Royal Holloway University Personal Statements
These UCAS personal statements have been kindly provided by students applying to Royal Holloway. You can click on one of the links below to view the entire statement and find out if the applicant was offered a place.
You can also view our entire collection of personal statements or view personal statements for application at other universities.
Economics & Management Personal Statement Example 
Being born and brought up in a country where an uneven distribution of income is a norm, the poor live on a minimum wage of Rupees 115 a day, whilst the billionaires form the sixth largest group in the world...
History and Economic History Personal Statement Example
Studying History at degree level has been my interest since my first ever history lesson in High School, for it is a subject that invites debate and feeds my inquisitive side. I have always been intrigued by what has happened before us and how it has led to where we are now...
History Personal Statement Example 4
Growing up in London, I have been exposed to the city’s history from a very young age. While appreciating the myriad historical eras that have shaped the development of London, it is the Victorian era that fascinates me the most...
History Personal Statement Example 6
My decision to study history was not a difficult one. I have long been fascinated by everything concerned with it, including historical findings and the icons we admire. I want to study history because it reveals to us human experiences of the past and how that relates to our present...
Psychology Personal Statement Example 8
Psychology encapsulates every aspect of our lives. From childhood, the reasons behind why we do what we do has fascinated me; and when I was disciplined for the type of mischief that one commits at a young age, my reasoning for my actions were always “To see what would happen...
Criminology Personal Statement Example 1
I am interested in studying Criminology for the mere purpose of wanting to fulfil a deeper understanding of the causes and consequences of crime and exploring how crime affects our society. The workings of the human mind intrigue me...
Computer Science Personal Statement Example 7
Computers and their immense diversity have interested me thoroughly. In particular: artificial intelligence, web languages and building computers. These have stretched my knowledge of computers and I always strive to expand my knowledge of these topics further...
Biomedical Science Personal Statement Example 7
As human beings we rely on intelligence and limitless curiosity to sustain our existence in such a complex society. Yet this existence is fragile, threatened by disease and the ticking time bomb of age, amongst other things, and yet seemingly held together by the principles and applications of biomedical science...
Financial Mathematics Personal Statement Example 1
In the financial sector, decisions must be made in split seconds that can result in either vast profits or significant losses. The collapse of Lehman Brothers, demonstrated to me the vulnerability of all businesses as the size and level of profit does not matter as poor decisions can still create loss...
History Personal Statement Example 11
Listening to my grandparents' accounts of air raid drills, blackouts and the arrival of evacuees in North Wales during the Second World War triggered my interest in history. My curiosity about the past was further inspired by looking at family photographs and heirlooms and exploring their backgrounds...
Maths Personal Statement Example 5
Mathematical logic and concepts underlie functionality of practically every process from rocket science to the budget of a household. It is this diversity of application that intrigues me and makes me want to study it in depth...
Geography Personal Statement Example 4
All through my academic life I have found Geography extremely interesting because of the vast range of topics involved with it and how it relates to every subject in one way or another. I have a particular interest in the physical side of Geography and especially the topics of: climate change, coasts, hazards and the environment...
English Literature & Creative Writing Personal Statement Example 3
From Austen to Wilde, I am particularly interested in 19th century literature. This literary period fascinates me with its peculiar combination of beauty and cruelty. I realised the true power of this composite after rereading The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde for the first time in three years in 2011...
Psychology Personal Statement Example 54
In early 2011 I worked as a fundraiser, required to approach and convince pedestrians to become a member of a German aid organisation.
While working in this position I saw thousands of people and talked to hundreds...
Geography Personal Statement Example 16
"What do you want to be when you grow up?" is an ever recurring question asked to me by many individuals, including myself. I have come to the conclusion that I will never come up with a final answer, as I have many ambitions and aspirations...
Physics Personal Statement Example 10
My fascination for how things work is something that has always been a part of me. Why am I pulled back towards the ground when I jump? How can an airplane that weighs so much fly? In later years I learned that these questions, these as I thought to be unexplainable phenomena, could all be answered through Physics...
Computer Science Personal Statement Example 49
My views about computing changed considerably when I heard about Linux. In the late nineties it was a newer operating system and tasks like installing and configuring were considered to be quite challenging in India...
Politics and Sociology Personal Statement Example 3
International relations and political science always attracted my attention and I clearly remember how impressed I was after the very first lesson on political science. Our teacher briefly explained us how political science had become an independent science and how it developed from a number of other disciplines: philosophy, history, economics, law...
Business/Human Resources Personal Statement Example
In a turbulent economic and social climate, business remains of core importance. It is a crucial element of our lives, working as a catalyst for innovation, which is why I wish to study it at undergraduate level...
Computer Science Personal Statement Example 52
There is always an answer to every question; we just have to find a creative way to reach them.
During the summer of last year there was a death within my family and many problems arouse, I had to travel back to Afghanistan to resolve these feuds from escalating...
Medieval History/History Personal Statement Example
My grandmother’s maiden name is Marx. Her uncle, the world-renowned landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx, was Karl Marx’s great-nephew. This fact, while seemingly trivial, has worked to strengthen the spark history has ignited within me since I was old enough to read...
Media Studies Personal Statement Example 2
When I was nine years old, I would secretly read a Lord of the Rings book after bedtime with a flashlight with all the enthusiasm of, well, a child. Nobody was more excited than I when we went to watch the film adaptation, and, needless to say, I was mesmerized - not only by the effects, but also by the design of its posters, websites and trailers that all did justice to the film...
English Literature Personal Statement Example 20
I was once told by a writer at Bath "LitFest" that literature is "all about control". At a young age, his words seemed obscure, but years later, I am finally able to grasp his meaning. On one side of a barrier of ink and paper, a writer aims to understand and control their world, whilst a reader attempts to lose control in a boundless, imaginary world...
Economics Personal Statement Example 32
One look at the world around us and we can instantly see how vital a role economics plays in every aspect of life. A fleeting glimpse of a newspaper headline or the core section of the evening news will tell you that economics influences nearly everything we do and think...
Philosophy Personal Statement Example (Mature Student)
Since leaving education in 2006 I have always wanted to return; a great love of learning, desire for knowledge and natural curiosity throughout my life resulted in an ambition to teach. It was with this ambition in my heart that I took the plunge and returned to education, beginning my Access course last year with the intention of applying to study for a primary education degree...
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