Astrophysics degree personal statement example (1c) unconditional offers

Why do you want to study this course or subject?

My fascination of the universe began by watching Startrek and Stargate with my Dad. I was drawn in by the idea of other dimensions, other life forms and even time travel. I became inspired to delve into the world of Astrophysics and feel that it is what I want to study at university.

A desire to explore the unknown has originated perhaps through glimpses of foreign countries and cultures. I have visited Israel a few times, as my mum is Israeli, and have always enjoyed travelling to new places, meeting new people. Recently I went to Poland with the Borders Exploration Group and hope to continue involvement with other expeditions.

One of the first experiences of learning about the cosmos came when I attended physics lectures with the Sutton Trust. Learning about the origins of our solar system with its stars and planets excited me. I love the fact that astrophysics is so mysterious; as Peter De Vries said, "The universe is like a safe to which there is a combination. But the combination is locked up in the safe."

To keep up with all the latest discoveries and hypotheses I read the New Scientist. I enjoy the breadth of information given and its ability to make awkward concepts seem so much more straightforward. Technology advances so quickly, as portrayed by the Large Hadron Collider, that I am certain the future is full of lots of unexpected discoveries. I am also currently reading A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson, illustrating the origins of physics in a thoroughly interesting way as well as providing a little peek into the future.

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

In school I wanted to do something related to astrophysics for my school service. I was given the opportunity to join the Young Engineers club and introduce astronomy. I had to decide what I wanted to do; I discovered that I could get time on the Faulkes Telescope and so far we have taken good images of the Pacman Nebula and the Little Dumbbell Nebula and will be processing the FITS files on GIMP to see what we can come up with. In the future, hopefully we will be able to make a robot with a telescope that traces the stars at night, something exciting for me as well as the school.

Having grown up in a university town, I love the atmosphere of the older universities with their grand architecture and ancient traditions. I was fortunate to do work experience in the Oxford Sackler Library and Blackwells bookstore. I loved getting to know how the students went about studying for their degrees and felt especially privileged when I was allowed to be guided around the underground levels of the Bodleian Library. Being surrounded by ancient works, including those of Shakespeare, links in with my love of studying History. I am very interested in learning about the past and how that has resulted in the way that we live today and I am sure that working progressively into the future will be just as fascinating.

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

Other activities that I take part in school range from plays to debating. Last year I learnt about debating for the first time; competing was very challenging for me, having to constantly think on my feet. I was also the stage manager in the Tempest at my previous school which was demanding. I always had to be aware of what was going on and maintain communication between the directors and cast.

Participating in the Dance Leaders course provided another learning opportunity; I taught primary school children to dance then helped to organise a production in which pupils from all years participated. One of my greatest joys is singing; I joined the Oxford Gospel Choir and performed in St Martin in the Fields Church on Trafalgar Square and this year I have a main part in the musical, Oklahoma, at school. Outside of school, I taught myself the useful skill of making websites. I know html and some css and php and can also make graphics in Photoshop. This could be put to use in the future when I would learn to use complicated computing programs that would aid research in astrophysics.

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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