Natural Sciences Personal Statement Example 4

Why and How? I believe these are the two most important question words as they express mankind’s unquenchable thirst for knowledge, and they have lain the foundation of sciences and have helped us find answers and solutions to problems throughout history from the domestication of fire to Darwin’s theory of evolution, to landing on the moon and so on. Curiosity and critical thinking are crucial in understanding our world.
And I too, share this curiosity. As a child I always wondered how animals “worked”, and why they do so. Later on, this personal interest naturally led me to biology, and in an instant I fell in love with the subject. That is why I am applying to Natural Sciences. I have a firm belief that choosing this course will give me the opportunity to study and choose from a wide variety of subjects, which would broaden my horizon while giving me a chance to study what I am so passionate for.

For the past eight years, I have been attending ELTE Radnóti Miklós secondary school, which has been ranked first or second for years in Hungary. In the last two forms I have been studying biology and chemistry at an A-level course. I have also attended several extracurricular lectures in different fields of biology, e. g.: epigenetics. During my studies I’ve discovered that for me, the most fascinating areas are cell biology, evolution, and ethology. Although they might not seem to be too close to each other, I find them all absorbing. The fact that such small things as cells can work in an incredibly complex and perfectly orderly fashion grabbed my attention, and made me think how a simple prokaryote could evolve to a mind-bogglingly elaborate creature, such as a human being? Richard Dawkin’s “The Selfish Gene” made me wonder whether animal behaviour could be simplified down to actions which improve the chances of survival and reproduction. This led me to ethology and I find it to be one of the most interesting fields in biology.

My enthusiasm for observing human behaviour made me carry out an experiment. As I go home every day by train, I started wondering how people decide where to sit. I quickly realised that personal territory is the primary concern, as everyone tries to sit in an empty quarter. But once each quarter has been partially occupied, the next passenger has to choose where to sit, and that is what interested me: what factors are taken into consideration? So I started to gather data which I still do regularly.

In my free time, I am a youth leader in my school, and as one my task is to make programs for 5th-8th graders, such as handicrafting, sport competitions, holiday festivals and a two-day long theatre performance show, in which each class participates with its own play. During the summer there is a ten-day long camp led and organised by us, with similar programs. I particularly enjoy being a youth leader, as I like to work with kids, and I have also gained several important skills; coordinating a camp requires teamwork, leadership, and discipline. It is a really hard job to keep it all together, but also a lot of fun.

This summer I had a job at a design firm, where my task was to reach out to new suppliers. During that time I learned to work together with complete strangers to solve a problem, or work towards a common goal. I have also studied computer sciences for one year and attended an extracurricular robotics class.

I chose the UK for higher education because I believe putting extra work into studying is worth it there, as I would receive a far better education than in Hungary and I don’t want to lower my standards even if it’s hard to achieve my goals: I enjoy challenges. Last year I passed the English Matura exam with 98%, and I finished 23rd in the National English Competition (OKTV) out of more than 3500 students. Though I’m not a native speaker and this might make studying more difficult, it is my lifelong dream to study in the UK, and I am willing to work very hard for it.