Write about your passion for the subject, reflect on what you know and what you hope to learn, and sprinkle in some personal bits, so you’ve got the perfect parts 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 makes you curious about mechanical engineering. Whether you’re fascinated by sustainable technologies or 3D modelling, get across why you want to study this at degree level.
- Include examples of things you've read that have influenced your interest in mechanical engineering. Don't just list them though – elaborate on one or two specific issues you read about recently and the impact it made on you, whether that’s the latest development in Formula 1 or instruments used for space missions.
- If you have a particular goal in mind, mention what you plan to do with your mechanical engineering degree, whether it’s your desire to become an aerospace or nuclear engineer, 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 physics, maths or design technology, for example, has helped with your critical thinking skills, patience, and persistence.
- Have you done a project in school which can demonstrate some of your project management or problem-solving skills? Commenting on what you’ve learned from your EPQ would fit well here too, but it needs to be relevant.
- 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 examples of when you’ve had a weekend job or done some volunteering that’s enabled you to develop your teamworking skills, leadership, and problem-solving abilities.
- 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.
- Use any personal experiences, insights, interests, or achievements to highlight why you might be suited to this course. You might have fixed the wheel alignment on your bike, or maybe you’ve experimented with different materials for wicking away sweat during sports games. Expand on what you’ve learned that’s relevant to this degree.
- 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 your statement to be personal, relevant, and reflective. Write about what you enjoy doing in your spare time, and how that relates to a mechanical engineering degree. You might enjoy taking things apart and putting them back together again, or maybe you’ve built a skate ramp in your garden and experimented with how you can make the design more stable.
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 discount part-time jobs, too. Working in a restaurant or coffee shop will have given you good communication and interpersonal skills, and the ability to work well under pressure.
If you can, relate what you’re saying back to something you’ve read on The Institution of Mechanical Engineers site, Engineering UK, or seen during Amos Winters’ TED Talk on The cheap all-terrain wheelchair, for example.
Some more tips to consider
- Research the course: Why do you want to study mechanical 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.
- Transferable skills: Mention things like a part-time job, caring for a family member, or other interests, responsibilities, or extracurricular activities, and draw out the transferable skills you’ve learned from them, like time management, teamwork, or leadership. Be specific – rather than saying you play badminton or undertook the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, say something interesting about it that provides relevant evidence or, better still, choose something that not so many people do.
