Give some insight into your scientific skills and knowledge, what you know about the role of a forensic scientist, and where you hope your degree might take you. That way you’ll have all the evidence for a watertight 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 forensic science, giving specific examples of what interests you and any specific knowledge you already have. If you’ve watched true crime programmes, what did you learn about the role of forensic scientists? Think about what skills they need – resilience, attention to detail, lab techniques – and why you might have what it takes.
- Include one or two examples of things you've read that have influenced your interest in this subject. You may follow the news and have learned about roadside drug tests for drivers, or you may have done your own research on The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences and read more about the use of drones in forensic investigations.
- If you know what you want to do with your degree, write about your desire to become a crime scene investigator, expert witness, or ballistics expert. If you don’t know yet, don’t worry – you can still get across why forensic science fascinates 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 chemistry, biology, or physics studies, such as lab work, analytical skills, and 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 critical thinking, project management, and communication.
- Computer skills and data management will also be useful during your degree – you may have already learnt some skills in IT, geography, or maths. You’ll also need to be resilient, so think of an example of when you’ve failed at something, or something went wrong, and how you coped.
- 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:
- It’s difficult to get work experience directly in forensic science, but mention if you’ve done any jobs or volunteering in a medical or lab environment at a hospital, chemicals firm, or similar. You might have also gained some relevant experience volunteering or work-shadowing with your local police force.
- Write about transferable skills you’ve picked up in part-time jobs or extracurricular activities too. If you’re part of a drama, literature, or debating club you’ll have gained good presentation skills. If you work part-time in an office, call centre, or data centre, you’ll have IT and data handling skills, as well as project and time management skills.
- Think about your personal attributes too. We’ve mentioned resilience – what else do you think a forensic scientist needs? Perhaps you have good attention to detail and can show this through your crafting, music or coding, hobbies, or perhaps you love anatomy and have already dissected animals or human parts in biology, proving you’re not squeamish either.
- 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?
Tell admissions tutors what you’re into – whether you enjoy watching true crime documentaries, baking, or gaming. 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 course
Feel free to talk about personal experiences too, if they’re relevant to your chosen course. Perhaps something happened in your neighbourhood that made you research how forensic science is used at crime scenes. Or maybe you’ve had experience of the justice system, and you’re passionate about robust evidence being used in court. Of course, it doesn’t have to be related to crime. Maybe you just love analytical science and love helping people – that can be illustrated by volunteering you do or fundraising you’ve done for a charity.
If you can, relate what you’re saying back to something you’ve read on The Royal Society, the BBC News website, or following Think Forensic on Instagram. 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 forensic science, 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 in a laboratory, at a magistrate’s court, or even a community police officer, that’s great, but make sure you also spell out exactly what you gained from it.
- Transferable skills: Brainstorm what relevant skills you’ve picked up through extracurricular or supercurricular activities, work experience, or a part-time job. Think outside the box – so you’ve played on a football team; can you explain how that has given you interpersonal skills, resilience, self-motivation, and good time management?