Personal Statement:Us sociology

Why do you want to study this course or subject?

The USA has always fascinated me, in a place where every other advert is for plastic surgery, you have to wonder, what sort of society breeds the kind of mentality where children as young as 12 want to enhance their bodies through surgery, and look up to pop stars rather than revolutionaries or major authors as their role models. Where everyone has an abundance of opportunities at their feet, they still don't know whether they are happy, and are constantly looking for personal aggrandisement.

I believe that being given the opportunity to study in the USA, particularly California, I am capable of immersing myself in this consumer culture, and begin to learn more about the American psyche, and be able to contrast that with the British. I am particularly interested in the sociology and culture of the west coast, in particular youth culture; consequently this year I am taking the SC310 course, which so far I have found to be extremely interesting. The west coast fascinates me, not only because we see it represented on the television so much through soaps, documentaries and films, but because we saw the emergence of the Californian punk scene, and how this underground culture rose up and has influenced many of the popular punk pop bands and artists of today.

I am also interested in the disputes over the influence of music on teenagers, how music, film and fashion influences who you are friends with in high school and how you are labelled, the fact that you are labelled at all.

It may seem, that everyone wants to go to California because of the weather, to get away from the cold, windy and rainy shores of the United Kingdom, and of course, this is true, given the change to get away from the rain for a year, to a state where it might rain once the whole year you are out there isn't an opportunity I would turn down lightly, but the weather doesn't only influence my decision to study in California on a purely "I hate rain" level.

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

The Californian youth social scene, and general life in California revolves around the weather; to have the type of life they lead, warm weather is needed, their lives, for the most part are conducted outside, they are more sporting and athletic, causing, to me what seems like a preoccupation with image. The activities they participate in depend on the warm weather, and it shapes their drive to accomplish their goals and the American dream.

You could argue that the warmth makes them more determined, to quote an American friend of mine "people live differently in the cold and rain than in the sunshine". Of course people live differently in the cold and rain than in the sunshine, it affects the clothes you wear, the places you go, the things you do, therefore it must affect your mentality, and this culture, this lifestyle is what really fascinates me about America, and of course in particular California.

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

My other two choices of institution are Louisiana and Le Moyne. I have chosen Louisiana as an institution because I believe that it too has a very distinct social scene, particularly, the jazz music which has given birth to rap music and also Mardi Gras of New Orleans.

New York is of particular interest to me post September 11th, because children change their priorities when the world around them changes, and of course after September 11th, the world around them altered dramatically. I would be interested in seeing how this has affected youth culture in New York, not only the city but also state wide and how their attitudes and goals in life have changed.

Universities applied to:

• California
• Louisiana
• Le Moyne
• New York

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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