Personal Statement

statement

The personal statement is essential to your UCAS application. It is your chance to introduce yourself as an historian and to tell tutors why you want to study the subject at university.

You should show your commitment to the subject by explaining your current academic interests, which are likely to extend beyond your compulsory schoolwork. It is helpful to write as precisely as possible. Applicants commonly write about specific books that they have read, experiences or talks that have influenced them, or museums or historical sites that they have explored. If you are applying for a Joint Schools degree, you should show why you are interested in studying these two subjects together.

Above all, instead of merely writing about what you have done, we want to know what you think about your academic activities and to see how they have shaped your understanding of the subject.

The History Faculty does not give the personal statement a formal score, but it does influence the admissions process. Tutors seek to understand the applicant as an individual and the personal statement can help to identify topics that the applicant would like to talk about if they are interviewed. Tutors at Oxford are only interested in your academic ability and potential. Tutors know, however, that applicants write personal statements to satisfy the requirements of other universities, where you may be applying for different degree courses.

From the History@Oxford Blog