Chemical engineering personal statement example

Why do you want to study this course or subject?

The last job on a Sunday night at the fish and chip shop where I work is filtering the fryer oil. It drains warm through a paper cone into a holding tank, I scrape out the crumbs, and we top the fryer up with fresh oil. My manager decides when to replace a whole batch by its colour and smell. When I asked why the oil seemed to darken faster in winter, he wasn't sure, so I started reading about how heat, water from frozen fish and food particles break oil down. What interested me most were the decisions around the chemistry: how often to filter, how much fresh oil to add, and what it costs to change it too early or too late. I realised these are small versions of the questions chemical engineers answer when a reaction that works in a beaker has to run continuously, safely and economically. I enjoy chemistry most when it links to quantities I can measure and control. I want to learn how whole processes are designed, from mass and energy balances to separations and reactors, and eventually to work on making them use energy and raw materials more efficiently.

How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare?

I am studying A levels in Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics. In chemistry, an iodine clock practical on reaction rates showed me how sensitive results are to temperature. Plotting my data to estimate an activation energy made the Arrhenius equation feel like a working tool rather than a formula to memorise. Mathematics has given me confidence with calculus. Seeing differentiation describe a rate of change helped me read simple rate equations with more understanding. In physics, measuring specific heat capacity made me think carefully about heat lost to the surroundings, which I now notice whenever I see the fryers warming up.

For my Extended Project I investigated whether used fryer oil from the shop could be made into usable soap. With my teacher supervising, I first measured the acid value of fresh and used oil by titrating samples with dilute alkali using phenolphthalein. The used oil contained more free fatty acids, so I adjusted the amount of sodium hydroxide for each batch. Then I tested the finished bars for leftover alkali. My first used-oil batch was noticeably softer, and comparing my records helped me trace this to the oil, not my method. Writing up the project taught me to keep careful records and to explain my reasoning to someone who had not seen the work.

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

I have worked weekends at the chip shop for eighteen months. Besides serving, I record fryer temperatures in the food safety diary and weigh portions so that each one is consistent. I now train new staff on the filtering routine and on handling hot oil safely. The job has made me comfortable with routine checks and with working quickly while staying careful, which I expect to matter in laboratory and design work.

Outside work I play trombone in our town brass band. Rehearsing every Thursday and preparing for local contests has taught me patience with slow, steady improvement, and I help load the percussion into the van before concerts. On weekday mornings I walk my elderly neighbour's dog before school, which keeps me organised and reliable even in exam season.

I read Mark Miodownik's Stuff Matters after my chemistry teacher recommended it. The chapters on concrete and plastics showed me how a material's structure decides how it can be processed and used. That made me want to understand the plant behind everyday products, not just the molecules. I have also worked through introductory videos on distillation columns to see how the separation ideas from my A levels are applied at scale. I would bring steady practical habits, careful measurement and real curiosity about how things are made.