you structure and how you write your Personal Statement to boost your chances.

How Every Med School Uses Personal Statements

This table sums up what Medical Schools are currently saying about how they will use your Personal Statement. For more detail, and for the most up-to-date information, make sure you check their websites directly.

Once you understand how your Personal Statement for Medicine will be used, it’s time to start planning it to ensure your application is as strong as possible.

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How To Structure Your Medicine Personal Statement

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Minimum academic eligibility criteria.

• BSc/MSci 2:1 (or equivalent)
• and/or Masters (MSc or MRes) at Merit/Distinction level (>60%).
• and/or evidence of significant relevant professional experience equivalent to Masters level.
• IELTS overall 6.5 / TOEFL overall 92 (Band C), if applicable.

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We encourage candidates to list two or three projects in which they are interested with a provisional ranking of preference to help us circulate your application among the pool of potential supervisors. Please submit only ONE application. Multiple projects (max. 3) can be listed on one application.

INSPIRE studentships are funded by the Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC). The stipend is in line with UKRI stipend levels . All studentships are fully funded for 3.5 years. Both UK and non-UK candidates are eligible to apply.

EU students coming to the UK from 1 January 2021 will need to apply for a visa to study in the UK .

All PhD applications to INSPIRE should be made here .

Potential PhD students are requested to apply using the University of Southampton postgraduate application form, appending the following:

• curriculum vitae giving details of your academic record and stating your research interests,
• name two current academic referees together with an institutional email addresses in the Reference section of the application form. On submission of your online application your referees will be automatically emailed requesting they send a reference to us directly by email,
• your academic transcript and degree certificate (translated if not in English) - if you have completed both a BSc & an MSc, we require both.
• IELTS/TOEFL certificate, if applicable. For more information, please see the University of Southampton's English Language Proficiency page.

As far as possible please upload all documents in PDF format.

Please remember to include a short statement of your research interests and rationale for your choice of project(s) in the Personal Statement section of the application form.

You are encouraged to contact potential supervisors by email to discuss project-specific aspects of the proposed research at an early stage. General enquiries should be directed to the Admissions team by email at: [email protected]

View the recording of and FAQs from INSPIRE DTP’s webinar for prospective applicants that took place on Wednesday 6 December 2023 .

2023/24 Timetable and Deadlines

Due to the planned closure of the University’s primary data centre, the deadline for applications to be received has been extended to 08 January 2024 . Interview dates for successful candidates are:

• Monday 12 February 2024
• Thursday 15 February 2024
• Friday 16 February 2024
• Thursday 22 February 2024
• Friday 23 February 2024

Please note they are all day events and will be allocated based on interview panel availability.

General enquiries and requests for reasonable adjustments should be directed to the Admissions team by email at: [email protected]  

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Southampton - Business and Management

Business and management – 2013 ( lse, warwick, bath, exeter, southampton ).

Born in France, I had the opportunity to move to the United Kingdom at the age of 13. Adapting very quickly to my new environment, I have developed new ...

Business and Management – 2013 ( Bath, Warwick, Exeter, Lancaster, Southampton )

Last year was very important as it confirmed that the area of study I wanted to focus on was Management with a specific focus on Marketing, and that I was ...

Please note UCAS will detect any form of plagiarism. PSE and its contributors do not take any responsibility for the way in which personal statements are used.

How to write a personal statement

Finding the right words to include in your personal statement can be tricky, but we're here to guide you through it.

Writing a first-class statement

You know we’re a good match, now all you’ve got to do is tell us why. Your personal statement is an opportunity to tell us everything about you and how special you are but finding the right words can be tricky. If you’re tired of sitting in front of a blank page for hours on end, searching for the best way to describe yourself, you’ve come to the right place. Here are our top tips for writing a personal statement.

What is a personal statement?

A personal statement forms part of your application to study at university. It’s your chance to articulate why you’d like to study a particular course or subject, and what skills and experience you possess that demonstrate your passion for your chosen field. Your personal statement can be up to 4,000 characters (including spaces) or 47 lines of 95 characters (including spaces); whichever is shorter.

What to write about in your personal statement

You! No one knows you better than you know yourself. You need to tell us why you’re the perfect candidate for the course and what makes you stand out from the crowd.

A helpful way of ensuring you strike the right balance is by splitting your statement into sections:

• At least 75% of your personal statement should be related to what you want to study, and why you want to study that subject. Be genuine and refer to topics you've already studied and your wider interests in the area. It's also worth reflecting on any reading that you’ve done on the subject or relevant work experience.
• The remaining 25% of your statement should cover any other achievements. This is where you show us that you’ve taken full advantage of the opportunities presented to you. Are you on a school sports team? Have you conducted any charity work? Do you have a part-time job? Include relevant examples that demonstrate you have the skills needed during your time at university. It’s time to boast about how brilliant you are! 

However, getting these details down isn't always easy, and some people find it helpful to make notes over time. Carrying a notebook with you or setting up a memo on your phone can be useful. Whenever you think of something useful for your personal statement, jot it down.

Top Tip: It’s important to remember that you only write one personal statement – it remains the same for each course you apply for. So, avoid mentioning any universities by name. If you’re applying for more than one subject (or it’s a combined course) it’s crucial to include common themes or reference the overall skills needed for all subjects.

How to write your personal statement

Just like you, your personal statement should be unique, so there’s no specific format to follow when it comes to putting pen to paper. That said, we have compiled some general guidelines for you to follow:

• Write simply and naturally – don’t use complex language to impress, it often doesn’t read well 
• Be enthusiastic and excited – we want to see your genuine passion (and enjoy reading about it) 
• Structure your personal statement to reflect the skills and qualities universities value most – read the course descriptions for inspiration 
• Read it aloud – this can help you spot any potential mistakes and provides an opportunity to edit the text to make the statement sound more natural 
• Don’t copy – UCAS runs your personal statement through plagiarism software to make sure your statement is original 
• Overwrite then edit – when working on your first draft it’s important to get down as much information as you can, you can refine the copy to suit the character count later 
• Don’t settle on draft one – come back to your statement a few days after completing your first draft, you’ll likely want to redraft certain sections after coming back with ‘fresh eyes’ 
• Ask for advice – get your teachers, advisors and family to take a look and don’t be offended if they offer suggestions or changes, they want to help you succeed 
• Run your statement through a spell-checking programme – then double-check the spelling, punctuation and grammar and correct

We recommend you write your personal statement first, then copy and paste it into your online application once you're happy with it. Make sure you save it regularly, as it times out after 35 minutes of inactivity.

Need more application tips?

Life is full of opportunities and studying at the University of Nottingham could be your biggest yet! If you’re looking for more application guidance, head over to our 'Applying' hub.

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Fashion management/marketing personal statement example.

"Hollie, why do you always look at what people are wearing?" was something my mother said to me in my early teens, and she was right.

To me, fashion is body language. It is a non-verbal form of communication showing a lot about the wearer to the observer. The most enticing aspect of studying a fashion related course is that fashion blossoms on the unexpected.

Developing new ideas in relation to this global industry's future, from how a business best communicates with its consumer or its environmental and cultural concerns, is something that I am whole heartedly interested in. The opportunity of combining my interest in fashion products with management and marketing skills really excites me.

Currently I think some aspects of fashion, like branding, are working with a lack of flexibility and have fallen behind where they could be. In an industry as fast paced as this one the engagement of brand to consumer is critical and adding value to the consumer, along with sustainability, is what I would like to improve.

With over a year of work experience at "Claire's", as a sales assistant, I have gained invaluable fashion retail environment experience and I know that is where I want to be. In "Claire's" I am constantly communicating with and promoting product lines to customers.

This has improved my confidence and interpersonal skills. Visual merchandising has allowed me to advance my creativity and my time management skills through meeting deadlines and has emphasised my attention to detail. I am also responsible for daily statistics reports in which I analyse consumer behaviour, product information and net sales.

This has engaged me into understanding the financial aspect of the business, challenges me to think in a logical and critical manner and continually drives me to meet and surpass targets. Within school, I have been chosen by the teachers and pupils as 'Deputy Head of House' because of my participation in a variety of House events.

This role has added to my organisational and team working skills greatly as I am expected to organise and manage 'House Events' months prior and to communicate with, as well as lead, a large group of people. In addition, my involvement in the Community Service Group involves me presenting information to the rest of the school and being inventive on how to do so.

My study of English has improved my understanding of written and verbal communication and allows me to be creative and innovative.

Undertaking Business Studies at A-level has cemented my desire for a career in marketing management. In particular, I liked the modules about marketing where I learnt about the marketing mix and different marketing plans and strategies.

Also a module called "Principles of Management and Leadership" was one I thoroughly enjoyed where I learnt about effective management in different situations and how to motivate staff. My study of history requires me to compare the effect that the past has had on present situations whilst also considering the perspectives of others.

All of these skills are transferable to the course and will stand me in good stead for life at university. Outside school my main interests are blogging and reading about current fashion trends, as it enables me to be creative and express ideas, which I believe will allow me to enhance the course and which I love to do!

Having been to international fashion capitals such as New York, Paris and London I have also developed a desire to travel, as I can see many different cultures and perceptions of fashion in different countries.

I am eager to participate fully in all aspects of university life from social to academic and relish the opportunity to turn the enthusiasm I have for this field into a full time career, hopefully in fashion marketing.

Profile info

This personal statement was written by hollieirwin19 for application in 2014.

hollieirwin19's Comments

I have received all my conditional offers. Nottingham Trent University: Fashion Management BA Hon Nottingham Trent University: Fashion Marketing BA Hon Northampton University: Fashion Marketing BA Hon Southampton University: Fashion Marketing/Management BA Hon Heriot Watt University: Fashion Marketing and Retailing BA Hon

This personal statement is unrated

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Personal Statement Guide

Download our free guide to writing your UCAS personal statement.

Advice and support

We know that writing a personal statement can seem a bit overwhelming.

That’s why we’ve pulled a downloadable guide together to help to provide you with information, advice and support.

A personal statement is personal to you and is your opportunity to tell universities about your interest and enthusiasm for your chosen course, whilst also bringing in your skills/experience.

To get a download link for the guide, simply provide your details .

Download your guide

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