Write about your passion for chemical engineering, some specific things that interest you, and tell admissions tutors something about you as a person – that way you’ll have the right materials for a successful 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. Perhaps you’ve done your own research into sustainable food or clothing – reflect on what you’ve learned that’s made you interested in a chemical engineering degree.
- Include examples of things you've read that have influenced your interest in chemical engineering. Don't just list them though – elaborate on one or two specific issues you read about recently and the impact they made on you. If you’ve read about circular solutions for water management, can you expand on what interests you about desalination technologies?
- If you have a particular goal in mind, mention what you plan to do with your chemical engineering degree, whether it’s your long-term career aspirations as an environment professional or just your ambition to make the world a better place.
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:
- Explain how studying chemistry, physics or maths, for example, has helped with your critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
- Have you led a project in school, which can demonstrate both your project management and communication skills? Commenting on what you’ve learned from your EPQ would fit well here too, but it needs to be relevant.
- If you’ve also studied something like design technology or product design, you’ll have picked up creative and design skills. Explain how these will be useful during your chemical engineering degree.
- 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:
- Try and give examples of things you've done that highlight your technical aptitude, teamwork skills, leadership or problem-solving abilities, whether that’s a part-time job at a bar or coaching a sports team.
- Similarly, reflect on any extracurricular achievements that demonstrate good time management and self-organisation, whether you’re part of a sport or drama club, you do volunteering, or you've achieved a high grade in a musical instrument.
- Evidence what you’ve learned from any relevant experience, insights, interests, or achievements. This will be all the more impressive if it was outside of school or college, like relevant work experience, engineering taster days, or CREST Awards.
- 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’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
Admissions tutors are looking for creative people with initiative, curiosity, and a bit of originality
Don’t say ‘when I was a child’. Rather than mention you played with Lego when you were younger, write about what you’ve done recently that’s much more relevant. Perhaps you dismantled and rebuilt your bike, or fixed a component on your TV or laptop? If you’ve had any relevant work experience, make sure you reflect on it and explain what you found interesting or challenging about it (and why). The same applies if you reference a relevant project or piece of coursework you did.
Tell admissions tutors a little bit more about you as a person too, particularly if you can relate it back to the course you’re applying for. If you enjoy painting or creating artwork on Procreate, it shows you have creative and technical skills. Or if you love crochet, origami, or model-making, it shows you’re dextrous and have good attention to detail. Think outside the box too – ok, so you’re part of a cricket team; can you explain how that has given you teamworking skills, self-motivation, and time management?
Finally, if you can, relate what you’re saying back to something you’ve read in The Chemical Engineer, or heard on CE podcast, and how that’s made you excited to be on your chosen course.
Some more tips to consider
- Research the course: Why do you want to study chemical engineering, 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?
- Creative flair: Can you show you’re a 'self-starter' who enjoys trying to solve complex problems, or come up with creative solutions? Engineering is a challenging discipline, so demonstrate you have the ability and motivation to complete the course too.
- Keep it relevant: The University of Bath says: 'The best engineers have a wide range of interests… but don’t let important information about yourself be buried in irrelevant detail’. So, if you do mention your love of ice hockey, make sure you also mention the attributes it’s given you that you’ll use on your course.
- Don’t ignore key advice: Check out the department websites of the universities you're applying to, as some explain what they're looking for in a chemical engineering personal statement. Many courses will have their own list of requirements.