Write about your passion for agriculture and related sciences, some specific things that fascinate you about the subject, and tell admissions tutors something about you as a person – that way you’ll have harvested the perfect personal statement.
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Think about why you want to study the subject
- Have you been inspired by someone, a news story, a documentary, or a podcast?
- Do you have career aspirations in this area of study?
- What interests you about the subject – be specific; rather than saying you enjoy it or are good at it, try to explain the ‘why’ behind your reasoning.
- What do you already know about the subject and what are you looking forward to learning more about?
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What makes you suitable to study the subject?
- Have you done projects or essays in this subject at school or college?
- Think about who you are as a person; your personality, your strengths, your experiences in life – how do these make you suited to study the subject?
- How have you shown an interest in the subject outside of school or college – have you done extra reading, online courses, been part of clubs or competitions?
- Your current subjects and grades will be included elsewhere in your application, so try to think about specific things you’ve learned during your studies that relate to the subject, rather than listing your grades and subjects.
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Look at the bigger picture
- Have you done any work experience, an internship or had a part-time job in this subject area or related? Most job or work experience will give you transferable skills, even if it’s in a different industry.
- Do you have any hobbies you can mention that might relate to your chosen subject? Many hobbies show that you can be motivated outside of school to achieve and succeed in something you’re interested in.
- Think about how your life and personal experiences have helped make you the person you are today, and how these challenges and experiences can support your application by evidencing essential qualities for certain subjects.
- If you’ve got ambitions and goals for your life and career, can you express how this subject will help you reach these goals?
Guidance and examples you can use
Question 1: Why do you want to study this course or subject?
This is your opportunity to showcase your passion and knowledge of your chosen subject area and to demonstrate to universities and colleges why it’s a good fit for you and your future ambitions.
Examples:
- Explain your motivation and why you’re enthusiastic about the course, giving specific examples of what interests you and a glimpse of any specific knowledge you already have. If you’ve already worked on a farm, in horticulture, or with animals, explain what you enjoyed, what you learned, and why it’s made you want to study agriculture and related sciences at degree level.
- Include examples of things you've read that have influenced your interest in this subject, and elaborate on one or two of them. For example, how has reading about ash dieback made you want to pursue horticulture, or learning about fertiliser use made you want to research ways to protect the land and environment?
- If you know what you want to do with your degree, write about your desire to become a forestry manager or work in animal care. If you don’t know yet, don’t worry – you can still get across why agriculture and related sciences interests you.
Question 2: How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?
This is your chance to shout about the relevant or transferable skills you’ve gained from your formal education and highlight your understanding of how they will help you succeed in this subject area.
Examples:
- You’ll need some scientific knowledge for this subject, so give examples of skills you’ve learned during your sciences, maths, or geography studies, such as lab work, analytical skills or time management.
- If you’ve done a related EPQ, explain what you learned from it, how it applies to this degree, and also any skills you picked up like project management and communication.
- Mention anything specific you’ve done that’s supercurricular or extracurricular at school or college, whether that was a gardening club, group litter picking, or even financial management – and highlight the relevant skills you picked up.
- Have you done any online courses to boost your knowledge in the subject? For example, why not try Subject Spotlights or Virtual Work Experiences from Springpod to grow your skills and interest?
Question 3: What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?
This is your chance to talk about any other activities you have undertaken outside of your formal education, or personal experiences which further demonstrate your suitability for the course. This section is likely to be highly personal to you and anything you do include should reflect on why you’re including it.
Examples:
- Think about part-time jobs or voluntary work you’ve done and any skills you picked up. For example, if you’ve maintained an allotment, helped with a community garden or planting project, or worked in a garden centre, you’ll have picked up lots of knowledge around horticulture and soil management, as well as things like good interpersonal and customer service skills.
- Write about relevant hobbies too. Perhaps you enjoy walking a dog, you help out at a stables or an animal shelter, or you’re into horse riding. This can show your experience with animals, and also your patience and commitment.
- If you play sport, do the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, Scouts, or any other kind of group activity, you’ll also have developed relevant skills like good planning and time management, effective communication, and leadership.
Dos
- Do relate any examples back to the subject you’re applying to – make it relevant
- Do make it personal – admissions staff want to get to know who you are
- Do use a spell-checker and grammar-checker to ensure there are no errors
- Do ask people for feedback, whether that’s family members or teachers
- Do your research to find out what universities are looking for, and make sure you include evidence to show how you are suitable for the course
Don'ts
- Don’t just list out examples, subjects you study, or experiences you’ve had without any evidence
- Don’t copy something you’ve seen online or use AI to write something for you
- Don’t make things up just because you think they’ll make you look good on paper
- Don’t leave it until the last minute – you need time for several drafts
- Don’t worry about making each section the same length; as long as you hit the minimum character count, you can use the 4,000 characters across each answer in the way that suits you best
How to set yourself apart
The key to setting yourself apart in your application is to remember how important the ‘personal’ bit is to your personal statement. What makes you, you?
Tell admissions tutors what you’re into – whether you enjoy travel documentaries, baking, or cross-country running. Write about what you hope to get out of broader university life (and illustrate how you can balance studying with hobbies).
Your extracurricular activities may also be relevant to your chosen degree – for example, you may have learned a lot about the global climate and potentially agriculture or horticulture, from watching travel documentaries. You’ll also understand about soil and different landscapes from doing cross-country running.
Your personal experiences count
Feel free to talk about personal experiences too, if they’re relevant to studying agriculture and related sciences. For example, you may come from a home that has a lot of pets, been brought up on a farm, live by the coast or rurally and have personal experience of the impact weather can have on the environment.
If you can, relate what you’re saying back to something you’ve read in Farming UK, following the Woodland Trust on social media, or listening to the Gardening with the RHS podcast. Explain why it has made you more excited to apply for this course.
Some more tips to consider
- Research the course: Why do you want to study agriculture and related sciences, what specific aspects of the course interest you, how does it relate to your academic studies, and what additional reading or other activities have led you to apply? Make sure you check out the department websites of the universities you're applying to.
- Make your work experience count: If you’ve work-shadowed on a farm, at a vet’s, at a garden centre, or with The National Trust, that’s great, but make sure you also spell out exactly what you gained from it.
- Transferable skills: Brainstorm what skills you’ve picked up through extracurricular or supercurricular activities, work experience, or a part-time job that are relevant to your course. Think outside the box – so you’ve played rugby; can you explain how that has given you interpersonal skills, resilience, self-motivation, and good time management?