The Personal Statement
The Personal Statement is the part of the UCAS application which allows a student to market themselves to university admissions tutors. You can write up to 47 lines and no more than 4000 characters including punctuation and spaces. The one statement covers all choices and you should be aiming to write as near to the limit as you can.
It needs to be a well thought out, structured statement which will impress and convey your potential to study the chosen course.
There is no right or wrong way to approach this – but it does need to be your own work – UCAS have introduced software to detect copying. Aside from this, admissions tutors are interested in you.
Where to start.
The main question to answer is why you have chosen to study a particular subject or subjects. The balance of the statement should generally be about 75-80% academic, as this is the most important aspect, although for more vocational subjects such as sport, teaching and medicine etc., more detail will be needed about the student's experience and achievements directly relating to the subject.
If you have decided to apply for different subjects at different institutions it is sensible to get some advice about how to approach writing the statement.
It is advisable to word-process the statement and cut and paste it when completed. It will take several drafts to get right.
Points to identify:
What you want to study at university and why
Specific aspects of the course/s that are of interest
Aspects of current studies that you particularly enjoy
Extra involvement with the chosen subject(s).
Relevant work experience or voluntary work and what was learnt from it
Personal experiences which led to the decision to take this subject
Where it is hoped a degree in this subject will lead.
The other aspect of the Personal Statement focuses on achievements outside the classroom - interests, hobbies, community work and so on. It is important not only to list them but to highlight what was gained from the experience.
Things to consider are:
Positions of responsibility:
Prefect duties
Helping out at school events and open days.
Young Enterprise, World Challenge, Duke of Edinburgh award, Debating societies and so on and what was gained from these experiences.
Part-time job
Community and charity work
Interests and skills
Sport and leisure activities
Clubs and societies you are involved in
Musical instruments played and levels of achievement
Subjects studied which are not examined
Languages spoken
Prizes won or positions achieved in interests
It is advisable to outline any plans for your career or for a gap year (especially if applying for deferred entry).
Language
It is vital that the statement does not contain mistakes in spelling, punctuation or grammar. Do not rely on the computer spell checker – it does not always pick up errors such as ‘there’ and ‘their’ for example.
In addition, use plain simple English – many students suddenly start using flowery, poetic language - to be avoided.
Essentials
Take the time and structure the statement well
Don’t embellish or lie
Don't mention a specific university in the statement - the other 4 choices won't be impressed!
Check spelling
There are lots of websites offering advice and examples and even offering to write the statement for a fee, but it is important that nothing is copied as (as mentioned above) UCAS takes plagiarism very seriously, scanning each statement with CopyCatch software. Ultimately this could result in the student not getting their place at university.
If you need more help there is a link to the UCAS personal statement writing tool here
It needs to be a well thought out, structured statement which will impress and convey your potential to study the chosen course.
There is no right or wrong way to approach this – but it does need to be your own work – UCAS have introduced software to detect copying. Aside from this, admissions tutors are interested in you.
Where to start.
The main question to answer is why you have chosen to study a particular subject or subjects. The balance of the statement should generally be about 75-80% academic, as this is the most important aspect, although for more vocational subjects such as sport, teaching and medicine etc., more detail will be needed about the student's experience and achievements directly relating to the subject.
If you have decided to apply for different subjects at different institutions it is sensible to get some advice about how to approach writing the statement.
It is advisable to word-process the statement and cut and paste it when completed. It will take several drafts to get right.
Points to identify:
What you want to study at university and why
Specific aspects of the course/s that are of interest
Aspects of current studies that you particularly enjoy
Extra involvement with the chosen subject(s).
Relevant work experience or voluntary work and what was learnt from it
Personal experiences which led to the decision to take this subject
Where it is hoped a degree in this subject will lead.
The other aspect of the Personal Statement focuses on achievements outside the classroom - interests, hobbies, community work and so on. It is important not only to list them but to highlight what was gained from the experience.
Things to consider are:
Positions of responsibility:
Prefect duties
Helping out at school events and open days.
Young Enterprise, World Challenge, Duke of Edinburgh award, Debating societies and so on and what was gained from these experiences.
Part-time job
Community and charity work
Interests and skills
Sport and leisure activities
Clubs and societies you are involved in
Musical instruments played and levels of achievement
Subjects studied which are not examined
Languages spoken
Prizes won or positions achieved in interests
It is advisable to outline any plans for your career or for a gap year (especially if applying for deferred entry).
Language
It is vital that the statement does not contain mistakes in spelling, punctuation or grammar. Do not rely on the computer spell checker – it does not always pick up errors such as ‘there’ and ‘their’ for example.
In addition, use plain simple English – many students suddenly start using flowery, poetic language - to be avoided.
Essentials
Take the time and structure the statement well
Don’t embellish or lie
Don't mention a specific university in the statement - the other 4 choices won't be impressed!
Check spelling
There are lots of websites offering advice and examples and even offering to write the statement for a fee, but it is important that nothing is copied as (as mentioned above) UCAS takes plagiarism very seriously, scanning each statement with CopyCatch software. Ultimately this could result in the student not getting their place at university.
If you need more help there is a link to the UCAS personal statement writing tool here