Think about what fascinates you about this subject, what experience and knowledge you already have, and where you see yourself going, in a personal statement that’s relevant, personal, and reflective.
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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:
- What is it that first sparked your interest in electrical and electronic engineering? Whether it was a circuitry board you built in physics, or learning how to fix a parent’s Scalextric track, try and get across why you want to study this subject at degree level.
- Mention any relevant articles you’ve read or channels you’ve watched that show you understand what a degree like this might cover. For example, if you watched the series Electrical Engineering for Everyone, can you elaborate on what you learned about how cities are powered, and maybe how you want to explore this and sustainability further at uni?
- If you have a particular goal in mind, mention what you plan to do with your degree. Perhaps you want to become an electrical engineer and work in construction, renewable energy, or transport, or maybe you want to work in research and development. If you don’t know yet, that’s ok too.
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:
- If you’ve done an EPQ that relates to electrical and electronic engineering, elaborate on what you learned and how it applies to your course. Or think about something you did in physics, maths or design technology that has expanded your understanding of, for example, circuit analysis.
- Explain how studying subjects like sciences, technology or engineering has helped with your problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and innovation.
- Give examples of when you’ve collaborated and worked well as part of a team too. That could be on a computing or science project, or whilst you were part of a supercurricular club or team at school.
- 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:
- Use any personal experiences, insights, interests, or achievements to highlight why you might be suited to this course. Maybe you set up or fixed the smart heating in your family home, designed a lighting system for your bedroom, or you’ve won a science award at school. Expand on what you learned that’s relevant to this degree.
- If you’ve had a part-time or weekend job, or done some volunteering, reflect on the skills you’ve picked up that will help you during this degree, such as teamworking, leadership, and problem-solving skills.
- Similarly, reflect on any extracurricular activities that demonstrate your creativity and innovation. That could be the script-writing you did for a drama production, the iPad illustrations you create in your spare time, or an inventive solution you’ve come up with to fix a tricky problem or situation.
- 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
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?
Admissions tutors want to get a sense of what makes you tick. If you’re really into watching or playing basketball, football, or cricket, tell them about it, and use it as a way to demonstrate how you can do things like balance your studies with extracurricular activities.
Relate your hobbies
You can also mention your personal life if it’s relevant. For example, if you’ve overcome some adversity that you feel has given you the resilience to study for a degree, or you’ve learned good teamwork through sharing a room with your siblings!
Mention any relevant work experience you’ve had, engineering taster days you’ve been to, or CREST Awards you may have won or participated in. Don’t worry if you’ve not had specific engineering experience – if you’ve worked in a busy shop or restaurant, or cared for a parent, sibling, or other relative, you’ll have picked up good communication and interpersonal skills, and the ability to work well under pressure, all of which will come in useful during your degree.
If you can, relate what you’re saying back to something you’ve read in EE Times or Electrical Engineering magazine, or seen on a particular episode of Click on the BBC, for example.
Some more tips to consider
- Research the course: Why do you want to study electrical and electronic 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? Make sure you check out the websites of the courses you’re applying to.
- Creativity and innovation: 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.
- Relevant skills: Mention things like a part-time or weekend job, extracurricular or supercurricular activities, and draw out the transferable skills you’ve learned from them, like time management, teamwork, or leadership. Be specific about what you learned that’s relevant to the course and, if you can, choose something that not so many people do.
- Make your work experience count: It’s not just what you've done but how you've reflected on it. If you work-shadowed at an energy or engineering company, that’s great, but it won’t have an impact unless you spell out what you personally gained from it.