Crafting a Unique Psychology Personal Statement (2024)
Excelling in your Application for Psychology at University:
If you’re looking to study Psychology at University, this blog is a great guide to subject-exploration and structuring and writing a Psychology personal statement. With guidance from U2's Oxford and Cambridge-educated Psychology graduates, we also offer expert tips on creating a standout Oxbridge Psychology personal statement and include an example Psychology personal statement from a successful Cambridge Psychology applicant.
Most courses for Psychology at university, do not require students to have taken Psychology at A-level or IB (in fact, some professors advise that students don't take it, because the A-Level/ IB syllabus is so different from what you learn at University!) So, how can you build your foundational knowledge of the subject to impress admissions tutors reading your Psychology personal statement or leading your interview? Whether you have studied Psychology at school, or are starting afresh, this blog will teach you how to ensure your Psychology personal statement stands out.
Researching your Psychology Personal Statement
Few students will have written anything like a UCAS personal statement before - an approximate side of A4 on what exactly you have to offer. For some general tips on how to write a high-level and original personal statement, check out our blog on 10 Top Tips for Writing a Standout Oxbridge Personal Statement.
Your personal statement should integrate your personal interests, subject knowledge and extracurricular experience. For Psychology, we suggest focusing on three main areas: (1) highlight your personal interest in psychology, be it clinical psychology or the stigma surrounding mental health, and link this more explicitly to the range of ways you have explored the subject;
(2) emphasise your academic abilities and how these will ensure you suit the course e.g. You may mention your mathematical/ scientific abilities and how this complements/ facilitates your interest in empirically studying human behaviour; (3) discuss extra-curricular activities and how these also relate to your subject interest. E.g. Essay competitions, projects, lectures etc.
(1) Highlight your personal interest in psychology and link this more explicitly to the range of ways you have explored the subject
If you have an initial interest in Psychology, but have not had a chance to explore it in-depth, or beyond the school syllabus, this should be the first step. Do not regurgitate your school syllabus. You’ll need to read and research the subject, refining your interests and building evidence of your wider exploration e.g. through reading books, articles and scientific research papers.
Ideas to direct your wider subject exploration:
One way of developing an early understanding of key aspects of Psychology is to briefly look at the compulsory modules of the courses that interest you and gain an initial overview of key themes/ topics through reading and research. E.g. The undergraduate psychology course at Oxford University covers: Social Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, and Neuroscience, so you could try to gain a quick appreciation of each module through research. Cambridge also provide a useful A-Z of key topics in Psychology.
After an initial introduction into broad areas of psychology and what they involve, focus in. Which areas pique your interest most? Keep a file with notes on each topic, read articles to extend your knowledge, and remember to relate concepts to your personal experience (e.g. examples from everyday life, real-world applications of concepts) so you don’t end up turning your personal statement into an essay. Why does [Insert topic] make you want to study Psychology at degree level? What catalysed your interest in [Insert topic]? Can you think of examples in your everyday life that relate?:
E.g. Following some research, you may find you are interested in Social Psychology, in particular group identity. What interests you about it? You may have read about ‘outgroup homogeneity’: the failure to see differences between members of of an out-group. Can you think of examples in your everyday experience? E.g. Racial prejudice?
Conversely, you may have started with thinking about racial prejudice, if that is something you are particularly passionate about, and that could have led you to research the psychology behind it, which could have brought you to Outgroup homogeneity. Either method is great. When it comes to writing your personal statement, it can be best to start with the personal experience/ interest and mention how this spurred you on to the academic research/ how your interest deepened with wider exploration.
2Emphasise your academic abilities and how these will ensure you suit the Psychology course.
Throughout your personal statement, you should demonstrate how you have built skills in preparation for university and for studying Psychology.
To begin preparation, brainstorm your academic abilities and skills, and how these ensure you will suit the course/s you are applying for. Extensively research your top university choices, and see if they have a page dedicated to what they want from applicants. Fill a table as in the example below to help you relate your skills to the study of Psychology.
Psychology Personal Statement Reading Recommendations
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat – Oliver Sacks: This book provides case histories of patients who have suffered a range of neurological disorders. E.g. Patients who have lost their memories, patients with violent tics, those with disabilities, but who are mathematical geniuses.
Thinking, Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman: Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences laureate, Kahneman, developed ‘Prospect theory’, a theory of the psychology of choice, which has been central to the relatively new field of behavioural economics.
The book provides a good overview of a variety of key topics and is particularly useful for those with a penchant for economics (thinking about interdisciplinarity and how your subjects of interest link is always great for your personal statement), or for those simply interested in real-world applications of theories.
Try to think of examples from your everyday life e.g. How decision making can be influenced by advertising and product placement.
Bad Science - Ben Goldachre: Dr Ben Goldacre is the author of the Bad Science column in the Guardian. This humorous book should encourage you to critically appraise articles that you read and stimulate a broader discussion on subjectivity/objectivity and empiricism in psychological research. Humans introduce bias into all research - e.g. Look into the spurious findings of fMRI research when researchers do not adequately account for ‘noise’ in the data.
The Memory Illusion – Dr Julia Shaw: Forensic psychologist and memory specialist, Dr Julia Shaw, uses the latest research to show the many ways in which our brains can be led astray by memory. Learn about how errors in reconstructing memory reflect inherent biases.
If you would like to learn more about memory, check out our co-curricular division, Minds Underground™’s Mind-Enhancing Articles for Psychology, where our Oxbridge psychologists examine the role of memory and other key psychology topics/ questions.
Try to read some scientific papers and start thinking critically about them, and stay updated on developments in psychology and psychology in the news. E.g. Through reading The New Scientist - Psychology News, Neuroscience News, Naked Scientist Psychology articles & podcasts, or the Royal Society of Psychology research articles, podcasts and blog posts.
U2 Tuition Quick Tip: Remember to leave plenty of time to think about your personal statement! The content building part is by far the most important - without well-thought out content and a wide range of evidence for your independent exploration, you will not be able to write an engaging personal statement. The writing part will be easy if you have lots of exciting content to draw from.
Six Oxbridge Psychology Personal Statement Tips:
Applying to leading courses like Cambridge's Psychological and Behavioural Sciences or Oxford's Experimental Psychology course requires a tailored approach in your personal statement. Here's how you can make your statement stand out for these Oxbridge courses, compared to non-Oxbridge programmes:
Have a research-centric focus:
Highlight your interest in research from the very beginning of your Oxbridge Psychology Personal Statement. Discuss specific research projects you've been involved in or research findings that have fascinated you (see below for how you could get involved in these).
Look into the cutting-edge research conducted at Cambridge or Oxford and see if anything aligns with your academic interests.Make interdisciplinary connections:
Emphasise your readiness to explore the interdisciplinary aspects of psychology. These Oxbridge courses often connect psychology with other fields. Mention your interest in related subjects such as neuroscience, biology, or even philosophy, if relevant. Discuss how these interdisciplinary connections will enrich your understanding of psychology and your research capabilities. See the example Psychology personal statement below for an idea of how to do this!Show evidence of Critical Thinking and Independent Study:
Both Cambridge and Oxford value independent learning and critical thinking. Use your Oxbridge Psychology personal statement to share your experiences with independent research, coursework, or self-study that demonstrate your ability to think critically and engage deeply with psychology.
Mention Specific Course Features:
Make sure your Oxbridge Psychology Personal Statement is tailored to the course you want to study! For example, Cambridge's Psychological and Behavioural Sciences course includes a multidisciplinary approach to understanding human behaviour, whereas Oxford's Experimental Psychology course focuses on research design and data analysis. Explain how these aspects align with your academic goals and career aspirations.
Showcase your ability to use Research Methods:
Try to demonstrate your familiarity with research methods and data analysis tools, as these are central to both courses. Highlight any coursework or projects that have developed your skills in these areas.
Look Beyond the Classroom:
Mention your involvement in psychology-related co-curricular activities, such as higher level topic areas, clubs, volunteer work, or internships, to demonstrate your dedication to the field beyond academic requirements. For guidance and advice on how you can get involved in exciting and impressive Psychology co-curriculars to include in your Oxbridge Psychology personal statement, see the section below.
If you’d like help researching, writing or refining your Oxbridge Psychology personal statement, you could seek guidance one of U2’s Oxbridge Psychology tutors, who are familiar with the specific requirements and expectations of Oxbridge courses. Contact us if you’d like to learn more.
Use Co-curriculars to boost your Psychology Personal Statement
For such an applied subject like Psychology, it’s really key to use your Psychology personal statement as a space to show ways you have engaged with the subject and taken your interest outside the classroom. Here are some great suggestions of co-curriculars to boost your Psychology Personal Statement.
Psychology Essay Competitions
Oxford and Cambridge run a great variety of essay competitions e.g. Newnham College runs a Psychological & Behavioural Sciences competition each year.
Our co-curricular division, Minds Underground, runs a Psychology Essay Competition every year alongside the British Psychology Olympiad. Both these competitions are great opportunities to test your Psychology knowledge and explore the subject in new ways. Often, the competition includes a Psychology Research Proposal Challenge, which is perfect for demonstrating independent research & initiative in your Psychology Personal Statement and will encourage you to learn about experimental design, data collection, handling and analysis.
Independent Research Projects
You could task yourself with curating your own independent research project to mention on your personal statement. Here are some suggested project titles you might find interesting:
Investigating the effects of colour, word type, or other non-semantic factors on memory/reaction time/false memory recall of word lists
Influence of age/gender/multilingualism or any number of other factors on memory, number & word processing, any easily quantifiable metric.
An investigation into behavioural economics in the style of Kahneman & Tversky, looking at Type 1 & 2 decision making and how this can be influenced, for example, by advertising and product placement.
You may prefer to work on an independent research project under the guidance of an Oxbridge Psychology specialist. You could work with a tutor to support your research on a topic of your own interest, or sign up for one of our specialised guided research projects through Minds Underground, E.g. “A Psychology or Medicine Project with a Research Associate for the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the Oxford University Hospital Trust (NHS)” or “Psychiatrists & Pharmaceuticals: Alzheimer’s Research Project”. These projects usually last a month, with weekly project tutorial sessions that combine teaching of high-level subject-specific content with exposure to real-world applications of these concepts.
All our projects are great to mention on a Psychology personal statement, and make impressive talking points at a Psychology interview, particularly for top UK universities such as Oxbridge who favour applicants with an interest in scientific research.
Societies, Lectures and Talks
Are you part of your school’s Psychology Society? If the school doesn’t have one, could you start one up? Or if they have a STEM society, could you introduce a Psychology element or invite speakers for lectures? Find ways to get more involved with Psychology.
There are a plethora of online lectures and talks for you to access online - E.g. Gresham College Psychology lectures, or Ted Talks on Psychology, and you should check sites like the Royal Institution for regular, engaging Psychology talks in-person and online.
Psychology Summer School
We host a fantastic Psychology Summer School for university applicants, hosted by our team of Psychology Oxbridge graduates. The weekly sessions, running from July to September, will provide a taster of University level Psychology, and provide engaging material students can include in their Psychology personal statement, and discuss during their interviews.
See a list of example Psychology Summer School sessions below:
Next Steps: Structuring Your Psychology Personal Statement
Try to narrow your interests down to 2 or 3 topic areas which you can use as overarching themes for your personal statement, e.g. (1) Theories of Mind, of Consciousness, (2) Psychology & Gender, (3) Social Psychology - Group Identity.
Ensure you can address these themes in depth. Have a range of resources to draw from e.g. a scientific paper, a book, research you undertook as part of an essay competition.
Ensure a strong narrative, including linking of concepts between key sections.
Demonstrate personal critical analysis to show your engagement and interest in the subject.
Example Psychology Personal Statement Structure
Aim for around four main paragraphs:
1st paragraph (introductory): What is your motivation to study Psychology? Be specific: what do you want to explore at university? What is distinctive about studying Psychology that makes it worthwhile? Ensure you talk about what motivates your study of the subject now, not a catalyst from your childhood as the interviewer will find it clichéd and less relevant.
2nd paragraph: Explore your interest in [Insert topic] through [Insert activity: e.g. Summer School]. Which of your abilities did this highlight? Link the topic to an interest in [Insert research form: An experiment, article etc.]. Link this to [Insert another activity e.g. a Cambridge lecture on X].
3rd paragraph: Link to paragraph two. This paragraph can follow the same format, but deal with a different topic/ theme.
4th paragraph: Mention extra-curricular activities that don’t relate to your subject interests really briefly (e.g., music, volunteering, anything else of relevance) and demonstrate how these have built skills in preparation for university and for studying Psychology.
You could mention your other A-Level/ IB subjects, perhaps describing how they have enhanced your study of Psychology.
You could mention any prizes or roles of responsibility which you have had at school, including any clubs that you might organise, such as the school newspaper or student council.
It can be useful to conclude your personal statement by returning to your aptitude for studying the subject in a final few lines. Which core skills do you possess which will equip you to excel at degree level? It’s important to strike a balance between enthusiasm for the subject and evidence of skills.
Example Psychology Personal Statement
Looking at Psychology personal statement examples can help you to understand how to structure your own statement and what to include. Below, we have included an example of a successful Cambridge Psychology personal statement, written by one of our 1st Class Cambridge PBS tutors.
N.B. The statement is by no means perfect, but should provide an exemplar for how to weave your academic interests and co-curricular endeavours into your statement.
Over 100 trillion synapses connect to form neural networks in the brain – an engine so close to home yet more enigmatic than some of the cosmos. How can the very matter we use to think and learn unlock mysteries of the universe, yet not know exactly how it stores memories? It is these existential questions that fuel my fascination for studying the delicate mechanisms of our minds.
Year one of my A-levels, what started as curiosity became increasingly interesting to me. Psychology lessons were deeply thought-provoking, particularly when biological and cognitive psychology were the topics of study. The biology behind the metaphysics of consciousness and perception has since captured me, especially when considering neurological disorders. Fascinated by these phenomena, last year I attended a lecture by Baland Jalal; he discussed his own research into a cure for sleep paralysis, as well as demonstrating his enthusiasm for the field which was a perfect cross-section of various disciplines that I love. To further explore this new intricate field of interest, I read “The New Science of Consciousness” by Paul Nunez; this book offered me a profound insight into the philosophy and “hard problems” that this science faces; whilst explanations for Alzheimer’s and Free Will are difficult to retrieve, the questions we need to ask are even harder to formulate. Cures for neurodegenerative diseases are currently beyond our grasp, which I believe will be changed with further years of research that I would be honoured to be a part of. The challenges and speculations associated with understanding the brain and our behaviour draws me into the subject as I enjoy combining abstract and logical thinking to decipher problems. Both studying logical programming in Computer Science and my EPQ (an investigation into creating a handmade Wilson Cloud Chamber) showcase the interface of these types of thinking.
Self-teaching has been a critical aspect of advancing my knowledge of Neuropsychology as at A-Level there is no depth into more peculiar cases (many of which I discovered after reading “The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat” by Oliver Sacks) such as Anton-Babinski Syndrome – a rare symptom of brain damage that causes people to be “cortically blind”, yet inexplicably deny their blindness. Using my own learning techniques, in Year 12 I helped tutor students in Year 7 physics classes. The significant change in learning style developed my methods of tutoring, teaching me to work with and teach peers of varying ages and enhance my ability to describe difficult concepts in an appropriate and understandable way.
During year 12 I was accepted onto the Sutton Trust US Programme – a competitive Fulbright programme for high-achieving state-school students. I was one of 150 students picked from 1000+ applicants. Learning to deal with additional, international examinations and workload alongside school, being the guitarist in a band, and rock-climbing has been essential for my personal development, allowing me to handle substantial pressure. I was awarded a visit to Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s graduate laboratories where I saw leading research into many disciplines of science. This year however I decided that the more specialised curriculum offered in the UK was better suited for me – nevertheless, I am still an alum and volunteer for the programme and was chosen to be an advisor at USA college day this year. I gave individual advice to hundreds of young people, ensuring they had information and advice they needed to pursue undergraduate studies ideal for them.
As a member of my school’s Student Wellbeing team, it is evident to anyone that a distinct and recurring interest of mine is to help people. I believe this perfectly ties into my desire to research the brain, as I am driven to be part of the research that will prevent neurodegeneration, aid mental illness and answer the fundamental questions that make us human. As written by Paul Nunez, “The phenomenon of consciousness is the major unsolved challenge of our age”.
Looking for a Personal Statement Tutor or Support For Your Wider Psychology Application?
Psychology Personal Statement Tutoring
U2’s Oxbridge-educated mentors have a close insight into what admissions tutors like to see in a Psychology personal statement, and can help students to convey their skills, motivations, and long term goals, in order to stand out from other applicants. The statement should be the candidate’s own work, but our mentors will provide direction and guide you through the process of content building and writing. We offer offline drafting as well as tuition sessions.
The Process:
1) We suggest an Oxbridge Psychology graduate as a mentor and send their full CV for review. Our mentors are deeply familiar with the admissions process to study Psychology at the University of Oxford and Cambridge, and are well-placed to guide you through personal statement curation and the interview process. We may suggest a range of application tutors to choose from with slightly differing rates depending on qualifications and level of experience.
2) We typically suggest beginning with a 1.5 hour diagnostic session, where the mentor will informally assess the student’s current performance level for application. Following this, we issue a report with feedback, and structure a plan to best prepare.
3) U2’s approach for regular Psychology application sessions: The main focus of tutorial sessions will be to explore material that can be discussed in the personal statement and at interview - this may sometimes stretch from A-Level standard to First Year Undergraduate.
Mentors ensure each student refines their interests within Psychology, and is exposed to a range of key themes and topics.
Throughout there will be a focus on the experimental side of psychology, by centering the course on real studies, and discussing the techniques and limitations involved in psychological experiments. Together, we build a case for the student, solidifying the stance and direction they will take during the interview.
Frequency of sessions can be decided between student and mentor. Students can take either ad hoc sessions, or we structure a full programme for preparation, which may include further co-curricular opportunities such as our research projects, Psychology summer school and Oxbridge mock interview days.
Honing the skills necessary to succeed for Oxbridge ideally requires long-term preparation and mentoring presents a wonderful opportunity to learn from some of the very best Oxbridge has produced.
Sessions from £75/h + VAT.