Tips for a UCAS personal statement

What is a personal statement?  

A personal statement is the key component of your UCAS application as it is your first and best chance to introduce yourself to the admission panel by talking about your experience, your ambitions for the future and the skills that make you an outstanding student. Think of it as a presentation card or cover letter. 

So what should you write about?  

In one word: yourself. Universities or colleges need to see what makes you a suitable candidate for their institution. You must use the same personal statement for all of them, so do not mention any university specific names. You should also include relevant information about your background, academic experience inside and outside school, maths competitions, essay prizes, research projects, clubs you are part of, academic reading you may have done, volunteering, work experience and career plans. Showing problem-solving and critical thinking skills is also great, so perhaps you may want to talk about a global or local problem you would like to address. It is also not a bad idea to research the courses you are interested in, identify key skills and qualities they require students to have or develop and showcase them in your text. 

Personal Circumstances  

Another point you can talk about is personal circumstances such as serious financial, academic or health issues you have faced and have caused you to miss school, negatively affecting your school performance.  

Step by Step 

Once you have a clear idea of the topics you want to write about in your personal statement, you need to plan carefully how to lay out the information so it is well-linked and structured. Candidates often skip this step, thus encountering problems later in the drafting phase.  

Drafting is the next step, in which you need to create a concise and enthusiastic text for the admissions panel. It is your own voice put into writing, so make sure it represents YOU —no wonder it’s called PERSONAL statement. Be careful not to sound too vague nor repetitive when elaborating on ideas. We want to keep the information as clear and relevant as possible.  

Once you are happy with the information you selected, now comes the editing stage. This is really hard and candidates again tend to underestimate this step. While punctuation, grammar and vocabulary are naturally very important, editing goes far beyond that. You must read the text from the recipient’s point of view, which is much harder than it sounds. Be your fiercest critic!  

Last but not least, do not feel disheartened if you have already written 5 drafts and you are still not happy. A successful candidate may write well over 20 drafts before achieving perfection. This is a long and time-consuming process that students spend months working on, be patient, your future self will thank you. 

Good luck with your application!