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+-- Forum: Applying to university (https://www.studentdiscussion.co.uk/forum-24.html)
+--- Forum: UCAS Forms & Personal Statements (https://www.studentdiscussion.co.uk/forum-2.html)
+--- Thread: When applying to two completely different subjects (/thread-27847.html)
When applying to two completely different subjects - savethewabbit - 17/12/2008
hi,
i'm new to the whole applying to university thing, mainly because i'm from italy and we don't have go to through all this trouble here...
i'm in my last year of a classics school (high school, but i study things like ancient greek and latin amongst other things), and am in the process of applying to university in the UK through UCAS.
my main choice would be astrophysics, that has got nothing to do with my studies so far but it's my main passion. however, as i'm not too confident in my ability to get into such courses, i would also like to apply to linguistics which i think would be an easier course to get into considering my high school experience.
but i've got two problems/questions:
first thing has got nothing to do with personal statements, but - i've found *no* undergraduate linguistics courses in any university. they are all "MA", which i've been told means it's a postgraduate (master) course (they told me to only look for the Bs, like Bsc). i've been having the same difficulty with english language/literature etc. i only find MA courses, even if they're listed in the undergraduate degrees. did i get it wrong and MA is not postgrad but undergraduate? and if not, where are the linguistical / languages subject for undergraduates? do i have to apply to something like an introductory course and then pick a non-scientific subject?
if i *can* apply to linguistics as an undergraduate, then the personal statement problems begin. i've read a few of them through this website, and i've seen they tend to focus mainly on the chosen subject, why you like it, what you know of it and would like to learn about it in uni etc.
what if i pick two subjects that are so different one from the other like astrophysics and linguistics? do i have to devote two different parts of my statement to each one? do i have to try and mix the two things in a "my passions are astrophysics and linguistics"? i haven't started writing my PS yet, but i had a general idea which only included astrophysics, and i can't think of a way to make linguistics fit into that as well, in a good enough way so that universities will understand that i do have a passion for linguistics as well.
so, in short: is it possible to write a PS including two completely different subjects? any tips on how to do that? i don't want to write about two things shortly and get none right, but i also wouldn't want to stick to astrophysics while applying to linguistics as well, as i don't think that'd be of much help to get into linguistics. however, if it's not possible to do this, i would (sadly) give up on linguistics.
thanks for your help, this website has helped me a lot!
nicholas
RE: When applying to two completely different subjects - Katiex - 04/02/2010
It is possible to write a personal statament for two completely different subjects by making sure that you give them both an equal weight within the statement, and don't write a lot more about one than the other. I did this last year to apply for biology and history and got offers for both different courses.
Make sure when you look for courses in astrophysics you have done the subjects they require, as I would assume most of them will require you to have a qualification in maths, physics or both.
As far as not being able to find any linguistics courses they will be BA not BSc. Not sure how much help that is, but I hope you find some.
RE: When applying to two completely different subjects - jwalter - 09/03/2010
Listing about both your interests would define you broad knowledge; I mean the linguistic and the Astrophysics, both are way apart from each other. Now this could act as the positive and the negative aspect both. Like the knowledge of both the fields would be the positive side but your fluctuating interests between both the subjects would be the negative side. There is not much that I can think off for this, I can suggest you to keep it changing according to the requirements.