Psychology Personal Statement

Why do you want to study this course or subject?

Psychology has drawn me in since I began studying it at GCSE. For me, the fact that there is so much that is still unknown is so intriguing to me. I find it fascinating that by using psychology, we can understand why people act the way they do and how the brain processes information both neurologically and cognitively. I especially enjoy the clinical aspect of psychology as well as the research side of the subject. I would truly love to study for a BSc in Psychology at university as I believe that by expanding my knowledge of psychology to a degree level, it will aid me on my career path of becoming a clinical psychologist. I have found a great interest in the subject of clinical psychology such as how different mental disorders come about and how they can be treated. This has further motivated me to go into this field of work. It inspired me to study psychology in more depth so that, hopefully in the future, I could help people who are suffering find a treatment or potentially develop one myself. In the future, it would be my dream to become a qualified clinical psychologist as I feel that this career would be perfect for me. I really believe that this course will be perfect for me as I have an incredible passion for the subject and really enjoy learning and reading about recent events in the psychological world. I feel that this course would inspire me to pursue my dream career as a clinical psychologist and would make me fall in love with the subject even more, if that's possible.

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

My appreciation for clinical psychology stemmed from learning about psychopathology at the beginning of my A level course. I thoroughly enjoyed discussing different brain abnormalities and mental illnesses, such as depression, and I found it incredible that through using psychological research it is possible to develop treatments and therapies that are helpful for sufferers. Currently, I am a subject ambassador for the subject of psychology at my sixth form. This means that I help out with events such as open days and we also run a revision club for current Year 12 that are studying psychology. In this revision club, we review AS content and discuss them so that the Year 12s, and we, understand the content fully.

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

In the summer of Year 12, I had the opportunity to experience work in a clinical setting first hand. I took part in a work experience programme with the NHS in which I shadowed nurses on the vascular ward. Although I believe that this ward wasn't particularly relevant to my future career, it did give me an insight into work in a clinical setting and what it entails. During this week, I spoke to professionals about their experiences of the rewards and drawbacks of the work. This week of experience confirmed that I really want to work in a clinical setting in particular where, rather than take the role of a nurse, I would apply psychological knowledge to help others. Also during the summer, I attended a programme called Next Step York at the University of York. In this programme, we stayed at the university for a week long residential and took part in various university related activities. I attended three mini lectures on psychology, sociology and law and in these sessions, we learnt about the different topics within each subject. I found them all interesting but the psychology lecture more so. I also got to experience student life activities which were to give us an insight into the various societies at university. The whole week taught me what staying at university would be like and how to manage living independently away from home. I feel it really helped me to realise that university was definitely the route for me. My attentive nature, passion for helping others and my ability to remain calm means that I would really thrive in this profession.