general personal statement stress!

[shmeggs]

I'm writing my personal statement for Philosophy but dont really know what to put as I have no relevant work experience (if there is such a thing for philosophy). Should I mention my long term ambition of becoming a journalist/writer and therefore mention work experience relevant to that or should i stick just to philosophy??

a few other things - quotes; yes or no?, quoting specific books - yes or no?

any help would be appreciated
thanks

[jo232]

Quoting specific books: definitely.
Quotes: your decision - there's no general consensus. Some people say that it suggests you lack something in originality. However, I've known quite a few people open with a quote, and many of them secured places on very competitive courses.

[irisng]

Stick with your subject - you wanna show commitment, not you're all over the place (like me). Make whatever your say relevant to your subject - lol I managed to put in my children's work into a science personal statement. I mentioned the kids only once and got on with talking about team work and how useful that is for research, uni and jobs. Maybe mention English in relation to Philosophy, or put it in your "irrelevant" work experience or hobby section cus that's what I did. I know someone who applied for Theology - which I think is similar to Philosophy isn't it? - and I think he basically discussed Theology and wrote a bit of a debate. Never read his statement no idea how good it is, but hey he's studying Theology now so he got accepted, which is most important!

Don't stress too much about it - it's not worth it. I had a hell of a week stressing about my personal statement it's bad for you. But it's all sent and done now and now I'm worrying about interviews *sigh*

[2horned1]

u r not alone.I have always wanted to study Physics.I have done a lot of work in the subject..i mean experimenting and what not.But now I find Economics would be a better option.(I m not sure exactly why)but now that i have decided on it I dont know what to write.Worse still i was planning to apply to some universities for Physics and some for Economics.But doing so some said would provide misleading pictures to the unis.I cant stress on 1 particular sub in my personal statement. Thats supposed to be very bad for my chances.What will I do? Should I confine myself to applying to 1 sub?