Criminology and Forensic Studies Personal Statement Example

Much of what we see in the media today is about crime, whether it’s reports of terrorism in the news or on TV shows which are about catching criminals, either way, we hear about it every day. I’ve always had a fascination about how crimes are solved and investigated; I’ve been watching documentaries on crimes for years, “When Girls Kill” and “The Cheshire Murders” are among the many that interest me. I have a strong desire to learn about the behaviour of criminals because of my interest in psychology. I’ve taken psychology as an A level, and this allowed me to develop further knowledge for Criminology. For example, I’ve learned about affectionless psychopaths and how they are developed through nurture and why this leads to them committing a crime.

My love of science began when I started GCSE science, a good teacher and interesting course content soon made me fall in love. Courses on YouTube like “Crash Course Biology” really helped me understand the subject and deepened my fascination further. My main interest is in Biology, more specifically, human Biology because the complexity of each individual is truly beautiful to me. The background knowledge I’ve developed from A-level Biology through practical’s has made me feel more confident with experiments and has sparked an interest in forensics.

I work well in a team and always have something positive to offer a group. I have developed my teamwork skills from the expeditions I took part in for my Duke of Edinburgh Award. Working in a team was essential for success because in order to navigate successfully we had to work together. It was challenging and required a lot of work but I loved every minute of the experience. The sense of achievement I felt after the hike was something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. This experience has made me comfortable with working with others; this would help me to work well in a group during classes at university.

I’ve proved myself to be a responsible individual because I was a school prefect and I had many responsibilities in order to ensure that the school was a happy and safe environment. I would take turns with my fellow prefects to patrol the lunch hall and prevent disruptive behaviour, while doing so I had to set a good example for the younger students. As a prefect I also learnt how to communicate with people in a positive way because I led school tours for visitors; this meant I had to have a good speaking voice and feel confident with talking to new people. These experiences as a perfect boosted my confidence and organisational skills which is incredibly important for any university course; you need to be organised in order to stay on top of assignments.

I volunteer to tutor year 10 students in Biology. I believe the knowledge that I still have from my GCSE will be beneficial to them and I can give them strong advice that will coach them through their GCSE’s. This helps me to develop confidence in speaking to a wide variety of people and acts as an amazing way for me to revise some core subjects in biology which will help me achieve a good grade in my A level.

In my spare time, I love to do all things creative; you’ll most likely find me drawing or painting. I recently painted a picture of my friend for her birthday and I’m constantly filling up sketch books. I believe having a creative mind, as well as an academic mind, helps me see things from several points of view. My ability for this makes problem-solving easier. Seeing things from a number of perspectives will help me on a criminology or forensics course because in order to perform investigations you have to have an open and changing mind, therefore having a creative mind is a positive asset.

I am a highly motivated individual who has the enthusiasm and skills to make a valuable contribution to the course, therefore I hope you’ll accept my application.