Oxford from the Inside #29: Writing a Personal Statement: Biochemistry 

Glad to hear that Tilly! Wishing you all the best with your application :)

How did it go? I’d love to hear about your experience, as I’ll hopefully be applying for 2022 entry this year if I get the predicted grades I need.

@@teymilly6815 Hi! Unfortunately, I didn't get accepted but in hindsight, I think that was the best thing for me as I'm not sure I would've suited the environment well. I didn't have a particularly brilliant interview experience either (probably in part due to needing to do it online, which will hopefully be an issue you won't have to face) because I felt that my first interviewers really made no effort to make me feel 'at ease', which made me even more anxious & I don't perform particularly well under pressure. That's not to say that would be the same for everyone and I'm sure there are others that have very positive experiences but for me, that was the way the cookie crumbled. On the other hand, I rather enjoyed writing my personal statement as it gave me the opportunity to really delve into a topic I found fascinating (I wrote mainly about the protein folding problem). If you do plan on applying (and I would say go for it, it's very valuable, insightful experience if nothing else) I would highly recommend between now and then really trying to get as many work experience placements and such opportunities as you possibly can because not only will that give you lots to talk about in a personal statement (going into lockdown last year made it difficult for me to have things to talk about bc I was unable to go and find practical experience) specific to you but it might also help you figure out what you find really interesting to research into further in your free time. Hope this helps & good luck if you do decide to go for it! (if not I'm sure you'll smash it wherever you end up)

Glad it helped! Good luck with your application :)

We have an episode about writing a biomedical sciences personal statement which might answer some of your questions!!

This is a really useful website that has lots of successful personal statements including comments from the writers!! www.studystream.live/personal-admissions

@@oxfordfromtheinside3680 thanks a lot!!!