masters personal statement example oxford

Personal Statements for Further Study

A personal statement is your chance to explain your motivation for applying and why you are a great candidate for the course..

Guidelines given vary from the simple “Provide evidence in support of your application” to the more common “Tell us why you are interested in the course to which you have applied. Describe your academic interests and reasons for applying to XXX”. For some courses there may be a much more prescriptive and structured approach, requiring you to write a series of shorter responses to specific questions relating to your motivation, experience and suitability for the course. You may also come across some institutions that ask you to reflect on how you might add to the diversity of a cohort should your application be successful.

If you are applying to more than one university, each statement will need a different emphasis – do not use the same statement for all applications.

In your statement, you should demonstrate:

Motivation, enthusiasm, and a clear understanding of why you are making the application to this particular course, and to this particular institution.
How your academic background and other experiences have shaped your decision to apply and how the course contributes to your plans for the future.
Evidence that you have the ability, experience, skills and motivation to successfully contribute to the course, and to complete it.

Structure and Content

The opening paragraph sets the framework for the rest of the statement, think of it as your ‘trailer’. This is where you can grab the reader’s attention or lose it… You might start with a powerful anecdote, a brief narrative of your initial inspiration, or a thought-provoking statement linked to your academic interests.

Within the main body of the essay you should aim to cover:

Why you want to study this topic or field

Is it a natural extension of your current interests? How did you become interested in this area? Why does it continue to fascinate you? What have you done within your degree or outside of your study to fuel this interest? Would the course provide a step towards a longer-term goal?

Why you have chosen this specific course and institution

Are there particular options or modules that interest you? Is there particular expertise in that department? Has access to specific resources such as museum collections, libraries or laboratory equipment been a factor? Has the reputation (through recommendations or other means) of the course inspired you? Are you attracted by opportunities for collaboration or work placements? Have you attended any Open Days or other visits?

How your experience equips you for the course

Consider the subjects you studied at undergraduate level; your relevant skills (technical, language, computing, research methods); independent study or research; prior (relevant) experience; academic awards and other achievements. The focus here is likely to be on your academic suitability for the course, but if you have relevant work experience or extra-curricular activities that provide further evidence of your interest or ability then include them too. Your non-academic achievements might also provide evidence of project management, resilience, effective communication and so on.

Where the course might lead you

You don’t need to have a detailed career plan, but you do need to show how this course fits in with your general aspirations. Are you intending to continue on to a PhD? Do you have a broad interest in contributing to a particular issue or field, e.g. social enterprise, public policy, human rights, sustainability? Or do you have a more specific goal in mind? How will your chosen course help you to achieve your goals?

Closing paragraph

Use your closing paragraph to summarise your application, return to any themes you introduced at the beginning, and to restate your enthusiasm for the course.

Practical Advice

Writing effective personal statements takes time. Expect to go through several drafts and ask tutors, peers, careers advisers and others to review your statement before you submit it.
Good English, grammar and spelling are essential. Avoid jargon and make sure it can be understood by non-experts.
Keep the tone positive, fresh and lively in order to convey enthusiasm and make yourself stand out, but remember that this is a document introducing you in a professional capacity.
It’s a good idea to mention relevant individuals whose work has truly inspired you, but avoid name-dropping for the sake of it, and excessive and evidence-free flattery of the institution or the course.
If you refer to any papers or books then reference these correctly in a bibliography at the end of the statement.
Pay attention to any word limits. If none are stated then aim for no more than two sides of A4 or 1000-1500 words.
It is usually possible to apply for multiple courses at a single institution. Many (including Oxford) will require you to complete a separate application form for each course that you wish to apply for.

Research Proposals

For many PhD and some research Masters applications the personal statement is often accompanied by a research proposal – a document that sets out your research interests and proposed area of study. The detail required in this section varies hugely for different disciplines. For some science subjects it may simply be a list, in order of preference, of the named PhD projects you wish to be considered for. However, for most areas – and especially in the arts, humanities and social sciences – you will need to devote a considerable amount of time to developing your ideas, discussing them with potential supervisors and writing a proposal. Your academic tutors should be able to give you some guidance on writing research proposals, and there is some useful advice from Vitae and from Find a PhD .

Admission Essays for US Graduate Schools

The information in this handout applies also to applications to American universities. However, there are subtle differences in the style and approach to essays aimed at the US context. A statement written for the US is likely to feel more personal; think of it as your academic biography – setting out your inspiration for the academic path you have followed in the past, the present and into the future. The Careers Service runs a workshop on US applications early each Michaelmas Term. The Fulbright Educational Advisory Service also publishes guidelines on completing US applications. US university career services often provide useful advice on writing graduate school admissions essays. See for example: MIT graduate school essay advice , UC Berkeley advice on writing graduate admissions statements , UNC application essay advice and Yale advice on writing personal statements for graduate school.

Teacher Training Applications

The personal statement for postgraduate teacher training is the key part of your application. The question is quite prescriptive, and your focus should be on your motivation for becoming a teacher: particularly how your teaching and other experiences have contributed. Ideally you should also set out how these have helped you to understand the role, and the sort of teacher you aspire to be. The Careers Service runs a workshop on careers in teaching each Michaelmas Term, which includes advice about the application process. For more information, see the Careers Service information on Teaching in Schools .

Graduate Entry Medicine

Applications to graduate entry medicine courses are submitted via UCAS and include a personal statement. Much of the advice in this document also applies to medicine applications, but you are likely to need to place considerable emphasis on the relevant work experience you have gained prior to your application.

See Careers Service's information on Medicine as a Second Degree for further information.

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Oxford Personal Statement Examples: Top 4

If you’re looking to craft the perfect personal statement, reading over some Oxford personal statement examples will be the best way to start. It’s one thing to read college essay tips or instructions on how to write the perfect personal statement, but another entirely to see an example of how it’s done.

How to start a college essay can be tricky, but we have you covered! In this article, we have Oxford personal statement examples for your edification so that you can write your own best work.

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Article Contents 12 min read

Oxford personal statement examples, example no.1.

We are made of stories. History itself is the story we tell ourselves about who we are, and our oldest stories are still with us. Gilgamesh would never have found his immortality but through his story being told over and over again. Scrooge is visited by three ghosts every year for some people, and no matter how many times we hear about his conversion from miser to “…as good a man as the good old city knew…” we have our hearts warmed, reminding ourselves of the importance of human comfort and generosity. I have come to my interest in the classics through my interest in the stories we tell that make us who we are.

My personal reading list always exceeds my school’s reading list. When I was a boy, I was gripped by the stories of heroes like Perseus and Hercules. As I grew, I sought further stories and came across the epic poems. Over the years, I have found many people who share my enjoyment of these tales, but often they do not truly know them. One of my perpetual fascinations with classics is how these stories change, or are perceived, in the public consciousness.

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For example, many people know of the Labours of Hercules – or Herakles, as the Greeks said – but they rarely know why he was tasked with these Labours: he killed his children. We often make dark aspects of old stories into children’s stories. We see this with modern cartoon versions of far grimmer fairy tales. I believe that this has done our world a disservice. Instead of confronting unpleasant truths, we hide them. History is often whitewashed along with the stories to make it palatable.

My studies of the classics have led me to begin a work on Hercules – investigating how his story has been told and retold. I am also examining how the story has changed over the years, why it has changed and how retelling this story in gentler ways has paralleled pop culture dumbing down stories and ignoring unpleasant truths.

“It’s just a frog,” I thought, but no matter how I tried to convince myself of that fact, I didn’t find it any easier to dissect. I was disappointed in myself because I thought that a scientist should be dispassionate, logical, and capable of dealing with any sentimental subject in an objective fashion. Yet there was the frog, my scalpel poised dramatically above its little, amphibian torso. I was almost paralysed with sympathy, and I began to fear that I would never be a scientist.

When I was young, I would wander the woods, sketching plants and animals before looking them up at home. I am happiest when I am learning something new – even if it means unlearning a truth I “knew” the day before. I had loved labs and experiments, but I had hit the wall of dissection. Could I take these creatures apart? I love learning about them, but how could I slice them open?

I told my friend Jeremiah that I wasn’t going to dissect the bullfrog. I would drop the course and do something else with my life. “I’ll help,” he said, “Come on.” With his support and encouragement, I made the first cut and couldn’t believe what I saw; I was entranced by the intricacy of the frog. Being able to see and understand nature from an insider’s perspective, so to speak, was no longer “gross,” and my curiosity finally kicked in.

As I continued in biology, through lab experiments, dissections and investigations, I found myself reversing my position on the mentality of the scientist. It is not that we must be dispassionate, but that we must intimately feel a connection with the natural world. We are a part of this world – as perfectly slotted into our evolutionary position as any other creature. More excited than ever, I joined a biology club in our city where I was surrounded by biologists of all ages – amateur and professional – and I grew immensely. I was even awarded 1 st place in a biology Olympiad.

I believe that a truly successful scientist is one who finds harmony in the natural world, not one who exploits it, and I have had several conversations with my laboratory instructor on these points. He agreed with me, and we have been working on a rubric to create a more nature-friendly approach to the science curriculum at our school. He was already quite nature-conscious, but we both agree that we could be doing more to minimise our ecological footprints.

My dream job is one that helps to balance human interaction with nature on a global scale, to fight climate change and ensure the survival of all natural species. I hope to study the natural sciences at Oxford to bring this about. I believe that my journey is one of lifelong learning, a concept stressed at your school. I am also interested in your research in sustainable urban development. I think that co-existing with nature is one of the all-important issues for humanity and for an aspiring biologist. I want to contribute to a world where, even if we dissect frogs, we do so with a sense of responsibility, not callous indifference.

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Example No.3

I was ten minutes into a well-structured argument as to why I was not argumentative before I realised the irony of my words. I shut my mouth, red-faced and laughing with the rest of my family. I come from a family of debaters. Not that being a debater is the only thing that makes me want to study history and politics at your institution. Politicians are more than just arguers, but my temperament is well-suited to challenging ideas and wrestling with those ideas in the public sphere.

I want to make a difference on a national level in the political arena, serving the public as a politician. I joined the debate club to learn how to perform well in front of an audience, how to test my ideas and most importantly, how to lose. I am proud of my track record, wins and losses. Losses can be a strength. My first debate was, “Be it therefore resolved that there is an obesity problem in this country.” I was assigned the “pro” angle, and I was so sure that I could win by appealing to statistical realities. However, I lost. My opponent had sharper arguments and convinced the audience that “problem” implied an inherent morality issue with obesity. I had no counterargument.

From that loss, I learned how to use language better, to anticipate counterarguments and to know my opponent’s position better than my own. Every loss is an opportunity to grow, and I love that I have been pitted against fierce opponents who make me earn every point. I would rather achieve fewer victories against a skilled debater than gain many victories against those who are ill-prepared. I also rarely lose on the same subject twice.

This is relevant to my political philosophy, which is that I believe politicians should be willing to change their opinions, even on important issues. If nobody changed their minds, we would all be pig-headed fools. I want the best information, and if that changes my mind, so be it. We need more changed minds and evidence-based policies coming from politicians who value truth and accuracy, as well as the ethics to provide morally defensible positions.

Thanks to my debate club experience, I was able to campaign successfully for student body president, a position I held for two years. I took this responsibility seriously, even if not every peer or authority figure felt the same way. During my time in student government, my proudest accomplishment was helping create a new scholarship programme to fund the university studies and housing of one student. I believe that politicians should fight for changes that will benefit people, not just institutions, so this scholarship was a particularly exciting project for me to work on.

Outside of political ambitions, my favourite thing to do is to go to museums and art galleries. I take tremendous pleasure in discovering who we were and are and being able to compare the two. I hope to bring my historical knowledge and understanding to my career in politics.

Whether I am debating at family dinner or quietly, reverently studying in a museum, my greatest joy would be to help people build the society that they want to see.

Example No.4

When the first atomic bombs were detonated, Oppenheimer famously stated, “I am become death, destroyer of worlds,” characterising the transcendent regret he felt. Of course, Oppenheimer was himself quoting from the Bhagavad Gita. When I think of Oppenheimer’s sorrow, I think of the importance philosophy has for a person navigating hard sciences, like mathematics.

For many people, philosophy and mathematics – what I hope to study at Oxford – are divorced from one another, if not opposites. One, resulting from the musings of a curious mind, is seen as almost useless in practical terms. The other is seen as cold, scientific truth in written form. But I believe they are linked. I loved reading Oxford’s published paper, “Influencing HIV/AIDS Policy in India Through Mathematical Modelling.” Our math knowledge, and the application thereof, can directly affect the world around us, improving it for all.

In my final year of high school, I wanted to write about the impact that mathematics has on the world. I wrote a paper on black holes. I interviewed a mathematician named Peter Richards who was working at a physics lab studying the phenomenon. Mr. Richards told me how the gravity of black holes creates event horizons, shaping space around them, but that scientists are investigating whether gravity is influenced by light. This cosmological-level chicken-or-egg question became the basis of my paper, which was about how we think about the universe and our place in it. Mathematics might one day answer who we are and why we are here. This paper won 1 st place in an essay competition and secured me a small scholarship.

Math is the language of the universe. I see it everywhere: in nature’s patterns and in the music I play. I have been learning to play flutes – everything from woodwinds to concert flutes to world music instruments like ocarinas. As my study of math deepens, I become more immersed in exploring the range of the instrument, which, in turn, transforms my music. Math reshapes the world around us.

This study of the interplay between mathematics and philosophy led me to study the mathematics of global populations, which I believe will soon become imperative research on how we can maintain a sustainable eco-system. I attended a recent event for mathematicians studying global trends, where I interviewed several prominent mathematicians in the field for the school paper. I got to ask these important persons about their thoughts on the responsibility mathematicians have regarding humanity and the care needed to help our species. A surprising number – two out of the five I spoke with – had given little or no thought to the idea of blending philosophy and mathematics. I was shocked at this mathematical proof that even people in the field did not give much thought to this.

I hope to combat this in my own life and studies, encouraging mathematicians to increase their conscientious use of their skills to better humanity in a direct way, as well as to be more conscious of their responsibilities in the world today.

Oxford recommends that you follow the UCAS advice on personal statements when writing your own. It is well worth taking your time drafting your personal statement because the admissions committee at Oxford reads each one several times. They are really interested in learning about anything academic because they are curious about your potential in your field of study. This implies that they are interested in both what you have done and are doing in school as well as anything you have done outside of the classroom that is related to the subject you have chosen to study. More than being the best extracurriculars for college , Oxford refers to these activities as super-curriculars . Super-curriculars can be anything “you’ve read, listened to, watched or visited” that relates to your academic interests, unlike extracurriculars.

About 80% of your personal statement should discuss your academic interests and super-curriculars. The recommended structure is as follows:

Opening paragraph explaining why you want to pursue the programme
3 or 4 paragraphs analysing your academic and super-curricular activities
Brief closing paragraph about your extracurricular interests, with a focus on transferable skills and career plans/future aspirations

To ensure that your personal statement applies specifically to the University of Oxford, first look at the school’s mission, vision statement and core values. Aligning your essay with these values will help prove that Oxford is the perfect fit for you, which is your main goal. This is the first step in how to write a college essay for this school.

You may also want to reference other important aspects of Oxford. Do they have research in the area you want to work in? Do they have a professor you cannot wait to study with? Do they have the curriculum set up in a way that best suits you as a student and your future goals? You need to show not only how you fit with Oxford, but also how the school will propel you forward in a way that no other school could.

Oxford’s Mission Statement

“We inspire people locally, nationally and globally by extending access to Oxford’s world-class teaching and resources through flexible and inclusive opportunities for study and research.”

Oxford’s Vision Statement

“To be a global centre of excellence for lifelong learning. Courses will be underpinned by the best teaching, research and support for learning to meet the needs of diverse, ambitious and intellectually curious students. Staff and students will work together within and beyond Oxford to foster a vibrant learning community attentive to the importance of promoting sustainability and social justice.”

Oxford’s Values

Finally, note that all Oxford personal statements have a character cap of 4,000, including spaces, and must be no longer than 47 lines.

Essay Writing Tips

Here are some general pieces of advice to keep in mind while working through your college essay review process. These tips will apply to your Oxford essays, but they will also be beneficial for any essays. Essays follow a basic structure and have a fundamental goal that is shared among them, even when specifics differ. So, you could be writing supplemental college essays , college diversity essays , or Harvard medical school secondary essays , but regardless of the type of essay or school, these tips will still apply.

The Main Objective

All essays are, directly or indirectly, “ why this college” essays . The admissions committee is looking for students who fit their institution and are excited about attending. Whatever your college essay topics are, you’re always answering that fundamental question.

Start Strong

College essay introductions are hard in and of themselves. Conquering the introduction means beating the blank page. Start with the best “"hook” sentence you can find. That means you need an attention-grabbing opener that compels the reader to continue.

Once you’re through the introduction, you must follow through with two or three paragraphs about your accomplishments or criteria the school expect to hear about – in Oxford’s case, those are your academics and super-curriculars.

Each story should answer the fundamental question: “Why is this person perfect for this school?"

Wrap it up with a conclusion that summarises your main points and, if possible, connects to the introduction like a loop.

Up to 4,000 characters, which includes spaces.

You don’t want to go so short you can’t say anything of substance. Brevity is the soul of wit, however, so don’t worry about having a personal statement that is “only” 300–400 words long. Don’t pad out your statement; say what you need to and no more.

Your personal statement shows your unique abilities and personality and why you are ideally suited for the institution and programme to which you are applying. Showcase qualities like perseverance, leadership, teamwork, curiosity, creativity, logic and personal growth.

Your main focus will be on academics and super-curricular activities.

Negative people don’t come off well, so dwelling on problems, whining, or badmouthing people is never a good idea.

Formal, standard essay format is perfect: hook sentence, introduction, main body – which expresses one or two main ideas – and a conclusion that comes full-circle, ideally connecting to the introduction. You can use the first person, since this is a personal essay.

Always follow the rule of “show, don’t tell” to demonstrate your qualities and abilities.

Free-associate for a while. Give yourself one or two minutes to write on the programme you want to take at Oxford and just free-associate. By the end, your passion for the subject will have won out and given you a good list of ideas to explore.

Your essay gets cut off. Never exceed the limit. So, in practical terms, if you exceed the character limit, or 47 lines, part of your personal statement will be missing.

Not formally, no, but it is being evaluated, so make sure you edit properly and go over spelling and grammar with a fine-tooth comb.

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Supporting documents

Requirements, official transcript.

Statement of purpose / research proposal

Written work

Which supporting documents do I need to supply?

To find out which documents you need to provide in your course application, see the How to Apply section of the relevant course page . This provides information about each required document, such as guidance on length/word count and how it will be assessed.

You are responsible for making sure that all required documents, including references, are submitted in time for your chosen deadline and meet the University’s requirements. If your application is submitted late, and/or it is incomplete, it will not normally be assessed at that deadline.

Check the documents you submit carefully. You will not be able to upload revised versions once your application is ready for assessment.

You must submit your supporting documents by the deadline to which you are applying. Documents should be submitted as part of your application.

Requirements for supporting documents

All of your supporting documents should meet the following requirements:

File format

Files should be in PDF, .jpg or .png format. Word documents (.doc or .docx) are not accepted. If you are unsure how to convert your files to PDF format, see below for instructions.

Files should be smaller than 4MB (for upload to your application form). Documents larger than 4MB cannot be uploaded to your application form. If your document is larger than 4MB, see below for instructions.

File language

Documents you have written yourself, such as a research proposal or written work, must be in English unless indicated otherwise on your course page . An English translation by a third party is not acceptable, unless explicitly permitted by the department. Official transcripts not issued in English should be translated by a professional translator, the relevant issuing body of the original document, or an authorised notary. Please note, if you are uploading a translated transcript, you will also need to upload the original language version of this transcript.

Documents such as a research proposal or written work must be entirely your own work, except where clearly indicated. Your work may be checked using plagiarism detection software (see our guidance on plagiarism ).

Not password protected

When your application is processed, all of the documents you have uploaded will be merged into a single PDF document, so make sure you have removed any encryption or password protection.

Readability

All documents must be legible and easy to identify. Make sure that the documents are as clear and easy to read as possible. Remember to give your name and the type of document (eg 'Research proposal') in each document.

How to upload supporting documents

Documents that are not required

You should not upload documents that are not specifically required for your course, such as degree certificates, or documents relating to training courses or study below degree level. Your supporting documents must meet the specifications set out in the How to Apply section of your course page. If your documents significantly differ from these specifications, such as exceeding the word limit, they may be removed from your application. Your application will then be considered incomplete and is unlikely to be assessed by the academic department.

What should I do if a document has been removed from my application?

If a document has been removed from your application by Graduate Admissions because it does not meet the academic department's requirements, you should consult the How to apply instructions on your course page before uploading a replacement document. Make sure that you are only uploading documents that are required for your course, and that the document you are uploading does not exceed the required word count. Replacement supporting documents can be uploaded via Graduate Applicant Self Service.

Use of Artificial Intelligence tools

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools may be used to research materials in preparing your application, but may not be used to generate documents or form the basis of documents that are then adapted. Our academic assessors will be looking for your own insights and critical evaluation skills, so it is unlikely that using AI tools to create your supporting documents will improve your chances of success. If academic assessors consider that inappropriate use of AI was made in application documents, they may reject your application.

Supporting documents FAQs

Should i post my paper documents to you when i apply.

There is no need to send in hard copies of your application materials when you apply. Any paper documents should be scanned and uploaded to your application. If you have done so, there is no need to send hard copies at the application stage.

If it is not possible for you to scan your paper documents and upload them to your application, you should only post documents to us after you have submitted your application, unless they would otherwise arrive too late for the deadline to which you are applying.

If your application is successful, you may be required to provide the original paper versions of documents you have scanned in. The relevant academic department will be in touch to request these from you later in the process.

How do I convert Word documents to PDF?

You can convert Word (or similar) documents into PDF format by selecting 'Save As' from the Microsoft Word 'File' menu and selecting 'PDF' from the 'Save as type' drop-down menu.

If the software you are using to create your document does not permit you to save the document as a PDF file, you may need to print out a hard copy of the document and then scan this to produce either a .jpg or .png image or a PDF file before uploading this in the relevant document slot.

How do I upload a document larger than 4MB?

For documents that are a mandatory part of your application form, you must upload a placeholder document to the relevant slot on the Supporting Documents tab in order to be able to submit your application form. The placeholder document should be in an accepted format (PDF, .jpg, .png) and include only the following statement: ' My document is over 4MB and will be sent separately .'

I'm unable to upload one of my supporting documents to my application

If you are having trouble uploading a supporting document to your application:

make sure it is one of the required file formats (PDF, .jpg, .png);
make sure it does not exceed the maximum file size (4MB)

If your document exceeds the maximum file size, upload it via the upload portal (see the instructions above).

If you believe that your supporting document meets our requirements, but you are still unable to upload it to your application form, please contact Graduate Admissions for guidance.

What might I need to supply if I receive an offer of a place?

If you are offered a place, you may be asked to send the original(s) of any official documents uploaded to your online application. You should only send these if they are specifically requested, as these documents cannot be returned to you.

Accepted transcript formats

Applicants who are currently studying, applicants with transcripts not in english, current and former oxford students, what if my institution is unable to provide me with a transcript, unclassified degrees.

As part of your application, you must submit a detailed record of all your university-level education up to the present, including courses taken and grades achieved. This includes university-level qualifications which you may perceive as not being relevant to the course you are applying to.

To be considered official, your transcript should come from the institution where you studied. Your institution may need several months to produce your transcript, so you should look into your institution's arrangements as soon as you decide to apply.

To be accepted, any transcript you provide (including screenshots) must clearly display:

your institution; and
a breakdown of grades.

If your transcript contains additional pages with details about how scores are calculated and other relevant information, please include these pages when uploading it.

We don't require hard or electronic versions of transcripts to be sent in by email or post when you apply. Before you submit your application, you can upload transcripts via the ‘Supporting Documents’ section of the online application form . After submitting your application, you can upload transcripts to your application using Graduate Applicant Self Service .

You can upload up to five transcript documents with your application.

Accepted transcript formats for assessment purposes

A scanned version of an official transcript.

This will often have a signature or stamp to certify it. The document(s) provided must be readable, but may show watermarks caused by copying or scanning.

An official e-transcript via a secure third-party electronic system

If you'd like to share an official transcript using an electronic system such as Digitary, register the email address [email protected] and choose the longest possible time for the document to be available. We will then add your transcript to the applications you have submitted, although you must let us know if you make any further applications later.

An electronic copy of an interim or provisional transcript provided by your institution

If you're currently studying and/or you do not have access to a transcript of your final results, you should submit an official interim or provisional transcript.

Screenshots

Screenshot images from self-service portals, if you're unable to obtain a transcript document.

In addition, we accept Higher Education Achievement Reports (HEAR).

Where your institution does not issue a grade breakdown for MBBS degrees, a certificate can be accepted.

We do not accept:

Word documents (.doc and .docx)
transcripts you have typed or translated yourself.

A degree certificate will not usually qualify as a transcript as it does not include detailed grade information, although it can be used as evidence of a PhD/DPhil qualification.

If an offer is made

The academic department may require you, as a condition of any offer made, to arrange for a final and/or more formal transcript to be sent to them directly from the institution or accredited e-transcript provider. Alternatively, the hard copy original transcript can be posted to the academic department.

If you have not yet completed your current degree and/or you do not have access to a transcript of your final results, you will need to submit an official interim or provisional transcript with details of your grades achieved to date. We will also accept screenshots from self-service portals provided they include the three elements stated in the above guidance.

If you are providing a Master’s transcript that does not yet contain any grades, you must include your undergraduate transcript to be considered ready for assessment.

If you are offered a place on a course starting in Michaelmas term (October) 2024, you will normally be required to arrange for your institution or accredited e-transcript provider to submit an official transcript with your final results by 31 August (or earlier, depending on the department’s requirements). Alternatively, the hard copy original transcript can be posted to the academic department. If you're applying for a research course and it isn't possible for you to meet this deadline, you should ask your department if you can be considered for a later start term.

If your official transcript is in any language other than English, you must submit:

the original official transcript, and
issued and stamped by the institution that issued your transcript, or
translated by a professional translator and visibly certified – ie signed and stamped – by the professional translator or an authorised notary.

Any non-English transcripts you upload to your application without a translation will be rejected.

If you are a current or former Oxford student, you must still submit a transcript when applying for graduate study, ensuring that this includes:

your institution; and

If you are a current Oxford student you must still provide a transcript/screenshots containing the above elements even if you have not yet received any grades for your course. For example, a breakdown of modules without corresponding grades.

The University's Academic transcripts page provides guidance on how to obtain a final or on-course transcript for your studies at Oxford. You may submit screenshots from Student Self Service as long as it contains the above information.

If your institution is unable to provide you with an official or provisional transcript – for example, due to the length of time since you studied there – you must ask them to provide written confirmation of this. This should include any details about your study that the institution can confirm, such as when you started and finished your degree, your degree title and your final grade. You may upload the written confirmation to your application instead of your transcript, or your institution may send it to us directly.

Applicants whose institution awarded unclassified degrees due to the pandemic may still apply for graduate courses at Oxford. Our assessors will make their decision based on any graded modules in your transcript, the strength of the other elements of the application, and the references. You will have the opportunity to declare any extenuating circumstances on the ‘Qualifications and experience’ tab of the form, and you may wish to ask your referees to comment on the unclassified part of your degree and your expected performance if that part had been graded.

Further information about declaring extenuating circumstances can be found in the Qualifications and experience, languages and funding section of this Application Guide.

Statement of purpose and research proposal

Many courses require you to submit a statement of purpose (sometimes called a 'personal statement') and/or a research proposal.

The How to apply section of your course page will state which of these documents are required, the specifications and the criteria by which they will be assessed.

There is one slot on the ‘Supporting Documents’ tab of the application form for documents of this category. If your course requires both a statement of purpose (or personal statement) and a research proposal, you should submit them within the same document with a clear subheading for each, unless specifically stated otherwise in the How to apply section of the course page.

For courses that require a piece of written work, please note that your research proposal or personal statement does not fulfil this requirement.

If your statement of purpose or research proposal significantly exceeds the permitted length stated on the relevant course page , it will be removed from your application and your application will be considered incomplete and is unlikely to be assessed by the academic department.

If you have questions about the permitted content and length of your statement of purpose (personal statement) or research proposal, contact the relevant academic department using the contact details on the relevant course page .

Your statement of purpose or research proposal must be entirely your own original work. Departments may screen your statement of purpose or research proposal using plagiarism-detection software. For more information, consult our guidance on plagiarism as well as the guidance on the use of Artificial Intelligence tools in the Supporting Documents section of the Application Guide.

Visit our How-to guides for advice on writing a personal statement and writing a research proposal .

Written work is a piece of your writing, usually an essay on an academic subject, that helps the academic department assess your suitability for the course.

Not all courses require written work, and requirements for written work are specific to each course. You should read the instructions in the 'How to apply' section of your course page carefully.

Each piece of written work should be in English, unless stated otherwise on your course page. They should ideally be pieces you have written during previous university-level study, such as an essay, project, or extract from a dissertation, thesis or published paper. They should, as far as possible, relate to your chosen course.

Written work must be entirely your own original work except where clearly indicated. If the work involved other authors, you should include the full list of authors and clearly indicate your own contribution. Supporting quotations from any work authored by others must be properly identified and referenced. Ensure that you check the How to apply section of your course page, as some courses may not permit co-authored written work. Departments may screen your written work using plagiarism-detection software. For more information, consult our guidance on plagiarism as well as the use of Artificial Intelligence tools in the Supporting Documents section of the Application Guide.

Your work can be marked or unmarked, and published or unpublished. Your work can be single- or double-spaced, and you may use any citation style. You should state the word count of your work on the final page wherever possible.

If you have questions about the written work requirements for your chosen course, such as the permitted content and word limit, please contact the academic department. Contact details for each academic department are available via the relevant course page , under ‘Course-related enquiries’.

If you are submitting an extract from a longer piece of work, you should not include the whole document but just a note at the beginning explaining how it fits into the overall piece.

If your written work significantly exceeds the permitted length stated on the relevant course page , it will be removed from your application and your application will be considered incomplete.

Submitting one longer piece of work instead of two shorter pieces

For permitted courses, you may choose to submit one longer piece of work (usually around 4,000-5,000 words) instead of two shorter pieces. You should only follow the instructions below if this is explicitly permitted on the How to apply section of your course page .

Instructions for submitting one long piece of work instead of two short pieces

To submit one longer piece of work in your application instead of two shorter pieces, you should upload this document in the first 'Written work' slot on the 'Supporting Documents' tab of the Application Form. In the second 'Written work' slot, you should upload a PDF document with the following statement:

' I have included one long essay in lieu of two short essays. I have checked the course page to confirm this is permitted for this course. '

If you include this statement but are applying for a course which does not permit one longer piece of written work instead of two shorter pieces, it will be removed from your application.

English language test score report/certificate

Certificate of language proficiency, gre certificate, scholarship supporting statement.

Most courses do not require a CV (résumé), so you should only upload this where this is specified in the How to apply section of the course page.

Where a separate CV is required, it should be one or two pages in length and provide a summary of your recent achievements. It should provide details of your qualifications, any publications and any other experience relevant to your application.

You are encouraged to provide English language test scores when you submit your application, but it is not compulsory.

If you have indicated on the 'Languages' tab of your application form that you intend to submit English language test results, a slot will become available on the 'Supporting Documents' tab for you to do so.

We accept test score documents in any of the following formats:

An official score report/certificate
A PDF version of your score report
A screenshot from the testing agency website, as long as your name, registration number and test scores are clearly visible.

The University checks IELTS and TOEFL results directly with test providers. For these tests, you can also nominate the University of Oxford as a test recipient when you sit your test.

If you provide Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE) or C2 Proficiency (CPE) results, you will be asked to supply your original test certificate if you are offered a place.

English language waiver evidence

If you are applying for an English language test waiver based on having completed a degree-level course taught in English, you will need to provide evidence of this if the institution was not in a majority English speaking country. If this is the case, a slot will become available on the 'Supporting Documents' tab for you to do so.

To find out more about language requirements and submitting test scores, visit the English language proficiency section of this Application Guide.

Some courses require evidence of proficiency in a language other than English, such as a Japanese language proficiency certificate. This should be uploaded to your application as a transcript.

For a small number of courses, applicants are required or encouraged to submit GRE General Test scores. For other courses, they are not required.

If you have indicated on the 'Qualifications' tab of your application form that you are providing GRE scores with your application, you will see the 'GRE certificate' slot for uploading your GRE Test-taker Score Report.

For more information about providing GRE scores as part of your application, visit the Qualifications section of this Application Guide.

The 'Funding' tab of your application form may display one or more Oxford scholarships with an asterisk ( * ), which indicates that you must submit additional documentation in order to apply for them. Please first click on the link provided for each scholarship for more information and to check whether you are eligible. If you have ticked the box for a scholarship that requires additional documentation to be uploaded with your application, such as a supporting statement or questionnaire, you will see a slot for this on the 'Supporting Documents' tab.

For more information, visit our Fees and funding pages and the Funding section of this Application Guide.

A number of courses require applicants to submit a portfolio as part of an application. Some portfolio items, such as musical scores, can be uploaded to your application as written work in document format (PDF or .jpg).

Any music and video files (.mp3 or .mp4) should be submitted to Graduate Admissions via the document portal . It is not currently possible to upload these file types to the application form.

Instructions for how to send us your portfolio and what it should contain are available on course pages .

Application form

After starting an application via the course page , you can save your progress and continue it later:

Continue your application

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How to guides: Writing a personal statement
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MSc in Mathematical Sciences (OMMS)
MSc in Mathematical Sciences Personal Statement

The admissions process for the MSc in Mathematical Sciences (OMMS) does not include an interview. The Admissions Panel is making their decision on the application file you submit alone. Thus, it is important that you convey why you are motivated and suited to study at Oxford in the supporting documents. This includes the personal statement.

Your personal statement should be up to 1000 words and should be written in English, otherwise there are no specific formatting requirements. Do not feel you have to use the full 1000 words; a strong statement can be anywhere from 500 to 1000 words long. You should explain your motivation for applying for the MSc in Mathematical Sciences (OMMS) at Oxford, your relevant education and experience, and the specific areas that interest you and/or you intend to specialise in. It is important to convey enthusiasm for the branch(es) of the mathematical sciences that you will follow on the course as well as demonstrating that your background is suitable for study at a higher level in these areas.

Your statement will be assessed on your reasons for applying, evidence of motivation for and understanding of the masters programme, commitment to the subject beyond the requirements of the degree course, capacity for sustained and intense work, reasoning ability, the ability to absorb abstract ideas at a rapid pace, and an indication of your intended pathway through the OMMS course.

You may wish to begin your personal statement by describing your reasons for applying to OMMS. These can be as simple as wanting to study the mathematical sciences for another year, or you may have a more targeted aim for what you wish to achieve on the course.

The members of the admissions panel who assess your application will want to see that you have given some thought to your pathway through the OMMS course. You can demonstrate this by stating which of the lecture courses you might follow, were you to come to Oxford. Of course, this does not have to be a complete or definitive list and you may subsequently change your mind. The assessors will also appreciate that you are most likely to still be completing your undergraduate degree and therefore will be continuing to learn about new and interesting areas of mathematics. The lecture courses available for 2022-23 can be found by following the links below and it is likely that most of the same lecture courses will be offered in the academic year 2023-24.

Since OMMS runs alongside the fourth year of Oxford’s undergraduate mathematics programme, most of these lecture courses have prerequisites. These can be found by clicking on the individual lecture course links at:

Mathematical Institute courses ;
Department of Statistics courses ;
Department of Computer Science courses . (You may take at most two courses from the Department of Computer Science for credit on this masters programme.)

Those who assess your application will want to see that you are well prepared for the courses you might follow. You can demonstrate this by highlighting which of your previous modules are relevant to the prerequisites of the lecture courses you would take on OMMS.

Finally, you should tell us about any other relevant experience you have that demonstrates either your commitment to the mathematical sciences or your suitability to study on OMMS. Such experience might include, but is not limited to, research projects, prizes or awards, super-curricular courses, mathematical programming experience or outreach.

Aug 12, 2018

How to write an Oxford personal statement

Make sure your personal statement conveys your interest in the subject – write down talks you’ve been to (and what they made you think), open days you’ve attended (and what you took away from them), and maybe even books you’ve read (and whether or not you agree with the author and why). Are you seeing a common thread? It’s less about what you’ve done and more about what you make of it! It’s best to only mention one book or one talk, but really go in to some critical analysis, rather than to just write a list of seven without any additional commentary.

Any extra-curricular activities should be ‘super-curricular’, i.e. related to your degree: for Maths, maybe the Maths Olympiad, for Science, maybe a Science EPQ or that time you entered a Lego competition (totally relevant to Engineering!). For Law, I talked about teaching and debating, and the self-discipline involved in teaching myself a language as an A Level. You can honestly make anything work – try to make yourself stand out a little by having something people don’t normally have! But don’t worry about not having twenty different hobbies – you don’t have space to mention more than one or two, and you won’t really be asked about your personal life at interview.

What I would reiterate, above all, is to not stress over the personal statement. If you’ve spelt everything correctly and you’ve got all your proof that you’re genuinely and voluntarily interested in your subject outside of school then you’re doing it right! And, to the year 12s going in to year 13 – for the love of all that’s holy, take a few weeks off this summer. Breathe. Let yourself detach from the intimidating university admissions process and the pressure of A Levels for a bit, because that will let you be so much more engaged when you jump back in.

#Oxford #OxfordUniversity #PersonalStatement #UCAS #College #Oxbridgeapplication #OxfordPersonalstatement

The Application Process
Personal Statements

Successful Oxbridge Personal Statement Examples

Oxbridge personal statement example for economics course.

I volunteer at a local soup kitchen in Singapore, where I help distribute food and check on the well-being of lower-income families living in public housing.

One day, we encountered a family of five who were all seriously or terminally ill but were not receiving any government social support and had been relying mostly on NGOs for assistance.

This experience highlighted a social issue that concerns me – the lack of adequate social security support in Singapore despite its economic strength.

I believe more attention should be paid to addressing poverty and inequality.

I volunteered at the soup kitchen not only to help those in need but also to understand their struggles, as their interests are often overlooked.

As an economics student, I have learned how well-informed economic policy can improve lives by guiding social analysis.

This subject excites me and has motivated me to learn more through books, volunteering, and participating in economics-related competitions.

For example, I received a distinction award in the National Economics and Financial Management Quiz, which tests quick thinking, logical, and mathematical skills.

I also submitted an essay for the GlaxoSmithKline-Economic Development Board Book Prize on how Singapore can capitalize on Asian talent as a source of growth.

In addition, I participated in the local Math Olympiad received a bronze award, and completed a month-long internship at Centennial Asia Advisors, where my work contributed to the analysis of the Great Recession and the process of purchasing bonds to address the crisis.

This experience gave me a greater understanding of the importance of economic policy and its application.

I am also actively working to make a difference. Along with a group of friends and an NGO, I am committed to helping the village of Tom in Cambodia escape poverty by building schools and providing water filtration devices for villagers.

We also plan to support children with scholarships through fund-raisers. Personally helping Tom overcome poverty is one of my goals, and I believe that a strong understanding of economics will be essential in achieving this.

In addition to my academic and volunteer pursuits, I have also participated in various activities that have helped me grow as a person.

For example, I participated in The Odyssey of The Mind, a competition that challenges teams to think creatively through dramatic performances.

Our team won the World Championship after competing against teams from 60 other countries.

I am also an avid sailor, having represented my school as captain and Singapore in international competitions.

What I value most from these experiences are the relationships I formed with my teammates and the importance of dedication and perseverance in achieving success.

At school, I helped start the Young Diplomats’ Society, an interest group focused on Model United Nations Conferences (MUNC).

At Princeton University MUNC, I received an honourable mention, and at the Nanyang Technological University MUNC, I received the Dorothy Cheung Award for Best Delegate.

I also organized the annual iMUN@AC, serving as Chief of Staff in one year and Secretary General in another.

These MUNCs sparked my interest in global politics and led me to research the causes of the Rwandan Genocide for my IB Extended Essay, a 4000-word research paper that I thoroughly enjoyed and received an “A” grade for.

As John Maynard Keynes said, an economist is part philosopher, part statesman, and part mathematician.

I hope to study economics so that I can learn how to make changes on local, regional, and global levels.

Oxbridge Personal Statement Example For Law Course

I have always been drawn to the fields of law and justice. Even as a child, I was fascinated by the concepts of right and wrong and how they were applied in society.

My interest in history has also allowed me to learn about the evolution of the legal system over time.

During my school years, I took on leadership roles, including being a Senior Prefect and a member of the Student Council.

These experiences gave me a unique perspective on how a school operates and the importance of rules for both students and staff.

In my GCSE years, I had the opportunity to study Critical Thinking, which allowed me to hone my analytical and debate skills.

As part of this course, we visited Winchester Crown Court, giving us the chance to observe a court case in person and see the legal system in action.

This experience had a profound impact on me and further solidified my desire to pursue a career in law.

I also gained valuable insights into the legal profession through a two-week work placement at a local solicitor’s firm during the summer between school and college.

During this time, I was able to observe court proceedings and learn about the daily operations of a solicitor’s office.

In my free time, I enjoy reading classic fiction such as “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens and “North and South” by Elizabeth Gaskell.

I also enjoy cooking, travelling, and leading a healthy and active lifestyle.

I am confident that my personal skills, knowledge, attributes, and work ethic make me an excellent candidate for a law degree at your university.

I hope to use my time at university to develop the skills and qualifications necessary to have a successful career in law and to gain further experience in the courtroom.

Oxbridge Personal Statement Example For Natural Sciences Course

I was always fascinated by the natural world and spent hours exploring the forests and streams near my home.

This curiosity eventually led me to pursue a degree in biology at Oxford University, where I excelled academically and gained valuable experiences that have prepared me to take the next step in my education.

Throughout my undergraduate studies, I have taken a range of ecology courses and consistently earned high marks. In addition to my coursework, I have also been actively involved in several extracurricular activities that have allowed me to further explore my interests in biology and ecology.

For example, I have participated in research projects on the Forest Eco Programme and have worked as an intern at EcoBio Ltd where I gained valuable hands-on experience.

One of the things that set me apart from other applicants is my passion for biology and my dedication to making a positive impact in the world.

This drive was sparked by my achievements in school, which taught me the importance of the environment and motivated me to pursue a career in which I can make a difference.

I am excited to apply to the biology course at Oxford University because of its reputation for excellence and its commitment to providing students with a world-class education.

I believe that the University of Oxford will provide me with the knowledge and skills I need to achieve my goals and make a meaningful contribution to my field.

I am confident that my strong academic and extracurricular background, along with my passion and dedication, make me a strong fit for the course.

I am eager to join the vibrant intellectual community at Oxford and to continue pursuing my goals in biology.

Oxbridge Personal Statement Tips

Focus on the following suggestions to write a successful personal statement for Oxbridge :

Start by thinking about your goals and why you want to pursue them at Oxbridge. What sparked your interest in your field of study, and how have your experiences prepared you to pursue it at a top university?
Reflect on your achievements and experiences. What have you accomplished that demonstrates your potential to succeed at Oxbridge? This could include academic achievements, extracurricular activities, internships, or other experiences.
Consider what makes you unique. What sets you apart from other applicants and makes you a strong fit for the program you’re applying to?
Write in a clear and concise manner, using concrete examples to illustrate your points. Avoid using overly complex language or jargon, and be sure to proofread for spelling and grammar errors.
Edit and proofread your personal statement carefully. It’s important to take the time to polish your statement and make sure it’s the best it can be.

Personal Statement Examples

Statistics Personal Statements
PPE Oxford Personal Statement Example
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Pre-clinical
Medicine: How to Apply

Medicine: Anatomy of a Personal Statement

Download this page as a pdf document

Below is a personal statement from a recent applicant for A100 Medicine at Oxford. It is not perfect and it may not be suited to every medical school. There is no single template for success in terms of an application to Oxford. Other styles can be equally effective: we encourage individuality and diversity in our students. This statement is however a good example for an Oxford application because it helps us see that the applicant is attempting to match our selection criteria .

An applicant's personal statement is likely to be discussed by tutors during interview.

A well-written statement will not in isolation gain you an interview or a place. It forms one part of an application from a gifted applicant that can be considered alongside other information - academic record, BMAT score, school reference, interview performance - in the selection process at Oxford.

Statement & comments

Choosing to study medicine is not a decision I have taken lightly. It isn't a career I have wanted to do since a particularly young age, nor did a life changing event prompt my choice. I have thought very long and hard before deciding to apply.

At first glance, this might seem like a down-beat opening paragraph. Although you may think that an arresting opening statement will impress, admissions tutors may be sceptical of exaggerated descriptions of a revelatory moment or lifelong desire to become a doctor. This introduction shows honesty and a degree of introspection. Throughout the statement, the applicant works hard to show that they have a realistic view of medicine. You won't prove that you have the motivation for medicine by simply saying that you do: it is what you have done to inform yourself about the career - and the views that you have formed - that will convince us that you really know what being a doctor is like and that this is what you want to do.

Various periods of work experience have taught me much about the career. A local hospital placement gave me the opportunity to visit A&E, Radiology and Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

You won't prove that you have the motivation for medicine by simply saying that you do.

Whilst fleeting, these visits to the departments highlighted the variety and diversity of the fascinating specialities medicine encompasses. A placement shadowing a clinic staff was hugely informative regarding daily life as a doctor. During the day I sat in on consultations ranging from routine post natal checkups to discussions of treatment for young people with diabetes and overactive thyroid glands.

This student describes their experiences of healthcare that have helped them decide that they want to study and practise medicine. We understand that opportunities to obtain experience vary, so you won't be judged on what you've done: we want to know what you learned from doing it. The description of the placements here isn't over-exaggerated, and the applicant takes care to explain what they have seen and done and the insight each opportunity afforded them. The relatively detailed account of the infant's check-up conveys the impression of engagement during the placement and suggests an intellectual curiosity to understand the infant's condition and its treatment. The applicant also takes care to point out an example of the importance of good communication skills and argues how their sales position has helped them develop such skills.

Throughout my time there the doctor's genuine interest in his cases and unfaltering motivation highlighted to me the privilege of having such a stimulating profession. This, together with the ever advancing nature of a career in medicine, was brought to the fore by an infant who was having a check up as a result of her being put on an ECMO machine after her birth with Meconium Aspiration Syndrome. The ease with which the doctor broached and dealt with sensitive subject matter also emphasised the importance of a warm, approachable manner and an ability to communicate to a person on their level of understanding. I believe I have honed these skills and gained invaluable experience of the eccentricities of the general public myself in my job as a salesperson.

It is important to convey an impression of engagement and intellectual curiosity when talking about any work experience/placement/voluntary work.

Since February of this year I have volunteered in a care home for a couple of hours each week. I assist with serving meals to the residents as well as feeding one of the more infirm ladies. My time there has brought to my attention the more unpleasant side of medicine and has proved by far the most useful work experience I have had; preparing me for the stark realities of physical ageing and senility. In spite of this, I genuinely enjoy my time there; giving residents, some of whom go months without visitors, 10 minutes of my time to chat can be very rewarding in the obvious enjoyment they get from it. The experience has shown me very clearly the importance of caring for the emotional as well as the physical needs of patients.

This paragraph reaffirms the applicant's motivation for medicine. They admit that working in a nursing home is not glamorous but explain how rewarding it has been. There is evidence of analytical skills here and there is no doubt that the applicant has become well-informed about the realities of healthcare. Empathy comes across as well, with the applicant recognising that a brief interaction can have such a positive effect on the overlooked residents of the home.

Outside of my lessons I enjoy orienteering with a local club. As part of an expedition I took part in, we walked 80km over 4 days in torrential rain. The challenging conditions demanded teamwork and trust to maintain morale and perform effectively as a group; as well as calm rational thought in stressful situations. Also, through this activity and the people I met, I have become a member of the SJA which has enabled me to gain first aid qualifications and go out on duties.

Although the bulk of a personal statement should be academic-related, it is important to show a life outside of studying. The involvement in a club or association demonstrates wider spare time interests, and the description of the challenging walking expedition provides evidence that the student can work with others and can cope in an arduous situation, obliquely suggesting that they might have the capacity for sustained and intense work . The student also shows that they understand that taking time out to relax and manage any stress is important, and conveys the impression of good time management. The passing reference to the drama group reinforces the impression that this applicant is a team-player. It is useful to describe sporting or musical interests although, as, this applicant shows, these non-academic interests don't need to be particularly high-powered ones.

Other activities I enjoy include drama - I was a member of a local group for 6 years - cycling and playing the guitar and piano which allow me to relax.

Non-academic interests don't need to be particularly high-powered.

I know that medicine is not a "9 to 5" job and is by no means the glamorous source of easy money it is often perceived to be. I understand the hours are long and potentially antisocial and that the career can be physically exhausting and emotionally draining. It is apparent that becoming a medic will involve inherent sacrifice.

However medicine is also a deeply gratifying and fascinating career path. I want to be a medic because my passion and aptitude is foremost scientific and to me 5 or 6 years more of formal education followed by a lifetime of further learning sounds like a stimulating career option and, thankfully, a far cry from the monotony some jobs pose. Nevertheless, as an intrinsically social person, I would relish a career requiring the development of strong empathic relationships with patients too. Crucially, I know I have the enthusiasm, capacity for hard work and the open and enquiring mind needed to succeed in such a fulfilling vocation.

In the concluding paragraphs, the statement is emphasising that, although aware of the negative aspects associated with the practice of medicine, fact-finding placements have given the applicant the insight and motivation to be certain that it is the right career for them. The applicant ends by summarising the key personal attributes that they believe make them well-suited to medicine.

Verdict and advice for improvement

Of course, there is room for improvement with this statement. No reference is made to the scientific subjects that are being studied at school or to particular modules that the applicant has found particularly exciting: this could have helped convey enthusiasm and curiosity in science. Although the applicant asserts that they have an 'open and enquiring mind', there is no description of any extracurricular project or reading that the applicant might have undertaken, perhaps to help them understand a highly-charged ethical issue.

Despite those omissions, this is an effective personal statement. It is well constructed, connects with the reader, and the material flows in a logical sequence. It further conveys the impression that the applicant has done the research and knows exactly what is in store: they are not applying with a naive view or because that is what is expected of them. Writing a statement along these lines would provide a good foundation for a competitive applicant and offers lots of material that can be discussed at an interview.

Course Structure
Academic Entry & Age Requirements
Selection Criteria
Health & Fitness to Practise
Application Checklist
Application Process
Introductory Reading
Writing your Personal Statement
Anatomy of a Personal Statement
Graduate Applicants
Mature Applicants
International Applicants
Mitigating circumstances
Shortlisting Process and Admissions Statistics
Fees and Funding

Sample Economics Personal Statement (admitted to Oxford, Cambridge, LSE)

by Talha Omer, MBA, M.Eng., Harvard & Cornell Grad

In personal statement samples by field.

The following personal statement is written by an applicant who got accepted to top graduate programs in economics. Variations of this personal statement got accepted at Oxford, Cambridge, and LSE. Read this essay to get inspiration and understand what a top economics school PS should look like.

You might also be interested in reading this Statement of Purpose in Economics that got admitted to Harvard, Yale and Princeton.

Sample Personal Statement Economics

“Flick…chuggachuggachuggaa…puttt-putttt-puutttttt…rizzzz…”

The sounds coming from near the doorway may have startled an outsider but were barely noticed by the people lounging on charpoys and mooras (wicker stools). With the atmosphere abuzz with their chatter, the sputtering sound of the diesel generator lent more time to catch up as the bulbs lit up and fans whirred on throughout the haveli (palace) on an otherwise hot evening. But on days when it refused to crackle, my grandmother would enkindle gas lanterns filling the veranda with hissing sounds and soothing moonlight rays.

I still cherish these memories from my childhood trips to XYZ, my native village, some 450kms from the closest city. At the time, the short sojourns from Kuwait felt rather adventurous. However, the perspective turned wrong when I permanently moved to XYZ. Due to unannounced electricity breakdowns, we would find ourselves groping in the dark to the closest candle stand while sweating in the scorching summer.

And just when we thought it couldn’t get worse, the occasional power breakdowns segued into a full-blown crisis of the decade. Over the next seven years, we witnessed unprecedented power outages averaging 15-18 hours daily. People weren’t just lamenting the loss of mental peace; they were mourning the monetary losses worth billions of rupees translating into 1.5% of GDP.

Fast forward 15 years, and I found myself in a position to alleviate the situation. As Deputy Administrative Head of the Government’s Economic Affairs division, I administer a departmental budget worth $500 million. I am currently undertaking solarization projects. A recent shift towards renewables has occurred after public unrest during the early decade led to hasty investments in thermal-based power plants. Unfortunately, seven years later, we are still reeling from the aftermath of a bitter public backlash as we have the lowest regional electricity consumption per capita.

In addition to high tariffs, the energy sector has been marred by the accumulation of circular debt of $30 billion. This has been caused by multiple factors, such as electricity theft, transmission losses, and non-payment of dues. Having worked in Economic Affairs Division, I have also been part of a team that took massive power sector reforms, including:

elimination of subsidies
policy formulation on electricity theft and conservation
overhaul of sectoral regulatory bodies
privatization of distribution companies et al.

However, as the Program ended, so did the reforms.

Regrettably, negative externalities from these energy woes have had spillover effects on all socio-economic sectors. The environment has especially poorly been affected by the process for the lack of an integrated generation and transmission policy framework in the renewable industry. Being a lower riparian state has also exacerbated climate change. We face extreme weather conditions – floods, droughts, smog, and diminishing water tables. Unable to agree on water issues not covered under the Indus Water Treaty has led to regular skirmishes and legal battles in the International Court of Justice.

Given the background, my country’s economic and Energy woes require a holistic understanding of the subject. This makes Economic policy specializing in Energy the right choice for my graduate studies. Furthermore, I can become an effective leader and economist in the sector through the interdisciplinary pedagogical approach covering policy, economics, management, law; practical skills; quantitative and qualitative analysis within an international context.

My aim is socio-economic development in tandem with confidence-building measures and strategic partnerships with the neighboring countries. Studying at Oxford will provide this learning opportunity in and out of the class as I will interact with some of the most brilliant minds worldwide and work in teams with them. I also look forward to student-led events, conferences, guest lectures, field trips, and panel discussions to augment my understanding of supranational political demands. This will help me lead economic policy reforms for the next 25 years.

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Medicine Personal Statement Examples – Oxford (Alexander)

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Welcome to our collection of Medicine Personal Statement Examples! We’ve searched far and wide to find personal statements from successful applicants all around the UK and asked them to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of their work for your own inspiration. Today’s subject is from Alexander, who studies Medicine at the University of Oxford.

Alexander applied to study medicine in 2014 at 4 of the best medical schools in the UK, including Edinburgh and Sheffield . In the end, he received offers from both University College London and the University of Oxford , of which he chose the latter and began his studies in 2015.

Let’s read the personal statement that got him a place at Oxford, or skip straight to his feedback to learn what made his personal statement a success!

Please be aware that these examples are meant purely for the sake of inspiration, and should absolutely NOT be used as a model around which to base your own personal statement. UCAS have a rather strict system that detects plagiarism .

University of Oxford Medicine Personal Statement Example

Whole personal statement.

Life as a doctor is hard – long hours, demanding patients and a pressurised working environment. However you also have the tremendous privilege of helping people at their most vulnerable. This is what appeals to me about medicine.

I have always been interested in science and health and used to enjoy listening to my grandfather talking about his experiences as a family doctor at the birth of the NHS. My parents are pharmacists, so healthcare has always featured in family conversations. It made me think that medicine would be a challenging yet rewarding career.

Medicine reflects my academic interests. For instance, I am a keen follower of rugby and American Football and became intrigued by concussion. My EPQ allowed me to research the physiology of brain injuries, analyse scientific papers on the materials used in helmet construction and study the psychological impact of wearing helmets.

Taking part in the Chemistry Olympiad and Cambridge Chemistry Challenge really tested my understanding and ability to apply the principles of chemistry to new and unique situations such as drug manufacture. I was particularly interested in the complexity of the processes that create some of our most basic, yet fundamental drugs.

I am curious about medical research, so read ‘The Trouble with Medical Journals’ by former BMJ editor, Dr Richard Smith. It showed me how difficult it is to conduct studies that are wholly free from bias and conflicts of interest, and opened up an interesting debate about the role of pharmaceutical companies in funding clinical trials.

My work experience has given me a great insight into life as a doctor. I organised a placement in an orthopaedics department, where I closely observed the whole process from admission and surgery to after-care. I saw how important communication was in all aspects of the department: having clear, defined roles in theatre, and using the right language to guide scared patients through complex procedures. I also witnessed first-hand one of the main challenges facing a doctor – dealing with uncooperative patients, yet still achieving a good outcome.

My work as a volunteer at a dementia care home showed me some of the harsher realities of long-term illness and gave me a practical understanding of the effects of degenerative brain disease. I spent time talking to residents and keeping them company, including one who was a former matron. She could remember how to diagnose illnesses but could not remember when she last had a cup of tea. When I asked her about her time as a matron, she cried. I found this upsetting and it pushed me way out of my comfort zone. Initially I felt uncomfortable and did not know how to approach my time at the home. However I persevered and gained a new appreciation of the difficulties faced by both the elderly and those caring for them.

A doctor must keep calm and make good decisions under pressure. On my Gold DofE expedition, I used my problem-solving ability to navigate out of a dense forest using only contour lines. At times the group became frustrated and started to argue. I took responsibility to try and resolve these difficulties by suggesting solutions in a non-confrontational manner.

My passion outside work and college is cricket. I play as much as I can for several clubs and coach young people aged 4-15. I like the responsibility of influencing a young cricketer’s development. Coaching has enabled me to gain valuable experience in organising other people and become a better communicator. It can be frustrating, but worth it when you see how much they improve. I also help junior school children with their reading, which is richly rewarding but demands great patience.

In summary: I enjoy science. I can relate to people. I am resilient and would relish an environment of lifelong learning. A career in a caring profession like medicine would be stimulating, meaningful, and provide me with the best opportunities to apply my knowledge to benefit others.

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University of Oxford Medicine Personal Statement Example Analysis

Now, let’s go section by section and see what Alexander has to say about what he wrote:

INTRODUCTION

Introduction

I wanted to keep this introduction very simple and straightforward, which I believe I did well. I didn’t waffle about any life-changing events that made me decide to study medicine overnight, I just focused on an honest appraisal of my background that led me to consider medicine. It’s very direct, but I feel admissions teams prefer honestly over trying to create a massively blown-up story about something that is actually pretty simple. It saves time and space that can be used to thoroughly discuss my experiences and skills later on.

‘Life as a doctor is hard’ does sound a little cliché and cringy when I read it back all these years later. I wanted to create a catchy opening but instead, it just feels like I’m either moaning or explaining medical work to a child. In the second part, emphasising the medical background I come from may come across as I’m only doing medicine because my family do it/want me to do it. It is certainly worth mentioning, but I barely discuss how living with medical professionals has helped me develop my own skills and interests.

Lastly, and this is a reoccurring issue, why did I split this into two paragraphs? They both link together, but splitting this section in half makes each part feel less significant than if I had left them as one.

I start off the main part of my personal statement by discussing my academics. Here, I found ways to relate the extra things I’d done at sixth form (EPQ, Olympiad, Trouble with Medical Journals) to medical topics and reflected on how they had helped me become a good medicine applicant. Again I kept the things I gained from them very simple, being very clear about exactly what I did and not trying to stretch the truth. Although I am trying to sell myself, I didn’t want to over-exaggerate my accomplishments as many admissions teams can see right through insincerity. Detailing my additional research is also a great way of demonstrating my interest in medicine in a practical and applicable way, rather than just describing life experiences that inspired me.

Throughout these paragraphs, the writing sometimes comes across as a bit waffly, such as being intrigued by concussions because of rugby and American football. It’s a very random detail to mention and could have flowed more naturally into my EPQ. Instead of providing this surface-level information about myself, I could perhaps have given examples of what I’d learnt, although I did leave it slightly open to encourage interviewers to ask me about my EPQ at the interview. I do provide a better amount of depth when discussing the other topics here though.

As for the paragraphing issue, this section is a bit more justifiable as each paragraph does tackle a separate topic. However, paragraphs this small do make the content feel less important or in-depth.

This is my discussion of work experience and volunteering work . Here, I was clear that I organised my orthopaedic work experience and dementia home volunteering myself, not that it was arranged for me. This may seem like an odd thing to point out, but it definitely shows a level of confidence and initiative that some applicants do miss (it was especially important for me considering my medical background, it would be very easy for the reader to assume my parents sorted something for me).

Again, I didn’t over-exaggerate what I had done or learnt, I was very factual and let that speak for itself as I was confident it was good enough to be impressive. Even if it wasn’t the most impressive experience they had seen, the confidence in which I presented it gives it equal or greater value to work experience that has been dressed in over descriptive language.

Paragraph-wise, this is actually a section I handled correctly in my opinion.

Given how much I could have written about these two experiences, I unfortunately wasn’t as reflective as I should have been here. I had learned a lot from these experiences, but I only really discussed the surface-level skills I had learnt from them. There are many underlying lessons that I could have defiantly discussed in order to give this section a bit more power.

I was a bit nervous about including the time I made a person cry, and how difficult I initially found the care home, but overall I think that it was important to show awareness that I’m not yet a perfect doctor/person, but at least I have been able to see an improvement in myself from the experience. This is a tactic that could backfire if you’re not fully confident, but as long as you can explain yourself in the interview, you’ll come off as a stronger candidate because of it.

Here we have another pretty straightforward paragraph which only says what I myself did and doesn’t try and take too much credit. It ticks off some of the soft skills medical schools are looking for, again with examples that I could elaborate on further in the interview. The first sentence of this paragraph also serves to justify the inclusion of everything else I discuss here by linking everything back to medicine.

In reality, it’s a bit of a filler paragraph to try and show I’ve got some other skills they are after. Nothing here is as strong as what I previously discussed, although it’s really not expected to. I certainly don’t feel it’s a particularly strong or stand-out paragraph like the previous one, but it serves its purpose of demonstrating some additional skills.

I think this paragraph works well, showing both my extra-curricular interest in cricket and also how I’ve turned my passion for it into something that helps others, which sounds like a decent analogy to medicine. The personal statement isn’t just about medical abilities; universities also want students who are happy, healthy and likely to contribute to university life as a whole. This example perfectly encapsulates how I would be a fantastic university student!

Everything doesn’t need to be “all medicine, all the time”, but linking this topic to medicine would have definitely helped it feel more relevant in this personal statement. I just said that this sounds like a good analogy for medicine, so all I would have needed to do is point this out in a slightly more explanatory way. Looking at the wording and phrasing I used, “ I like the responsibility ” maybe sounds a bit sociopathic while “organising other people” is also a slightly odd phrase. The junior school reading is maybe something I could have expanded on further, to show a bit more breadth.

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This is a proper summary of my personal statement; it doesn’t contain any new information and brings everything from my personal statement together in just 3 lines. It comes across as very snappy and ends with a true reflection of why I want to study medicine. This is pretty much everything expected of a good quality conclusion.

This is perhaps where I may become a bit overly confident describing myself with all those terms. Taken on its own, the paragraph does nothing to show how I can say these things about myself, but I have tried to demonstrate why I believe I have those qualities throughout my statement. So hopefully, in context, it sounded appropriate. I suppose it must have done or else I wouldn’t have gotten my offers.

Final Thoughts

Throughout this analysis, I have made sure to point out several times that this statement is no-nonsense and straight to the point. It’s very factual, and I make a point of showing my qualities with evidence rather than just saying I am caring or I like science for example. I show a good breadth of experiences and am not afraid to speak about the bad ones, which shows I have a fuller picture of the highs and lows of a career in medicine. I wrote this knowing that whoever would end up reading would know far more than me about medicine and be far more experienced than myself, so I didn’t want to either talk down to them or sound like I was desperate to impress them. I’d say the biggest strength of this personal statement is its confidence. When writing, know what your strengths are and own up to your weaknesses while understanding that they don’t detract from your abilities unless you let them.

Because I was applying to Oxford I put my academic achievements first, even though my strongest paragraphs were more in the middle. There were several things that I had done that I did not include, and perhaps I could have created more space by shortening some of the paragraphs to create space for them, to ensure I’m covering more of the skills and qualities medical schools are after. These are all structural issues, but I had a few issues with my writing style too. The confident writing approach is effective when done well, but it can fall flat when you make weird statements like my first line, or become a bit too cocky. There’s a balance to reach and, although you probably won’t perfect every line, you will need to most likely go through countless drafts to get it right.

So there you have it! This personal statement helped Alexander earn 2 offers from two of the most prestigious medical schools in the country!

Everyone has different experiences and abilities, so you may not be able to relate to everything that was said in this personal statement. However, the information and advice provided by Alexander is universal and will help any applicant write a better personal statement!

Be sure to check out more Medicine Personal Statement Analyses to see advice from all different kinds of applicants, including Ali Abdaal , another Oxbridge medical student! Or if you want to get started on your own statement, check out 6med’s Personal Statement Bundle for all the support and resources you’ll ever need! If you want full support on every part of your application and a guaranteed place at med school, the Complete Bundle will be perfect for you.

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What is more powerful than ardent love or the overwhelming intensity of human emotion? What is more powerful than a nuclear force, a fatal weapon, an instrument designed to destruct and destroy? Language and literature are the strongest forms of weaponry to exist. The alignment of each letter, the meticulous assortment of the vowels and consonants to produce a word, the hard phonetic quality of the 'ger' sound in the word anger and the soft lulling 'l' in love induce an emotional human response. My daily exposure to words, whether it be in the media or on a page in a novel; each word and the omnipotence it carries, is what informs my everyday decisions, influences the way I feel and affects me as a human.

My enthrallment with a writer’s ability to shape a reader's mind through a thought-provoking work of literature was notable during my studies of the ‘Ariel’ anthology by Sylvia Plath - a collection of poetry with a broad expression of themes such as female liberation and gender. Studying how Plath urged people to consider their own society through the profuse allusion to patriarchalism embedded in her writing style, encouraged me to research other works that challenged people's conceptions of society. I was able to explore this further in my Extended Project Qualification, an opportunity presented to me to plunge into the radical world of Angela Carter by exploring the question: "In what way does Angela Carter’s ‘The Bloody Chamber’ present Victorian societal issues?". This subversive tale proved to be an excellent example of pushing the boundaries of 20th century literature and is recognised for its avant-garde style. My involvement with this project has enabled me to venture beyond the curriculum, continuing the development of my interest for gender inequality in literature and exposing me to an extensive variety of feminist theory.

I further broadened my interest in Victorian gender issues and the Gothic presented in Carter's 'The Bloody Chamber' by reading Bram Stoker's ‘Dracula’, which effectively captures contrasting portrayals of women and supports the New Woman movement in the Victorian Fin de Siècle through its emulation of unconventional female representations as in Carter's ‘The Bloody Chamber.’ I then used my initiative to seek new interpretations of the novel by reading an article from The British Library "Daughters of Decadence" by Greg Buzwell, which interprets the novelist Stoker as having an aversion to the sexualised rebellion embodied in 'The New Woman', represented by his character Lucy Westernra, whom he presents in a sexually decadent light and kills off as punishment for her "sexual licentiousness"; while the adverse characterisation of Mina Murray is depicted as admirable and more traditional. I believe this view aligns well with the double standards of Victorian society which is a civilisation where a woman's sexual freedom is reprimanded while a male’s is overlooked. Critical works have not only stretched me to consider a multitude of new interpretations, but have also provoked me to find my own which is to be developed on degree course.

Through my appointment as a Head Student, my creative writing and public speaking skills have prospered greatly with the new responsibilities the role entails, which should enhance my ability to deliver presentations and lectures with ease and confidence on a course level. I have shown enthusiasm for writing through my entry to an Oxford University Modern Languages French film writing competition for which I was awarded a special commendation. My passion for the arts and my experience of being a performer, dedicating 7 hours of my week to dance lessons in ballet, jazz, tap, musical theatre and modern, featuring in two TV commercials and being a young performer in the Reading Christmas pantomime, is certain to enhance my ability to blossom in the study of literature; I believe that writing and the art of performance are a perfect enhancement of each other as they encompass the practices of creative expression and storytelling which mould the foundations to an ardent and successful writer. I have had the experience of being a Drama scholar and an English, Humanities and Languages scholar which in themselves are reflections of my academic excelling and intellectual curiosity in both fields of study.

My ideal career as a journalist encompasses analytical and communication skills which I believe this course will equip me with, but also requires passion and fulsome interest for writing which I have an abundance of and wish to build upon and take to a much higher and advanced level through the completion of an English Language and Literature degree.

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Successful Personal Statement For Oxford English Language And Literature

Last Updated: 5th April 2022

Author: Rob Needleman

Welcome to our popular Personal Statement series where we present a successful Personal Statement, and our Oxbridge Tutors provide their feedback on it.

Today, we are looking through an English Language and Literature applicant’s Personal Statement that helped secure them a place at Oxford. The English Language and Literature course at Oxford is one of the broadest degrees in the country, so let’s see how the applicant navigated around this to write a strong Personal Statement.

Here’s a breakdown of the Personal Statement:

SUCCESSFUL?

The universities this candidate applied to were the following:

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Your tutor will give you actionable feedback with insider tips on how to improve and make your Personal Statement Oxbridge quality for the best chances of success.

English Personal Statement

George Eliot’s metaphor for imagination- ‘inward light which is the last refinement of Energy … bathing even the ethereal atoms in its ideally illuminated space’- is beautiful. The powerful image supported by the underlying liquid consonants skilfully leads to the action it describes, but it is also the suggestion of particle physics and mass-energy equivalence that interests me about this quotation. In this way, I have gained more from reading ‘Middlemarch’ as I appreciate Eliot’s constant links between science and fiction, and I believe scientific study has generally sharpened my abilities of analysis and concise expression.

I have loved working as a steward at the Globe Theatre; I had the opportunity to see many plays, including a production of Marlowe’s ‘Dr Faustus’. I read Dante’s ‘Inferno’ and several books of Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’ for a different portrayal of hell and sin to that depicted in ‘Dr Faustus’. I found the torment and suffering described by Dante graphic, whilst the first person narrative drew me closer to the pathos fear and disgust expressed. Milton’s depiction of a mental state is much more powerful in my opinion, and has interesting parallels to Faustus’ state of damnation. I also saw Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It’, ‘All’s Well that Ends Well’ and ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ whilst stewarding. ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ reminded me of the surprising similarity between Shakespeare’s comedies and tragedies. Claudio and Hero’s troubled love and Don John’s self-proclaimed villainy seem to mirror the actions of Othello, Desdemona and Iago. Viewing comedy as a structure, ‘Much Ado’ contains the potential tragedy of ‘Othello’, but an added last act resolves all tensions and ends so happily and neatly that it seems to me rather unrealistic.

I enjoyed Dickens’ ‘Our Mutual Friend’ for its satirical portrayal of superficial London society. His depiction of characters and scenes make the novel humorous and therefore very different to ‘A Tale of Two Cities’. Here, the powerful characterisation emphasises the terrible human suffering and moral corruption, for example his effective personification of ‘La Vengeance’, who encourages the cries of bloodlust from Parisians. I found it easier to empathise with Jude in Hardy’s ‘Jude the Obscure’ than with Dickens’ creations however, since his actions appear futile against the fate which continually works against him. There seems to be no hope in the novel, unlike the eventual triumph of love over death in ‘A Tale of Two Cities’. Just as in ‘Tess of the d’Urbervilles’ and ‘A Pair of Blue Eyes’, love and happiness seem only like a prelude to grief and sorrow linked with the relentless passing of time. I find Donne’s approaches to this theme interesting too: in both his love poems and the Holy Sonnets, Donne uses form to counter and control the passing of time and the prospect of change.

I have participated in many music groups and ensembles at school, having achieved Grade 8 with distinction in both Flute and French Horn. I have worked for two years in my local Cancer Research shop as part of the Gold Duke of Edinburgh award, and also spent a residential week with a charity called Activenture, looking after children of different ages and abilities, for which I received the Young Carer of the Year award. During my gap year, I plan to join my local orchestra and travel for three months around South America, but ultimately I am most excited about the time I will have to read and further explore English literature.

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Good Points Of The Personal Statement

The candidate’s wide range of personal interests are clearly demonstrated, and — for the most part — are well-linked to their subject application, giving it further strength. They are able to use independent thought to illustrate how various bits of reading they have done are linked. The list of works they discuss ranges from poetry to plays to Victorian novels; a strong variety of works. They evaluate these across genres and are able to apply critical thought and analysis to them. Throughout their discussions of various texts, the applicant clearly illustrates their enthusiasm for the subject; their writing is energised by positivity and personal engagement with the material.

Bad Points Of The Personal Statement

The candidate could have worked even harder to connect their extra-curricular activities to their application (though their relevance was clear in most instances). The effect of the applicant’s use of independent thought and personal experience was often slightly dulled by their use of highly personal and personalising terms such as ‘beautiful’, or simply ‘I enjoyed’. Though there is perhaps nothing wrong with these evaluations as an initial starting point, the candidate could have pushed further with their readings to interrogate these works further. Though the applicant demonstrates a wide literary foundation, their commentary did at times lapse into plot summary, which is less interesting than their own thought.

UniAdmissions Overall Score:

This candidate’s application reads as both impressive in its depth of knowledge and personal in its illustration of thought and enthusiasm. As such, it reads as a statement that is well-balanced and well-judged; the reader is able to get a good sense of this applicant’s interests on both a personal and academic level. The statement could have made greater use of critical language and could have included fewer instances of value judgments; small alterations which would have given the candidate’s discussions greater academic depth.

This Personal Statement for English is a great example of a statement done right. The candidate’s interest is clearly shown which is vital to Admissions Tutors.

Remember, at Oxford, these Admissions Tutors are often the people who will be teaching you for the next few years so you need to appeal directly to them.

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This Personal Statement for English is a great example of a statement done right. The candidate's interest is clearly shown which is vital to Admissions Tutors. Remember, at Oxford, these Admissions Tutors are often the people who will be teaching you for the next few years so you need to appeal directly to them.

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