Personal Statement - Geography 3

Why do you want to study this course or subject?

I am choosing geography for one main reason and this reason has many subdividing links. I want to continue to study geography at higher education because I find it interesting. I enjoy this subject because of its content and the way in which it overlaps with so many other subjects. This therefore makes geography a very useful subject and one I am very keen to continue to understand and develop. Because geography overlaps with many other subjects and that the course encompasses many techniques and skills I find it as being a very useful tool in the future workplace.

I enjoy finding out how and most importantly why. If this includes why is such business parks situated on suburban fringes to why does the global distribution of earthquakes affect human activities in that particular area. I believe geography will develop my analytical skills which is important because I want to become an intelligence officer in the armed forces. I also like travelling and my knowledge and techniques have helped me explain many things like reasons for terraced farming in areas of Malta and infrastructure in Florida. A teacher once said to me in secondary school, 'travel, and you start to notice things around you and you'll be able to understand what and why are certain things there.'

Studying geography will help me develop these skills to a standard well recognised in my chosen field of profession. I'm also looking to travel in the future and my knowledge of geography will help me understand the places I visit in much more detail.

How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?

I am currently studying A2 geography and biology. This is also accompanied by AS physical education and an AS physics which I completed in my first year. I am enjoying my courses this year because I find the content relatively easy to digest as opposed to physics last year. I found this subject fairly challenging last year because the content comprised itself mainly of numbers, figures, theories and set equations which were somewhat difficult to interpret. As opposed to the courses I am doing this year where I find the content easier to consume because I can relate it to visual situations.

I enjoyed parts of the course last year because there were noticeable links between the subjects. For instance geography and biology cross over more than once during the year. I have developed new skills such as my oral and working with others on coursework. As I noted above my aspirations for the future lay within the armed forces. I need to have well-developed analytical skills as well as good oral skills. Part of being an intelligence officer is being able to annotate pictures and many other sources of data i.e. infra red.

What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?

I have had one experience in paid employment and one work experience placement. During my work experience I worked at H+S aviation. This is a company that repairs helicopters and light aircraft. During my time here I experienced the importance of meeting deadlines as these engines were urgently needed for the customer. I also established working with a team and cooperating with many departments. One important skill I learned is attention to detail; this was very important because the slightest of inaccuracy could cause the aircraft engine to malfunction causing death to the customer.

During my paid employment I worked at a café in ASDA. I learned many important lessons here like health and safety along with food hygiene. I also exercised working in a busy environment and good communication and team skills were necessary to achieve the goals. I feel that many of the skills I have learnt are relevant not just to geography but life in itself. Team skills may be put to good use in a fieldwork situation as well as meeting deadlines and attention to detail. These all figure in some aspect of the course and university life in general.

I enjoy sporting activities a lot and they are important in social well-being. I enjoy playing golf and especially football. I have reached semi-professional for Fareham Town where I scored the winning goal on my debut at this level, being only the third player ever to do this. I have also had trials with the major south coast professional sides such as Portsmouth, Southampton and Bournemouth. I enjoy leisure activities such as fishing and camping and I go away regularly in the summer to carry out these activities.

I also enjoy socialising with friends at the weekends but football usually takes precedence over socialising. There are specific areas around the city where these can be exercised together. I enjoy spending time with my family, either going out for the evening, spending the weekend camping and fishing or just playing football or golf.

How personal statements have changed?

The current personal statement format, with three 'scaffolding' questions, was introduced by Ucas in September 2025. This personal statement was submitted before then, using the old essay-style format. It has been carefully edited into the three-question format, with all of the original wording kept.

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