how to make a good personal statement for economics

Personal statement advice: economics

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Ensure your enthusiasm for economics stands out

It's key to explain in your personal statement why you’re interested in economics and why you want to study it.

Think about the following:

Show an appreciation of mathematical concepts.
Reflect on something that has given you an insight into local, national, European or global economic issues, and explain what interests you about it.
If you have already been studying economics at A level (or equivalent), talk about an area of the course you’ve found especially interesting.
If you haven’t studied economics before, explain what has inspired your interest in it.
What especially appeals to you about the subject or the courses you’ve chosen? You can look up specific course details using our course search .
Demonstrate that you have a real interest in economic principles and concepts.
Show some understanding of economic theory.

What to include in your economics personal statement

Your long-term goals: explain how your degree choice fits with your future ambitions and career aspirations.
Wider reading: do pick out one or two specific issues that had an impact on you – just saying you subscribe to ‘The Economist’ or ‘The FT’ or that you’ve read ‘Freakonomics’ or ‘The Undercover Economist’ won't have an impact unless you elaborate. Better still, think outside the box and write about something you’ve read that’s slightly more obscure. As one admissions tutor said: 'If I read about ‘Freakonomics’ one more time, I’ll scream.'
Economics-related experience: reflect on any work experience, responsibilities, or non-academic interests or achievements that are relevant to economics or demonstrate appropriate skills or qualities.
Other relevant insights: if you’ve undertaken an economics-related project, Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) or summer school, reflect on any insights this has given you.
Demonstrate your skills: give examples of skills you possess that will serve you well as an economics student and mean you're able to proactively contribute to the course. These could include self-motivation, teamwork, the ability to think logically, effective time management, good communication, or problem-solving skills.

What not to include in your economics statement

We've also picked up some tips on what to avoid:

Don’t skim the surface – be specific.
Don’t give a shopping list of things you’ve read or done.
Don’t exaggerate.
Don’t waste space trying to impress with things you’ve done that aren’t relevant – relate everything to the courses you’re applying for.
Don’t make sweeping claims about your 'passion for economics', how you’ve 'loved it from an early age' and 'what an honour it would be to get accepted at your university'.
Avoid grammar and spelling mistakes.

As the University of Bristol's ' Why Study Economics? ' website says, 'a straightforward personal statement that gets all the core points across in a coherent way serves the purpose best'. So do say something that will stand you out from the crowd, but avoid being too off-the-wall.

Don't be too bland and generic, either. London School of Economics says 'your statement should be as original as possible to differentiate you from other applicants' while the University of Nottingham looks for 'students with a wide variety of interests and enthusiasms from a wide variety of backgrounds'. Strike the right balance by demonstrating your enthusiasm, your intellectual curiosity, and the quality of your insights.

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Economics Personal Statement Guide

Your personal statement is a significant part of your university application. It gives you the opportunity to show universities your enthusiasm for studying Economics and demonstrate your skills and motivations.

Many students struggle with writing personal statements. It can be difficult to balance academic interests with personal achievements, keep everything relevant to the economics courses you're applying for, and fit it all into just over one A4 page.

To help you get on the right track, our Personal Statement Guide takes you through everything you need to know to create an excellent Economics personal statement:

Why are Personal Statements Important?
What Should I Include in an Economics Personal Statement?
What Should I Avoid in an Economics Personal Statement?

Advice on How to Start an Economics Personal Statement

Advice on how to finish an economics personal statement .

how to make a good personal statement for economics

What Should I Avoid in an Economics Personal Statement ?

You must avoid waffle and cliches. A common cliche that we recommend you avoid is "I have wanted to study Economics since I was a child" or "I want to study Economics because I want to make money". While these statements may be true, you need to focus on demonstrating your interests in economics, not just stating them.

Instead, talk about a documentary you came across and how it interested you and how, in light of this interest you read a book related to the topic. Connecting your academic interests in this way instead of using cliche statements helps keep you under the word count, but also makes your personal statement interesting and personal to your academic journey.

You should also definitely not mention anything in your personal statement that you have not read, watched, listen to, or done yourself. In other words, absolutely do not lie! Admissions tutors will sniff dishonest statements out very keenly, especially if you attend an interview with them further along the line.

Economic ,at undergraduate study contains many elements and topics; use this to your advantage and research widely to find various areas of personal interest. Before starting to write your Economics Personal Statement, consider making a mind map or list of the reasons you are interested in the subject, and any areas in which you are particularly interested. Which podcasts have you listened to, books have you read, or videos have you watched?

Remember to focus on what you have done, what inspired and benefited you, and what you would like to learn next. For instance, in studying elasticity of demand, what questions did it raise for you, and how have you explored the topic further?

If you are struggling to get your wider research off the ground, or need something new to get out of a research rut, check out some of our recommendations below:

Poor Economics by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo

The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time by Jeffrey D. Sachs

Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty by Muhammad Yunus

Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

IMF Podcast

Planet Money

Journals/Publications:

The Economist

American Economic Review

The Econometrics Journal

Journal of Political Economy

This is not an exhaustive list, and we strongly encourage you to research your areas of interest.

Writing the ending of an Economics Personal statement can often be just as hard as beginning. The most important task for the final section is not to overcomplicate things; focus on using clear and concise language to round up the main theme(s) of the preceding content.

Your final sentence or two should summarise your academic interest in Economics and your excitement about studying the course . If you wish, you may also briefly mention your hopes for the future (be it working in further research, a financial institution, or government policy) and tie an Economics degree into your plans going forward (although this is not necessary).

Think about what you want the admissions tutors to remember about you once they have finished reading. This is the information to foreground in your conclusion.

Lastly, always proofread your personal statement several times . We recommend giving a final version to a parent, guardian, teacher, friend, or anyone else you can find, really! Getting a second opinion, be it from someone with Economics expertise or someone completely new to the subject, can help weed out mistakes and ensure your writing is clear and your intentions can be understood.

What are some Tips for Writing a Strong Economics Personal Statement?
How Long Should my Economics Personal Statement Be?
What Kind of Extracurricular Activities Should I Include in my Economics Personal Statement?
How Can I Tailor my Economics Personal Statement to the Oxford/Cambridge Course?

A strong Economics personal statement will include relevant academic interests and the motivations behind pursuing Economics at a higher level, and not a lot else.

As Economics is a subject that links to other social sciences such as sociology or politics, the temptation can often be to discuss topics that are potentially not covered in an Economics course. To ensure against this, it's always good to check back over the course syllabus and double check that everything you mention is linked either by content or by the skills needed to study it.

If you are applying for different courses, such as PPE at a few universities and Economics at others, carefully think about which topics you write about to demonstrate that you are a passionate Economics student.

We recommend that you use the majority of the limit UCAS gives you. It is your first chance to make a lasting impression on the admission tutors, so you should take advantage of the opportunity to show them why you would be an exceptional Economics student.

4000 characters of 47 lines (whichever comes first) may seem ample, but once you have spoken about your interests in detail, you will find that it really is not. Often students go over the limit in their first draft of their personal statement; do not worry about this, as continual redrafting and reviewing (which you really should do) will help you shorten it down.

You want to ensure that you only include extracurricular activities that demonstrate relevant skills, interests, and qualities in your statement.

Whether the activity or resource you want to mention is directly related to economics or not (and it doesn't necessarily have to be), you should not just mention it, but also explicitly discuss why or how you believe that it either motivates you or equips you with the skills to perform well on the degree course to which you are applying.

There is no secret formula when writing a personal statement for Oxford or Cambridge, and you need to make sure not to mention the Oxbridge course directly since your personal statement goes to all your universities. In our experience, however, the key to an Oxbridge Economics personal statement lies within the amount of academic content you have in your statement. Oxbridge tutors are keen to hear as much as possible about your academic interests, therefore we recommend aiming to focus 80-90% of your statement on academic content, whilst the remaining 10-20% talks about your extracurricular activities.

To demonstrate your academic ability and potential, you must talk about how you have engaged with your subject beyond the school syllabus. This can include presenting your views on economists such as Milton Friedman or analysing the implications of theories such as economies of scale. You need to avoid waffle, be concise, and demonstrate your love for Economics at every stage.

It is important to note that if you do reach the interview stage of the Oxbridge application process, you can be asked questions about your personal statement, so do carefully select topics that you are passionate about. We offer a fantastic interview preparation course if you need support preparing for the interview stage of the process.

Book your Economics Personal Statement Package

You can contact our Oxbridge-graduate Consultants on +44 (0) 20 7499 2394 or email [email protected] to discuss our personal statement packages.

If you’d like to know more about Economics, we have admissions test guidance and interview preparation readily available.

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

by Talha Omer, M.Eng., 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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Successful Personal Statement For Economics & Management At Oxford

Last Updated: 22nd April 2020

Author: Adi Sen

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 Economics and Managment applicant’s Personal Statement that helped secure a place at Oxford University. The Economics and Management Course at Oxford examines issues central to the world we live in: namely how the economy and organisations function, and how resources are allocated and coordinated to achieve the organisation’s objectives.

Read on to see how this candidate managed to navigate the many disciplines of E&M.

Here’s a breakdown of the Personal Statement:

SUCCESSFUL?

The universities this candidate applied to were the following:

Enrolling on our Oxford Economics & Management comprehensive Programme will help you perfect your Personal Statement.

Welcome to UniAdmissions, the world’s first Oxbridge preparatory school with an Oxbridge success rate of 57% and with over 500+ UniAdmissions students placed at Oxford and Cambridge.

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Economics and Management Personal Statement

Economics is the study of now. I view it as the study of the psychology of the people who dictate our lives. The world around us is shaped by the fundamental concept of supply and demand, wants and needs, goods and services. What grips me is that everything I have studied I can apply to real life. Discussions about inflation, for example, are so applicable since its current status is active in the world of pricing; the price of a Big Mac and “Burgernomics” is something to which I can relate from my travels.

The statistical aspect of economic analysis is closely linked to my interest in Mathematics, thus I will take an Econometric route on option modules. This scientific approach to what is otherwise a field-based solely on individual theories and concepts interests me, as I find quantitative analysis much more accurate and reliable than qualitative theories. As an example, I relish analysing more Econometric models on the A-level Course: like Profit Maximisation calculations.

Despite this, Economics intertwines both Maths and Philosophy on a regular basis. I recently read an article from the Guardian by George Monbiot, which discussed the cost-benefit analysis model and whether nature could be quantified as a tangible asset, and how this would benefit neo-liberals in their perpetual quest for profit. This is just an example of how Econometric analysis does not always deliver such verisimilitude where the figures given are ambiguous. This is what is unique about Economics: there is no right answer to the question ‘Is there a right answer?’ The concept of there being methods of analysing the psychology of and nature behind the way that the interface between consumers and producers operates seems to exceed all other subjects in terms of interest.

I find it peculiar that a subject that has such a ubiquitous undercurrent in our society is so undefined and obscure; it is undoubtedly this which draws me to it. Consequently, I strive to keep up with Economics in the modern world by reading the “I” and “Guardian” newspapers, and “The Economist” magazine regularly. For wider background reading I have read Marx’s “Communist Manifesto”, Tim Hartford’s “The Undercover Economist” and “Too Big To Fail” by Andrew Ross Sorkin.

Sorkin’s book provided a gripping, in-depth insight into the world of investment banking and entrepreneurship – I finished the book in a matter of days. His book has inspired me to enter the investment sector. Upon graduation I would like to become an investment banker or negotiator, hence I am in the process of trying to arrange some work experience with the London Metal Exchange.

I completed a programme of work experience with Linden Homes this summer, through the Career Academy Programme on which I am enrolled. It was a six-week internship during which I gained a firm understanding of a construction company’s place within the national economy. I enjoyed spending valuable time in a variety of departments within the firm. I also have work experience planned in Belgium in 2013.

Additionally, I participate in a multitude of extracurricular activities. My team and I finished second in the national UMPH Business Competition; in Year 11 my team set the school record for the Enterprise Day Challenge and for three consecutive years my team won the Grimsby Inter-School Quiz without loss. Furthermore, I am part of both the Franklin College Debating Team and the weekly “Blue Sky Club”, where students meet to discuss current affairs.

Recently, a particular subject of interest has been the US election. We frequently discuss the debates and the candidates, covering subjects like their political viewpoints and how it will affect both our lives and those of the American public – plus the potential Economic ramifications of the possible outcomes. With a genuine zeal for the subject and an ability to relate my studies to the real world, I am convinced that I will thoroughly thrive at degree level Economics.

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Good Points Of The Personal Statement

The student gives a good insight into their academic interests and what’s inspired them to develop over time. They also demonstrate a passion for the subject, not only by stating their interest in it but by further explaining what interests them and why they would make a good candidate to study it at university. The student is already accomplished and explains well what they’ve gained from their various extra-curricular activities.

Bad Points Of The Personal Statement

The writing is weak and, at points, unnatural. The forced interjections of examples and unusual adjectives make it read like a student attempting to write a formal and formulaic exam essay. They would do better to write in their usual style, even if it is somewhat informal; this will allow them to better express themselves and they will come across as more interesting to those reading it. More importantly than this, however, at times, the student fails to keep up their otherwise good level of detail, and the writing becomes list-like.

This is particularly prominent when they discuss books they’ve read to develop their understanding of economics. Although they expand on one of these, they do so in little detail. Interviewers are unlikely to be impressed by simply mentioning that you’ve read a book – any student applying for degree-level economics is able to read The Communist Manifesto, for instance – but they will be impressed by your response to it and what you gained from the experience of reading it. Unless you expand on these details, a list of books you’ve read does nothing to contribute to the statement.

UniAdmissions Overall Score:

This statement is strong, except where it discusses academic work. The detail here was likely sacrificed in favour of expanding further on their extra-curricular activities and their particular areas of interest. However, they have limited discussion of their study of various classic economic works so severely that it fails to add anything to the piece. The statement would, therefore, benefit from a more balanced approach to the various areas of the student’s life.

We give this Economics Personal Statement a 4/5 as they have clearly projected their passion for the subject onto paper – the most important part of a strong Personal Statement – albeit this was at the cost of other factors that should have been covered in more depth.

And there we have it – an Oxford E&M Personal Statement with feedback from our expert tutors.

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

Our Free Personal Statement Resources page is filled with even more successful personal statements and expert guides.

Our expert tutors are on hand to help you craft the perfect Personal Statement for your Oxford E&M application.

With our Oxbridge Economics Premium Programme we help you craft the perfect Personal Statement , achieve a highly competitive TSA score and teach you how to Interview effectively.

Discover our Oxbridge Economics Premium Programme by clicking the button below to enrol and triple your chances of success.

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By Nik Taylor (Editor, The Uni Guide) | 21 September 2023 | 8 min read

Writing an economics personal statement: expert advice from universities

Get your economics personal statement in top shape with these insider tips

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The university application personal statement is changing in 2025
University admissions service Ucas has announced that a new style of personal statement will be launched in 2025. This will affect anyone making a university application from autumn 2025 onwards. .

Read around the subject

Read more: how to write an excellent personal statement in ten steps

Let your passion for economics shine through in your personal statement

Read more: teacher secrets for writing a great personal statement

Make sure you really understand what economics is all about

Do your research into the course.

Read more: personal statement FAQs

Keep your personal statement personal

Talk about how you engage with the world around you.

Read more: the ten biggest mistakes to avoid when writing your personal statement

Show your interest in collecting and analysing data

Read more: universities reveal all about personal statements

Don’t only focus on finance

Read more: universities explain how to end your personal statement with a bang

Include extracurricular activities with relevant skills

Read more: how to write your personal statement when you have nothing interesting to say

You could talk about your plans for your future, but don’t worry if you don’t have a definite career trajectory all mapped out

Read more: how long does it take for universities to reply to your application?

It shouldn’t matter if you haven’t studied economics before

Proofread your personal statement before you send it out, you may want to look at these..., personal statement secrets – universities reveal all.

Want to know how to craft an amazing personal statement? Take some advice from the experts...

How to write an excellent personal statement in 10 steps

Help and advice on putting your application together

Personal statement FAQs

We've gone through some of the most commonly asked personal statement questions and put all the answers in one place

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How to Write your Economics Personal Statement

Are you applying to economics courses at university this year? If so, this guide might come in handy. Based on my experience helping students with personal statements, as well as discussions with other Cambridge students and fellows, I have built up an understanding of what makes a very good economics personal statement. Below I present a series of steps for how to write the personal statement.

Decide on your course

It sounds obvious, but make sure you have decided on the courses which you would like to apply to. If you are unsure, you can consider your A-levels, particular interests, or whether you have a particular job in mind for after university.

From this point onwards, I will assume you are interested in applying for some kind of economics degree. However, the advice below generally applies to joint degrees and other courses however.

Supercurricular activities for economics

Given you have decided on the course for which you are applying, the next step I recommend is to write a list of all your supercurricular activities .

This is not the same as an extracurricular activity. You can think of the difference like this:

A supercurricular activity is an activity that takes place outside of school lessons, that is directly related to your university course of choice. An example is reading an economics book.
An extracurricular activity is, again, an activity that takes place outside of school, but that is not directly related to the course you are applying to study at university. An example of this is being part of a sports team.

Supercurricular activities should form the bulk of your personal statement. Some universities post recommendations such as 75 to 80% of the personal statement should be about supercurricular activities exclusively. Other universities will state that they are only interested in your academic pursuits (in other words, supercurriculars).

Complete Guide

For the complete economics personal statement guide, click the link here (paid resource):

Types of Supercurriculars

Supercurricular activities can include, but are not limited to:

Online or in-person lectures.
Magazines or journals.
Online courses.
Essay competitions.
Reading blogs.

In a future blogpost, I will outline some examples for various areas of economics.

How should you choose your supercurriculars?

I recommend choosing activities based on your particular interests within the subject of economics. For example suppose you are interested in labour economics (in other words, what decides the wage and employment level in an economy or labour market). Then I would recommend finding activities relating to these topics. This could include entering an essay competition by writing on a labour economics topic such as migration, minimum wages or inequality, or searching in YouTube for lectures relating to migration (such as Alan Manning’s LSE lectures, for example here ). You may be able to find podcast episodes covering these particular topics.

Another example is let’s say you had an interest in environmental economics. Then you could look into a podcast episode on carbon taxes (for example here ). You could then look into books, blogs or online courses on the topic and so on.

One possible way to structure your personal statement is to have one paragraph for each topic area. You could have a paragraph discussing labour economics, then another discussing the economics of crime, and a third paragraph discussing macroeconomic policy as an example. However supercurricular activities may not naturally group into topics. So you can choose to link them together in other ways, such as the type of activity or a common skill the activities show.

Several economics courses are looking for you to be proficient in mathematics. Hence it may be worth devoting some part of the statement to discussing economics supercurriculars that relate to mathematics, covering areas such as the use of calculus in economics, statistics, econometrics, game theory and so on. Alternatively you could simply includes pure mathematics supercurricular activities such as maths challenges or reading.

Activities to avoid mentioning

Ideally you should avoid mentioning books where economics and popular culture overlap. This includes books like Freakonomics and the Armchair Economist for example. While these are very enjoyable books to read in their own right, these books are too frequently mentioned and are often seen as too basic by some universities.

If you are applying to a very competitive university that does not interview, for example LSE, then it would be preferable to find books that are less frequently mentioned.

Work experience is not necessary for an application to an economics course. This is because work experience is often acquired through connections rather than ability, so it would be a poor indicator for admissions staff to use in assessing students’ abilities. Also work experience is often not directly relevant to the economics course. However work experience can be mentioned if you work on something that is relevant to the economics course, such as working as a research assistant or an economics journalist.

Generally you should not be mentioning your A-levels. Almost everybody applying is doing A-levels and so speaking about what you have covered in your A-levels will not help you to stand out. In any case your teachers will be mentioning your A-levels in your teacher reference anyway, so it is better to devote the personal statement to activities beyond your A-levels. If there are one or two relevant ideas from A-level that you really want to mention, as they are very relevant, then you can do so. But I would not recommend devoting a whole paragraph to your A-levels for example.

I have my supercurriculars. What next?

Suppose now you have your list of supercurricular activities. You can use these to form the main body of your personal statement.

For these activities, as above, group them into particular paragraphs. This grouping could be based on the topic of the supercurricular activities. You could aim for 2-4 activities per paragraph.

To discuss each activity I recommend three steps:

Name the activity. For example name the book you read or name the essay competition title.
Discuss what you specifically did. For example what did you write about specifically in your essay competition, or what was involved in your online course?
Explain your personal takeaway. Did you agree with the book? Or did you find something particularly fascinating about the essay competition?

Note this is just one possible way of doing things. Depending on the activity you are discussing, you may find a different structure appropriate.

Between activities and paragraphs, it is often a good idea to try to create linking clauses. For example if you discussed your mathematical ability in one paragraph, then you could easily transition into discussing the use of statistics in economics in your next activity or paragraph.

I plan to expand more on how to write about your activities in a future article.

Other Paragraphs

I will now pay particular attention to other paragraphs you may need to write.

Introductions

Often students spend too much time trying to write a good introduction at the very start of the writing process. I recommend leaving the introduction until you have been writing about your supercurricular activities.

One mistake when writing introductions is to start with “from a young age” or “since I was five….”. This way of starting your statement is far too common.

Instead you could jump into discussion of a particular supercurricular activity. This could be an activity that summarises well why you want to study economics for example. You might also have supercurricular activities that do not fit well into a particular paragraph. The introduction could provide a good place to put those kinds of activities too.

Extracurricular Activities

It is possible to put a small paragraph in the statement discussing your extracurriculars (in other words activities not related to economics), for example sports teams, societies, positions of responsibilities, other hobbies etc. Some universities will want to see you are well rounded candidate while others will only care about your academics. I recommend inspecting the applications pages of the universities you are applying to, in order to verify the importance of extracurricular activities to the universities you are applying to.

You may wish to round off your personal statement with a few concluding sentences. I have seen this done in a few ways:

A short sentence summarising why you think you would be a good candidate for the course.
A couple of sentences discussing the most important part of your application or something you want to emphasise. This could be a research interest in a particular area, or a particular strength within the field.
Alternatively, if you think there is a common idea linking most or all of your personal statement activities, you could mention it here too.

See if you think any of these ways are appropriate for your statement. Alternatively you could find your own way to conclude.

Checking and Revising

Get your statement checked by multiple people. Also different teachers will give different advice, so do not feel like you have to accept one’s person entire advice (including my own advice). After all, this is your personal statement and nobody else’s.

In revising the statement, one process most students go through is cutting down characters to fit the UCAS character and line count limits. If you are exceeding these limits, see if you can make points more succinctly. Often a second pair of eyes is very helpful in this instance. Beyond that, you may have to choose one or two of your activities to leave out, based on which you think offers least value to your personal statement.

Best of luck in writing your statement. More will follow on specific ideas for economics supercurricular activities.

Undergraduate Personal Statement Example: Economics

With so many university personal statement examples available, how do you know if you’re reading a good one?

After all, personal statement examples can teach you how to write and structure your application, and you can quickly learn how to write a personal statement by examining others.

Reading examples of personal statements can be valuable when applying to a university or college course. But what exactly should they contain?

Undergraduate personal statements should highlight relevant academic and practical experience, academic skills, ambitions and suitability for the degree field. This undergraduate personal statement example for Economics clearly illustrates these three critical elements.

Undergraduate degree personal statement examples are sometimes referred to as personal mission statements or statements of purpose , so if you’re tasked with writing a personal mission statement, the following example will work for you.

I’ve broken down this personal statement example section by section, with a commentary on each element.

That way, you’ll see its strengths and weaknesses and get some inspiration for your own personal statement .

Once you’ve read the personal statement example and analysis, you can download a pdf of the whole document to use as inspiration for your own!

Personal Statement Example: Introduction

“The unprecedented pace and scope of global economic change shape our lives in unfamiliar and complex ways. The COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s war in Ukraine and the rising surge of authoritarian populism in Pakistan all challenge social and financial norms, leading to unpredictability in individual behaviour and international markets. Having experienced first-hand the vastly differing economies of the UK, Pakistan and Qatar, I have developed an interest in how economics affects education, employment and income. Comparing each country’s response to the pandemic and observing the long-term impact of the decisions taken, I’m keen to learn which new ideas will replace the old paradigms, how inflation can be tamed without triggering a recession, and whether it is possible to grow global prosperity without exacerbating inequality at a national level.”

My Commentary and Analysis

This writer begins this personal statement example by displaying an informed and comprehensive understanding of global politics and current affairs. Although this doesn’t seem directly connected to the study of economics, it’s actually a sophisticated way of introducing the topic. Economics and global affairs are inextricably linked, and displaying this knowledge allows the writer to evidence their knowledge comprehensively.

They then outline their global experience and begin to suggest the ways in which global politics and finance are interconnected. In doing so, the writer introduces their motivations and suitability confidently.

If you’re struggling with your personal statement introduction, check out my article on how to write perfect opening paragraphs here .

Personal Statement Example: Section 2

“I thrive on undertaking research into current financial issues and sharing my perspectives with the world. Following the IMF’s reporting of US tariffs on Chinese imports, I analysed how economies rival one another as part of a wider war of geopolitical positioning. Additionally, I examined the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and its economic effects on neighbouring countries. My articles ‘How the US-China Conflict Affects Asia’ and ‘The Economic Impact of the Afghan Crisis on Pakistan’ were featured in Pakistan’s New Reporter newspaper.”

My Commentary and Analysis

Here the writer outlines their research and clarifies their understanding of international trade and finance a little more broadly. This works well, as it adds some depth and development to the previous section without repeating content.

The theme of international trade continues throughout this personal statement example, but the impressive aspect here is the reference to the articles that the writer has published. Again, this is an important aspect to include as, for an undergraduate example, it establishes the writer as a uniquely qualified and motivated candidate.

It’s unusual for an undergraduate applicant to have this level of experience and clarity of motivation, so don’t worry if that isn’t something you have achieved yet. The key thing is to make the most of each experience you have and outline its value to your application and ambition.

If you’d like to learn more about how to structure your personal statement or statement of purpose , check out my awesome Personal Statement Template eBook here . It’s full of detailed examples of what to include!

Personal Statement Example: Section 3

“My relief work has exposed me to many societal disparities, fuelling my interest in economics and finance. I’ve witnessed first-hand the interplay between poverty and the economy and researched economic theories and their implications in real-world contexts to understand these real-life complexities. Deeply moved by the impact of the pandemic lockdowns on those reliant on a daily wage in underserved communities in Pakistan, I was inspired to set up a youth team for the food charity FoodShare and distribute warm meals through the uncertainty of constant lockdowns. This led me to research and discover theories such as Sens, which focused on income inequality and capability deprivation.”

The writer outlines their philanthropic and relief work with relevant examples, all of which serve to establish their understanding of the role of economics in real-world settings.

The focus is beginning to move away from economics, and whilst the content is impressive, it would be sensible to relate the material to the subject area a little more fully at this stage in the personal statement.

Check out lots more examples of personal statements here , and see how they can inspire your application!

Personal Statement Example: Section 4

“Initiating a drive to plant trees as a member of my college’s Green Club, I realised that a financial incentive for growing trees, given directly to landowners in underserved urban and rural communities, would contribute precisely to the economic stimulus they need. My findings were substantiated when I read Dambisa Moyo’s ‘Dead Aid’. I admire her views on development in low-income economies and her arguments for using trade as a growth and development strategy in Africa rather than relying on government-to-government aid. It is experiences like these which have convinced me to pursue this course of study.”

My Commentary and Analysis:

This is a highly complex paragraph in many respects. It outlines an additional aspect to the writer’s experience and motivation and gives the reader a deeper sense of the engagement the writer intends to have with the subject matter.

Offering evidence of research increases the writer’s range of academic skills and suitability for the course. This is important at this stage of the personal statement, as there have been few references to academic or transferable skills before this point.

Undergraduate personal statements usually focus on the academic skills developed in further education. As this applicant has focused on other elements, it’s good to see the writer has begun to reference them at this stage.

The one thing that all successful personal statements have in common is that they are concise, engaging and accurate in spelling, punctuation and grammar. Consequently, I always recommend Grammarly to my students and clients.

It’s an outstanding tool for ensuring your personal statement is rich with detail whilst hitting those all-important word limits. Check out the free version of Grammarly here , or hit the banner for more information.

Personal Statement Example: Conclusion

“My commitment to degree-level economics is reflected in my decision to study A-level Law during my gap year. This has developed my essay writing, analytical and critical thinking skills and taught me to apply logic and reasoning to reach decisions. Equally, attending the Young Leaders summer program at Buckley University last summer allowed me to develop my project management, team building and leadership skills whilst learning about sustainable development goals. I researched the pandemic in Canada and terrorism in Somalia and presented my ideas from an economic viewpoint, arguing how a country’s stability is directly interlinked with its economic growth, affecting the sustainability of development goals. I valued the opportunity to represent my team and take the lead in public speaking and debating at the Oxford Union Chamber, and was proud to win the ‘Best Debating Team’ prize. I won first prize in the Marshall Young Mathematician competition whilst at college, allowing me to put my mathematical, logical reasoning, problem-solving and analytical skills into practice.

A diligent, dedicated and motivated student, I’m confident that my personal qualities, practical experience and academic interests will fully support my commitment to reading for an economics degree.”

The first paragraph above is, perhaps, the most effective and relevant in this personal statement. This is because previous academic skills and experiences are referenced, and their value is considered in relation to the degree course applied for.

The writer then outlines their co-curricular activities. These are highly relevant and impressive examples, and including them here shows the scope of the applicant’s commitment and quality. Referencing the award the writer achieved and considering the transferable skills gained is a compelling strategy that adds to their suitability for the degree.

In summary, there are some significant strengths in this personal statement example. The applicant is mature, engaged and accomplished. They show a range of experiential and practical skills, and the depth of their achievements makes them highly suitable.

In contrast, there’s a lack of formal academic depth here and not very much content that reflects the writer’s personality. Equally, there could be a wider reference to the value that the writer would bring to the university environment.

For more great advice, check out my article on writing an excellent final personal statement paragraph here .

Click here or on the banner below to get your free download of this complete personal statement example .

Whether you’re looking for personal mission statement examples or an example of personal purpose statement, I hope this personal statement example has been helpful. Above all, I wish you every success in your academic career.

If you’d like to work with me to develop your personal statement 1:1 and write a powerful mission statement, I’d be delighted to hear from you.

Find out about my personal statement support services by clicking here or on the image below.

Research and content verified by Personal Statement Planet .

David Hallen

I've worked in the Further Education and University Admissions sector for nearly 20 years as a teacher, department head, Head of Sixth Form, UCAS Admissions Advisor, UK Centre Lead and freelance personal statement advisor, editor and writer. And now I'm here for you...

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Up: Home > Your ambitions > Economics Personal Statement

Economics Personal Statement

A personal statement is up to 4000 characters or 47 lines where you tell a University why you are a suitable candidate for the course. Unfortunately, there is no way of guaranteeing a place on your chosen course but a combination of a good personal statement and the right grades will certainly give you a good chance.

To offer you something useful, we asked senior Economics lecturers around the country what they like to see in an Economics personal statement;

1) Ensure the personal statement is grammatically correct and without spelling errors . Applicants have time to prepare and go over their statement over and over, as well as to get help from their teachers, parents etc. Sloppiness of this kind gives the worst possible impression .

2) Keep paragraphs short and to the point. This is easier to read than a big body of text – admissions officers are unlikely to spend a long time reading over the statement, so make the key points stand out.

3) I see little need to innovate by writing bizarre things so as to stand out – keep things clear, relevant and to the point, also statements such as ‘I have dreamt of studying Economics from when I was a small child’ are completely implausible and all too common! Show enthusiasm for the subject but back it up with evidence of this , such as relevant books you have read (but make sure you have indeed read them before an interview…if caught out lying, looks very weak – you would be surprised how often this happens), issues in the media or current affairs that interest you etc.

Emphasise the reasons why you’re interested in and want to study, Economics . What is it about the subject that makes you want to spend 3 years specialising in it? What especially appeals? If you’ve studied Economics before you might talk about some of the areas you’ve found most interesting; if not, then explain how you came to want to study it. I think this is an exercise that’s of value notwithstanding the personal statement: students who’ve thought carefully about their choice are more likely to make the right one and ultimately to enjoy success with their degrees . Both with this and more generally on the personal statement, be honest (for your own sake as much as the selector’s, remembering that any exaggerations and poorly thought out statements are likely to be exposed in the event of any interviews ) and resist the temptation to write what you think the selector wants to hear (e.g. “I have always loved Economics ever since I was 2”) or to try and flatter (e.g. “I welcome the chance to study at your esteemed institution”); both are likely to sound insincere, won’t convince and will therefore, add little value. Just be yourself, and be both interested and interesting!

Paragraph 1 – give a general introduction of why you wish to study Economics; this might include a particular aspect of the subject that fascinates you (though explain why), when your interest was peaked and how a degree in Economics fits in with your future career aspirations.

Paragraph 2 – give a brief account of why you are suitable for the degree(s) in questions, highlighting relevant A-level courses taken and aspects of them that were of interest. Give academic and non-academic reasons -applicants tend to focus on what they would take from the opportunity to study towards a particular degree- it is nice to explain how they hope to contribute also to the social fabric of the university and interaction within the course/degree.

Paragraph 3 – give evidence of interest for Economics by listing one or two popular Economics books (e.g. Freakonomics, Superfreakonomics, the Armchair Economist, the Bottom Billion…the list goes on) that you have read. Rather than giving an implausibly long list of books read, focus on one or two (or three if the course is a joint honours degree with other subjects) books and (this is crucial…) identify how the book/particular chapter/treatment of a particular issue fuelled your interest in Economics, in particular, what questions it raised in your mind that a degree in Economics would help answer.

Paragraph 4 – describe (briefly) any work experience/voluntary work, highlighting any aspects that are relevant to Economics. A few lines on hobbies or sporting activities could also be included – perhaps to show perseverance of enjoyment in interacting with others. Some interests e.g. debating, are arguably of more relevance than say, golf.

Somewhere in the statement – if applying from overseas, list the qualifications attained in English language and perhaps say a few words on how studying Economics in the U.K. is of particular value to you.

Paragraph 5 – list any awards, prizes etc attained or participation in things like the Model UN or Duke of Edinburgh awards. Some applicants are involved in Target 2.0 and in doing so get a first-hand feel of the role of monetary policy and how interest rates are set and inflation targeting. These are relevant to the statement.

A statement that follows the structure above should give enough information to satisfy most readers and should appear structured, well-written and clearly thought out.

Vague statements of interest with broad sweeping statements of unbridled enthusiasm for the subject lack credibility if not backed up by specific activities/books read/courses taken etc. In my view, a straightforward personal statement that gets all the core points across in a coherent way serves the purpose best.

Previous: How do I apply?

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Traditional Subjects

Aptitude tests, higher learning, the perfect economics personal statement.

Undergraduate Economics courses are popular because an Economics degree is a recognised entry route to highly-paid professions such as banking, accountancy and consulting. University admissions tutors are therefore spoilt for choice in terms of applications from high-achieving students with spotless academic records and superb grade predictions. None of these criteria are therefore sufficient by themselves to differentiate candidates sufficiently to guarantee an offer. This is the bad news. The good news is that many of these top-class students write sub-standard personal statements and put themselves out of contention. The student with good grades and an exceptional personal statement can thus gain a competitive edge in the race for an undergraduate place at university.

So what makes for the perfect personal statement in Economics? The simple first answer to this question is genuineness and relevance. Very few A-level or IB students read Economics in more depth than their course textbooks and perhaps a few newspaper articles given to them by their teachers. They then proceed to list books, journals and magazines related to Economics which they claim to read regularly. Moreover, to make their claims sound genuine, they embellish them with elaborate discussions and opinions on economic issues which often have no theoretical relevance at all. It’s all too obvious. Students who have not read widely would be better advised to select one article, read it and comment on it intelligently. Otherwise, they should begin a programme of wider reading a year or more before writing their statement. Even when they do this, they should find a single issue to discuss concisely with references to the literature they have explored. The candidate should convey an excitement and curiosity in discovering and discussing an issue in Economics applied to a current aspect of life. Examples of relevant issues are poverty in developed economies, the instability of financial markets and the economic impacts of migration but any issue, no matter how small, can be turned into a vehicle to convey the genuine enthusiasm of the candidate for Economics.

The second essential quality in an Economics personal statement is evidence of initiative and forward planning in the field. If the student has already started the process of organising internships or other work experience related to Economics, this indicates, determination and maturity. Admissions tutors hardly expect 17-year olds to have completed internships with Morgan Stanley before starting their personal statements but the process of networking can easily be started by attending seminars on Investment Management and Economics run by top universities such as UCL. In addition, attending public lectures on Economics at the LSE and talking to other attendees afterwards is also a great way of building a network and a fabulous indication to admissions tutors that the student is not going to be just a book-reader and a repeater of received wisdom. Learning in Economics consists of discussion, debate and testing of opinions. If a candidate discusses their impressions of a seminar and is able to convey the reasons for agreeing or disagreeing with the issues at hand, he or she will be effective in tutorials and facilitate the learning of other students. Economics teachers at top universities generally enjoy engaging with curious, expressive students and the more a student is able to advertise themselves as such the better.

Having said all this, Economics at university is all about mathematics and statistical analysis these days. This may change with time as assumptions of rationality and maximisation are abandoned but, for the time being, students without a strong mathematical or statistics background when entering university will be at a distinct disadvantage unless they are able to pick up mathematical concepts very quickly. Given this fact, an Economics personal statement should contain a reference to the application of mathematics to Economics. Preferably, the candidate will have extended his or her learning of Mathematics to include some simple undergraduate topics such as the equations of demand curves or Lagrangian Multipliers. At the very least, such a paragraph indicates that the candidate is aware of the central importance of Mathematics to economic analysis at the moment.

Of course, most students apply to more than one university for Economics and may be wondering if any special provision needs to be made for this. In fact, many universities are more concerned with the aptitude of students for the Subject rather than their reasons for choosing particular universities. However, if a student wishes to mention the reasons for choosing particular institutions, it may be best to list a set of qualities which are common to his or her choices such as individual attention to student learning, good sports facilities, wide range of societies or good links to the financial services industry etc. It is both a strength and a weakness of the UCAS system that one application covers all universities and so students should not be too concerned about differentiating between universities on their application.

A more important point is perhaps the differentiation between courses when a student is applying for say Accounting and Finance as well as Economics at the same time. This form of differentiation is more difficult but cannot be ignored. One paragraph clearly explaining a student’s understanding of the differences in content between the two courses as well as the similarities should suffice but this does make the rest of the personal statement more complicated. A student would have to convey clearly their preference for both subjects as well as their aptitude in each rather than trying to write generically about both.

In all, after completing the personal statement, a student should be able to look back and see that he or she has expressed why they are enjoying their current studies, what they have learned from professionals in the field, what economic issues concern them and what practical steps they have taken in terms of gaining future employment in the field. As long as these points emerge clearly from reading the statement it can be said to be close to perfect.

For help or advice with your Economics personal statement see these pages:

Economics Tutors – Personal Statement Preparation Tutors – London Tutors

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Advice for People Writing their Economics Personal Statement

Advice For People Writing Their Economics Personal Statement

Introduction

Some of the advice here will be mirrored in the general PS writing guidance as well, particularly in the extra curricular section and the style advice.

Start writing your personal statement early as many people go through a huge number of drafts before they are happy with their final PS.

This is the general format for a PS and some good advice (you don't have to use this format, just make sure you include all the sections).

When you know where you want to apply, make sure you have a look on the websites for any specific advice on what they want to see in your personal statement, as different universities may have different things they want you to include, although all universities are likely to have similar core modules such as macroeconomics, microeconomics, or econometrics. This may differ for BA degrees (with the possible exception of Cambridge where all subjects are BAs), as opposed to a BSc, which is likely to be more maths-based. BA and BSc degrees may differ quite significantly, with BAs being more essay-based. This point is therefore especially relevant you are applying to a mix of BA and BSc courses: Be sure to check the course contents carefully and ensure that you do not talk about content that is not covered on some of the courses.

Before you apply, look at the university requirements. Due to the maths and statistics included in an economics degree, many universities specify a certain minimum grade at GCSE Mathematics and some require A Level Maths. At a small number, Further Maths may be desirable, at least to AS level. A Level Economics is not essential; studying both economics and business studies should, as a rule, be avoided. In some cases, candidates offering three A levels which include Further Maths may be disadvantaged, as this will be expected as a fourth A Level and may not count towards offers. Check the requirements of each university carefully if in doubt.

Remember, very few universities interview for economics degrees (Cambridge does, as well as Oxford, although Oxford offers only Economics and Management, not straight economics), so this is the only chance most people get to impress the admissions tutors and bring in anything to make themselves 'stand out from the crowd'.

Introductory Paragraph

Starting the personal statement is arguably the hardest part. The start needs to be interesting to draw the reader in immediately. Remember that admissions tutors will see a huge number of statements, and you want yours to stand out. You don't need to waste characters saying "I am applying to study economics" - the admissions tutors know this already, and cliches such as "I have always wanted to study economics" should be avoided. However, it should be clear from the outset exactly what course you are applying for. Starting with a quote, or indeed using any quotes, is generally a bad idea and rarely works well, as it is not something that the applicant has said.

Give background. Show that this is not just a random short term decision, but that doing an economics degree is natural extension of your studies.

Academic content should take up around 2/3 of your PS. It can be split into two: college academics (A Levels etc) and academic interests/activities outside of your formal education. The latter is obviously more interesting, as it shows more motivation to know more about the subject you are wanting to spend 3+ years (if you include a relevant postgraduate course) studying. However, you may not want to separate them that crudely - for example, covering something at A Level may have enthused you to discover more about that subject, so put it together.

Exam results are important, but they don’t sell your motivation or interest in the subject, only your capability. Lots of other candidates will also have good exam results, so it is important to use your PS to make you stand out. There is no need to state your exam results as these can be seen in other parts of your UCAS form. If you have particularly high UMS marks that you'd like the universities to know about, these should be mentioned in your reference, not your PS.

This is not the place to list your A Levels and what you've done in them. It is also not the place to try and link everything to economics, especially if the link is tenuous. Try and avoid saying 'Studying English literature has improved my essay writing skills and helped me construct concise arguments/Mathematics has helped with my data analysis skills'. These will be pretty self-evident and a waste of characters. Instead, talk about what in your A Levels (related to economics) has interested you and why. If you found it particularly interesting, you may want to briefly talk about any studies that you did during A Level Economics or subjects that particularly interested you. Don't just explain what different areas of economics are about - reflect on them. Admissions tutors will be familiar with the concepts you're talking about. While you want to present yourself as a good economics student, if your PS becomes simply a short essay about economics or a particular theory or concept then it's saying nothing about you as a person.

The second part would be far more interesting. This can come in a variety of forms: reading undergraduate level text books/academic journals (including those aimed at college students), and possibly work experience (see below). As for what things to read, try and avoid the common economics books, such as 'Freakonomics' - a huge number of applicants mention it (along with 'The Armchair Economist' and 'The Undercover Economist') and the relevance to degree-level economics is extremely limited. Also, think about the relevance of any books you've read: classic texts may have little relevance to what you will study at degree level, so are best avoided. Look for what kinds of modules you'll be studying and try to link you're reading and discussion to some of them.

It's very hard to find particularly relevant work experience for an undergraduate economics degree. Work experience is not essential for this degree, however if you have managed to get some relevant work experience then you can develop this to talk about your interest in the subject. Avoid sounding like you're name-dropping. If you have irrelevant work experience then don't try to make it sound relevant as an excuse to mention it. Working in a shop, for example, does nothing to help sell you as an economist but other skills developed such as organisation or time-management can help to sell you as a student.

Extra curricular

This section is for anything that is not specifically related to your interest in economics. This part should be short, a maximum of 1/3 of your PS. It can include things from school/college as well as in your free time (including a part time job). For school/college, you may want to talk about peer mentoring, prefects. Remember to keep your sentences short and snappy. If they're long, people get bored and stop reading. Cut out all unnecessary words. Don't start your sentences with verbs unless absolutely necessary (e.g. “Being a prefect” is too informal). Say what you did/do, then what you learned from it, and sometimes explain why that is useful, but not at the expense of it being interesting. Don't repeat things you learned - you only need to demonstrate characteristics once each throughout the statement. You don’t need three examples of how you can handle responsibility. Other characteristics you can talk about are team work, communications skills, leadership, confidence, etc. Don’t worry if you don’t include them all. If it is just going to sound fake and boring, it’s better not to bother. You do not need to relate everything to economics - you are allowed to have a break from it, even at university, though if you can link them to the course or why you are suited to it, it will help.

As for your interests outside of roles of responsibility, keep it very brief. Sport and musical interests are generally good ones to include and just briefly say why you enjoy it. Things like 'I enjoy going down the pub with my friends/shopping/going to the cinema' etc should be avoided. As long as you have something written about your extra-curricular activities (if just to show you exist outside of college), it doesn't matter how many. Quality is better than quantity, and you want this section to be brief, so there is no point in listing a load of activities. Think about how they've helped you. No one is going to be impressed by your ECs in themselves, you need to use them as a launching pad to sell skills. "I sing in the church choir" is not good, but you might use your singing experiences to show skills, e.g. That you can co-operate, or learn and interpret source materials.

If you are applying for deferred entry, it would also be useful to include any gap year plans and say why you are doing them.

Your final paragraph should conclude and summarise why you are a good candidate and why you want to study economics. Although you should be confident that you are a good candidate, it is important not to sound arrogant (e.g. 'I am the ideal candidate to study BSc Economics'), as it's very off-putting. You shouldn't include any new information in the conclusion, except possibly career plans. Don't worry if you don't have any, you don't have to mention career plans at all. Don't refer to the university directly ('your university') as this comes across as very insincere considering you're applying to four or five universities.

Joint Honours

Economics is available as a joint honours degree with many other subjects. Note the difference between "Economics with X" and "Economics and X"; the first implies a 67/33 split between economics and the other subject, while the second implies a 50/50 split. The amount of space in your PS spent talking about each subject should be adjusted accordingly. You should if possible avoid mixing choices of straight economics and economics joint honours. Any indication that you are not 100% committed to the course admissions tutors see you applying for can count very strongly against you. The exception to this is Oxford's Economics and Management course, which is the de-facto economics course at Oxford. While a brief mention of management would be beneficial, it is expected that candidates will be applying mostly for other pure economics courses.

General Hints/Tips

When you've written your PS, read and reread it. Read it aloud to see how it sounds. It's surprising how many times you can notice poor grammar/repeated words close together when you hear it, rather than reading it silently! Get other people to read it - teachers, parents, friends, siblings.

Try and keep things up-to-date. Generally things from sixth form only, although a brief mention of things done during GCSE years may also be OK.

Lots of people read The Economist or The Financial Times. If you must mention them, find something specific to talk about, as simply saying that you read them is totally unremarkable. Avoid talking about The Wealth of Nations, it is completely outdated and of little or no relevance to modern economics

Avoid mentioning extenuating circumstances. These belong in the reference, if you mention them in your PS it may sound like you're trying for sympathy or just making excuses.

Writing Style

Keep your sentences varied - don't start all your paragraphs/sentences with the same format (e.g. 'I did X/I did Y' or 'My A Level in...'/'My studies of...'), as it doesn't flow very well and sounds very boring. Also, one sentence (or even two) do not make a paragraph!

Don't have any sentences that put yourself down. Even if you try to turn it round, it's better not to say anything negative to start with.

You are writing formally. “Can’t” should be “cannot”, “Doesn’t” should be “does not”, etc. Do not include digit numbers, write them out unless they're three digits or more. "I did two weeks..." not "I did 2 weeks". Do not include brackets- (...), they are too informal. Be careful not to miss out words like "have", "I", and "that", like most people do in spoken language. It is safer not to use exclamation marks at all. Look up 'how to use commas and semi-colons'. Spelling and grammar can make or break a PS.

Some words and phrases are extremely cliché: Passion, fascination, love, aspiration, intrigued by, broadened my knowledge, enhanced my skill, affirmed/confirmed my decision. Use these words with caution. If you're using alternatives, be careful not to sound like a thesaurus, sound natural and simple. You want to make it easy for the admissions tutors to read, as they will read lots of PSs every day.

Using phrases such as "quenched my thirst for" or "sparked up my interest" also don't read anywhere near as well as you think they do.

There's a tendency to use "also" all the time, when it's not needed. Be concise! Unnecessary linking words like "Furthermore" and "As a result" get used too often. A few of them are OK, but only a few. Remember to use commas after these linking words and phrases.

Don't use complex words in extremely long and convoluted sentences. People lose interest (and it makes you look somewhat pompous). Keep it short and make it flow.

Capital letters: NOT needed for subject names, economist, secondary school, etc. Be careful where you use them.

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As an avid reader of the Accounting blog on the tutor2u website, I have gained a good grounding in the fundamental application of accounting, especially in the way websites such as ‘facebook’s’ growth is driven by their own growth through advertising, and the fact that their books and accounts continue to stay cash flow positive, despite their impressive rate of expansion.

I am particularly interested in the law aspect of the course and how decisions made can influence an individuals’ desire to defraud their accounts to avoid taxation, and the often extensive amount of time it takes to bring these people to justice.

Although initially studying psychology may not seem to have a direct influence on accounting, I feel the knowledge I have learnt about the interaction of people’s behaviour in social situations will help me greatly. This would especially be within the aspects of the course that involve management methods and organisational behaviour.

By studying Economics at A level I have found that it has had a profound effect on accounting.

The understanding I have acquired of the financial world as a whole has provided me with a strong awareness of international sections of the course. The barrier for trade inside and outside of the EU and how this affects profit margins, with relevance to extra costs on balance sheets is one example.

This awareness will help equip me to have a better understanding of real world accounting situations, where I hope to find my self in the future.

Last summer I was accepted on a two week work experience placement at the Bank of England to do shadowing and accounting of my own, however due to circumstances beyond my own control, it fell through, much to my disappointment. Nevertheless I have tried to keep in touch with current Accounting developments through the newspapers and internet.

I am currently completing my silver Duke of Edinburgh award scheme and I am planning an eight day trip, alongside “World Challenge Organisation”, to Norway next summer for my Gold expedition. The trip will be funded entirely through the money my team raise. I feel these experiences have helped me develop valuable life skills such as the desire to achieve, self-confidence and discipline.

I believe that these skills I have learnt will provide the perfect platform for a degree in accounting and aid me on into the workplace. I also play hockey for the North of England and have captained both Yorkshire and South Yorkshire sides as well as my School and Club teams.

Hockey is a major part of my extracurricular life, giving me teamwork and leadership skills and I feel I could contribute greatly to a wide range of university activities.

I look forward to studying accounting at degree level. This will allow my interest in the subject to flourish. I hope to immerse myself fully in the experience and challenges the university will provide.

Profile info

This personal statement was written by ash4932 for application in 2011.

ash4932's Comments

I believe that this a one of the best personal statements around i hope to use this to help others. I received 5/5 offers last year with this but unfortunatly missed out on my grades by 4 marks i have applied again this year and within a week i had 4 conditional offers. Hope this helps!

Related Personal Statements

Universities.

Sun, 10/07/2011 - 20:20

to which universities have you applied for? Is Oxford, Cambridge and LSE one of them?

P.S.: It is really nice one

It is a very strong and

Fri, 19/07/2013 - 16:51

It is a very strong and smooth personal statement, what I wanted to know was how my offers did you receive once to sent out the personal statement to your chosen universities?

Add new comment

More From Forbes

Why economic news affects your personal finances—and how to get informed.

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Sola Adesakin, Lead Coach and Founder, Smart Stewards .

I believe everyone operates in at least three financial economies: your personal economy, or how you make and manage your finances; the national economy of the country where you live; and the global economy, which ultimately impacts both your national and personal economies. While your personal economy includes issues within your control, the other two economies have a greater impact on your personal finances than you might imagine.

Lessons From My Own Experience

I see many people treat economic policies and news like they don't matter, especially when it comes to how they affect their finances. I am reminded of the early days of my career, when, as a chartered accountant, I didn't care about organizing my own finances, let alone what was going on in my country's economy or global economic news. It was only when I started to pay attention to economic policies and news that I realized how important it is to understand and manage one's finances with a national and global perspective to achieve one's goals.

A few financial mistakes with quite unpleasant consequences taught me important money lessons. For example, many years ago, I resigned from a well-paying job without savings. My reasoning was that I wanted a new lease on life, to get a new job and to change my work environment. I didn't consider how inflation was affecting the national economy at the time and the impact that could have on me if I quit my job without a backup plan. I did quit, and I went through the worst financial time of my life. I had no savings, no income, and had to learn the basics of managing money while starting with nothing.

The national and global economies can have a big effect on personal finances because they change everything from the number and kind of job opportunities to the prices of goods and services, which affect personal budgets. For example, during a recession or economic slump, it might be harder to find a job, and prices might go up because there are fewer goods and services on the market and more people want them. Moreover, inflation and fluctuations in interest rates can have a major impact on how much it costs to borrow money, including when getting a loan or a mortgage.

Gone are the days when individuals could afford to take a back seat to the larger currents that affect their economic well-being and future. It has become imperative to get more interested in how economic policy works, and to stay up to date on national and global economic news to understand how the national and global economy can impact your own finances.

The following tips have helped me understand and navigate economic news and make better money decisions, and I believe they can help anyone seeking to better understand economic issues.

1. Use social media well and for good reasons.

I've spent years on social media staying up-to-date on economic news, especially as it affected my finances. While it has its downsides, social media has become a powerful tool for informing yourself.

When it comes to your finances, be intentional about what you're learning about your personal economy and from whom. Keep an eye out for reputable economists and financial analysts on social media pages and keep interacting with their insights and analysis on economic news and trends.

2. Work to understand financial news.

This does not necessarily require a knack for figures, just an interest to start with. I became more informed about economic news by paying close attention to what the government and central bank said and asking friends and coworkers in the same field for more information about inflation, interest rates and economic policy. One key question to ask: How does this particular monetary policy affect my finances and disposable income?

3. Subscribe to publications that cover finance and economic news as well as market trends.

This will help you understand and analyze financial news better. I have carefully curated my subscriptions so they cover my city, my country, my continent and global news. These resources help me receive updated news about my area of interest—finances—for my use both as a coach and as a consumer.

4. Attend finance-themed conferences and money seminars.

I have realized that attending events on topics of interest, particularly finance and economics, provides a lot of insights as to how money works and how the national and global economies affect personal economies. These events give academics and professionals a chance to educate people about their work and give people in the same field a chance to get to know each other. Short courses could come in handy as well.

5. Work with a financial expert.

Full disclosure: I work as a finance coach. But there are many ways to engage with a financial expert, whether as a client, an online follower or even through an informal chat with a well-informed friend. This will help flex your personal finance and economic knowledge muscles. These experts can help you by giving you information, explaining confusing economic terms and pointing you in the right direction to help you reach your unique financial goals and manage your money in a way that fits your risk tolerance.

Final Thoughts

Because the status of the economy can have a big impact on your personal finances, it's critical to keep up with economic news, as the performance of the national economy, market trends and prospective hazards and opportunities are all important factors in your financial future.

Get informed and involved.

Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?

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Fact Checking Trump’s Mar-a-Lago News Conference

The former president took questions from reporters for more than hour. We examined his claims, attacks and policy positions.

By The New York Times

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Former President Donald J. Trump held an hourlong news conference with reporters on Thursday at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, during which he attacked Vice President Kamala Harris, his general election opponent, criticized the Biden administration’s policies and boasted of the crowd size at his rallies. We took a closer look at many of his claims.

Trump claims his Jan. 6 rally crowd rivaled the 1963 March on Washington. Estimates say otherwise.

“If you look at Martin Luther King, when he did his speech, his great speech. And you look at ours, same real estate, same everything, same number of people. If not, we had more.” — Former President Donald J. Trump

This lacks evidence.

Mr. Trump was talking about the crowds gathered for his speech on Jan. 6, 2021, and for the “I Have a Dream” speech the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered during the March on Washington in 1963. While it is difficult to gauge exact crowd sizes, estimates counter Mr. Trump’s claim that the numbers gathered were comparable. Dr. King’s speech drew an estimated 250,000 people . The House Select Committee responsible for investigating the events of Jan. 6 estimated that Mr. Trump’s speech drew 53,000 people.

“She wants to take away your guns.”

— Former President Donald J. Trump

Ms. Harris, in 2019, said she supports a gun buyback program for assault weapons, not all guns. Her campaign told The New York Times recently that she no longer supports a buyback program.

Peter Baker

“They take the strategic national reserves. They’re virtually empty now. We have never had it this low.”

This is exaggerated..

President Biden has indeed tapped the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to try to mitigate gasoline price increases , drawing it down by about 40 percent from when he took office, and it is currently at the lowest level since the 1980s. But it still has 375 million barrels in it now , which is not “virtually empty” nor is it at the lowest level ever.

“The vast majority of the country does support me.”

Mr. Trump never won a majority of the popular vote in either of the elections he ran in and never had the approval of a majority of Americans in a single day of Gallup polling during his presidency. An average of polls by FiveThirtyEight.com shows that he is viewed favorably by just 43 percent of Americans today and has the same level of support in a matchup against Vice President Kamala Harris.

Alan Rappeport

“They’re going to destroy Social Security.”

President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have pledged not to make any cuts to America’s social safety net programs. Mr. Trump suggested this year that he was open to scaling back the programs when he said there was “a lot you can do in terms of entitlements in terms of cutting.” He later walked back those comments and pledged to protect the programs. But if changes to the programs are not made, the programs’ benefits will automatically be reduced eventually. Government reports released earlier this year projected that the Social Security and disability insurance programs, if combined, would not have enough money to pay all of their obligations in 2035. Medicare will be unable to pay all its hospital bills starting in 2036.

Coral Davenport

“Everybody is going to be forced to buy an electric car.”

While the Biden administration has enacted regulations designed to ensure that the majority of new passenger cars and light trucks sold in the United States are all-electric or hybrids by 2032, the rules do not require consumers to buy electric vehicles.

“Our tax cuts, which are the biggest in history.”

The $1.5 trillion tax cut, enacted in December 2017, ranks below at least half a dozen others by several metrics. The 1981 tax cut enacted under President Ronald Reagan is the largest as a percentage of the economy and by its reduction to federal revenue. The 2012 cut enacted under President Barack Obama amounted to the largest cut in inflation-adjusted dollars: $321 billion a year.

“They’re drilling now because they had to go back because gasoline was going up to seven, eight, nine dollars a barrel. The day after the election, if they won, you’re going to have fuel prices go through the roof.”

The price of gasoline reached a low of $1.98 per gallon in April 2020, when Mr. Trump was president, chiefly as a result of the drop in driving in the first months of the Covid pandemic. It rose to a peak of $5 per gallon in June 2022, but has since steadily dropped to $3.60 per gallon in July 2024. The United States has steadily increased its oil production over the last decade, becoming the world’s largest producer of oil in 2018, a status it still holds today .

“If you go back and check your records for 18 months, I had a talk with Abdul. Abdul was the leader of the Taliban still is, but had a strong talk with him. For 18 months. Not one American soldier was shot at or killed, but not even shot at 18 months.”

Mr. Trump spoke with a leader of the Taliban in March 2020. In the 18 months that followed, from April 2020 to October 2021, 13 soldiers died in hostile action in Afghanistan.

“Democrats are really the radical ones on this, because they’re allowed to do abortion on the eighth and ninth month, and even after birth.”

No state has passed a law allowing for the execution of a baby after it is born, which is infanticide. Moreover, abortions later in pregnancy are very rare: In 2021, less than 1 percent of abortions happened after 21 weeks’ gestation, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report based on data from state and other health agencies. More than 90 percent of abortions happened within 13 weeks of gestation.

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