What should I include in my personal statement?

Although there are many different ways to structure your personal statement and decide what to include, this is an example of what I did:

- An interesting statement at the start to grab the reader’s attention, e.g. I talked about how watching my friends getting hypnotized on stage sparked my interest.

- What in particular are you interested in with the subject e.g. I said that I liked the practical application of psychology, how it can be used to support people after traumatic events.

- I then talked about what I’m doing to show that I have an interest in psychology. E.g. doing an EPQ. Also the books that I had read and what in particular I had enjoyed. Also the questions that these activities raised for me. Such as "How much can our thoughts and behaviour be changed beyond our control?"

- I talked about my interest in my A-Level subjects and how they could be applied to psychology

- I also talked about my volunteering experience and what I learnt from it (applied to psychology)

- What I enjoy doing in my spare time.

- I ended with that I am excited to study to broaden my knowledge about the reasons behind people’s behavior and possibly to develop some theories of my own. I also said that I eventually want a career as a clinical psychologist.