Business with Marketing MA (Hons) personal statement example

Why do you want to study this course or subject?

The waiting list for Saturday toddler swimming at the leisure centre where I work on reception is longer than for any other class, yet the Wednesday afternoon class with the same instructor rarely fills. Parents often tell me the Saturday slot must be better, partly, I suspect, because it is the one pictured on the front of our leaflet. That gap between what people need and how they come to choose is why I want to study marketing. I want to understand how organisations decide what to offer, how they present it and how customers really behave. I want to study it within a broader business degree because a promotion only makes sense if staffing, pricing and finance can support it. Reading Byron Sharp's How Brands Grow challenged my assumption that growth comes mainly from devoted customers. His argument that brands usually grow by reaching more light buyers and being easy to notice made me look again at that leaflet. I suggested to my manager that the Wednesday class could be featured first for a term, and she agreed to try it on the next print run. One term will not prove much, but I am keen to learn the methods that would tell me whether a change like that actually worked.

How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare?

My Advanced Higher Business Management project asks how independent cafés in my town respond when a national chain opens nearby. I interviewed three owners and surveyed eighty pupils and parents about where they buy coffee and why. The owners described very different strategies. One cut prices, one extended opening hours and one leaned into local baking. The survey suggested that convenience mattered more to customers than any of the owners expected. Writing it up taught me to separate what people say from what the evidence supports, and to admit the limits of a small, local sample. Higher Maths gave me confidence with data, and I used a spreadsheet to cross-tabulate survey answers by age group rather than relying on overall percentages. In Higher English, analysing persuasive writing made me more alert to how word choice and framing shape a reader's response, which is useful when I read adverts critically. Graphic Communication has been unexpectedly relevant. Designing layouts taught me about visual hierarchy, which is exactly what I noticed in the swimming leaflet. Modern Studies has also encouraged me to consider how income and access affect the choices that consumers are able to make.

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

Through a school placement scheme, I spent four days shadowing the marketing coordinator at a family-owned garden centre. I sat in on a planning meeting for the spring email and helped sort product photographs. I also checked website descriptions against what was actually in stock, and found several plants listed that had sold out. She showed me how she compares email open rates between subject lines. I was struck by how much of the job was coordination with buyers and shop staff rather than creative work. I have worked Saturdays on leisure centre reception for eighteen months. I take bookings, handle cash and answer the same questions many times without sounding bored. When a class is cancelled, I explain it calmly to frustrated customers. I was trusted to train two newer staff on the booking system, which I enjoyed. Outside work, I orienteer with a local club and help run the junior section. I keep the entries spreadsheet up to date and walk courses with nervous beginners. It has nothing to do with business, but it has made me organised and comfortable taking responsibility for others, and it is simply something I love doing at weekends.