WRITING YOUR UCAS
PERSONAL STATEMENT
THE PURPOSE OF YOUR PERSONAL
STATEMENT
Much of your UCAS form involves factual
information about yourself, the course you have
selected, qualifications etc.
 Your personal statement is your one opportunity
to tell universities why you are suitable for your
chosen course
 You will need to demonstrate the skills and
abilities you have that make you suitable for the
course, as well as your enthusiasm and
commitment to it
 UCAS video clip:
http://www.ucas.ac.uk/students/applying/howtoap
ply/personalstatement/
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PERSONAL STATEMENT – THE BASICS
Up to 4 000 characters including spaces
 47 lines of text, including blank lines if you
choose to include them between paragraphs
 Approximately 600 words

These key points are shown on the ‘technicalities’
section of the ‘My UCAS personal statement’
handout.
WHAT TO INCLUDE
Most courses have an entry profile that you can
view when you use ‘Course Search’ on the UCAS
website
 This states the qualifications and qualities you
need to gain entry onto the course
 Use the entry profile to inform your personal
statement; you need to illustrate that you have
the qualities needed for this course
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WHAT TO INCLUDE
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The key sections you will need to include in your
personal statement are:
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Writing about the course
Skills and achievements
Hobbies and interests
Work experience
Future plans
A summary of the key points is shown in the
‘What to include’ section of the ‘My UCAS
personal statement’ handout.
WRITING ABOUT THE COURSE
Two of the most important things to include are:
 why you're applying for the course you've chosen:
this is particularly important when you're applying for a
subject that you have not studied before. Tell the university
the reasons why that subject interests you, and include
evidence that you understand what's required to study the
course, e.g. if applying for psychology courses, show that
you know how scientific the subject is.
 why you're suitable for the course: tell the universities
the skills and experience you have that will help you to
succeed on the course.
Also think about:
 how your current or previous studies relate to the course(s)
that you have chosen
 any activities that demonstrate your interest in the
course(s)
 why you want to go to university or college.
WRITING ABOUT THE COURSE
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Your personal statement does not strongly support your desire to
study your chosen degree.
 Your personal statement did not show sufficient understanding,
relevance or knowledge about the course you are applying for.
 You failed to demonstrate sufficient knowledge and interest in the
subject in your personal statement.
 There is a lot of competition for places on this course and your
personal statement and experience was not as strong as other
applicants this year.
 Application form (including personal statement, reference and
predicted grades) does not evidence accurate understanding of or
motivation for subject.
 Unsuccessful as you have not expressed a strong enough interest
in the subject area in your personal statement.
This should give you an idea of how important it is to show why
you want to study the course and what you can bring to it especially because it is likely to be compared with other
applicants applying for the same course.
WRITING ABOUT THE COURSE
Select a personal statement from the pack of
sample personal statements you have been given
 Read over the first half of the personal statement
looking particularly for:
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Why the applicant is applying for the course
 Why the applicant is suitable for the course
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Highlight key strengths and weaknesses in
writing about the course, preferably in two
different colours
 You have 5 minutes and can work in a pair
 Feedback
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SKILLS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Universities like to know the types of skills you have that
will help you on the course, or generally at university.
They also like to see if you've been involved in any
accredited or non-accredited achievements. Include:
 non-accredited skills and achievement which you have
gained through activities such as:
 CREST awards
 Duke of Edinburgh Award
 vInspired Awards
 Villiers Park Scholars and Residential Programmes
 Young Enterprise.
SKILLS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
accreditation achieved for any activities in
preparation for higher education, for example
through Headstart courses.
 any other achievements that you are proud of, eg
reaching grade 6 piano or being selected for the
county cricket team.
 positions of responsibility that you hold/have held
both in and out of school, eg 6th Form prefect or
representative for a local charity
Remember that the important thing is to
emphasise the skills you have developed that will
help you on your course.
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HOBBIES AND INTERESTS
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Think about how your hobbies, interests and social
activities demonstrate your skills and abilities. If
there's anything that relates to your course or to the
skills needed to complete a higher education course,
include it - the more evidence the better.
The Assistant Registrar for Undergraduate
Admissions from University of Warwick says that:
'The strongest applicants are those who can link their
extra-curricular activities to their proposed course of
study.' Your statement will be more convincing and
personal if you write about why an experience,
activity or interest makes you a good candidate for
the course. Include enough additional information to
make it interesting and to demonstrate your own
interest. Rather than making a statement such as
HOBBIES AND INTERESTS
'I enjoy badminton' try to provide context and show
what you have learnt
For example:
 'I play badminton twice a week with a club that plays
in local competitions and I play in both singles and
doubles matches. Doubles matches requires good
team working, an ability to support your partner, to
devise a game plan but be able to adapt it as required
and fast reactions. I enjoy the social side of the club
and take responsibility for organising the social
activities and fundraising events. This gives me an
opportunity to develop my organisational and
planning skills. Fitting in all these activities while
keeping up with my academic studies demands good
time management and I think I do that very well.'
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SKILLS AND ACHIEVEMENTS, HOBBIES
AND INTERESTS
Select a personal statement from the pack of
sample personal statements you have been given
 Scan the statement for skills and achievements,
hobbies and interests that will help the applicant
on the course
 Make a note of how the applicant has linked
these to the course they are applying for
 You have 5 minutes and can work in a pair
 Feedback
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WORK EXPERIENCE
Include details of jobs, placements, work experience or
voluntary work, particularly if it's relevant to your chosen
course(s). Try to link any experience to skills or qualities
mentioned in the Entry Profiles. For example, rather than
just saying
 'I spent two weeks working at a department store. I enjoyed
speaking to customers and helping them with their
enquiries'
you could say
 'I spent two weeks managing customer enquiries at a
department store. I learnt how to interact with customers
and handle complaints. The experience highlighted the
importance of positive communication between a business
and its customers, and taught me how to manage difficult
enquiries effectively. I would like to develop this skill
further by studying a degree in public relations.’
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FUTURE PLANS
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If you know what you'd like to achieve after
completing a university course, explain how you
want to use the knowledge and experience that
you gain.
DOS AND DON’TS WHEN WRITING YOUR
PERSONAL STATEMENT
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Do create a list of your ideas before attempting to
write the real thing.
Do expect to produce several drafts before being
totally happy.
Do ask people you trust for their feedback.
Do check university and college prospectuses,
websites and Entry Profiles, as they usually tell you
the criteria and qualities that they want their
students to demonstrate.
Do use your best English and don't let spelling and
grammatical errors spoil your statement.
Do be enthusiastic - if you show your interest in the
course, it may help you get a place.
DOS AND DON’TS WHEN WRITING YOUR
PERSONAL STATEMENT
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Don't feel that you need to use elaborate language. If you try too
hard to impress with long words that you are not confident using,
the focus of your writing may be lost.
Don't say too much about things that are not relevant - if you
think that you are starting to, take a break and come back to your
statement when you feel more focused.
Don't lie - if you exaggerate you may get caught out at interview
when asked to elaborate on an interesting achievement.
Don't rely on a spellchecker as it will not pick up everything proof read as many times as possible.
Don't leave it to the last minute - your statement will seem
rushed and important information could be left out.
Don't expect to be able to write your personal statement whilst
watching TV or surfing the internet - this is your future, so make
the most of the opportunity to succeed.
APPLYING FOR MORE THAN ONE COURSE
You can only write one personal statement, even
if you are applying for a number of different
courses
 It is advisable to pick courses that are closely
related so that you can demonstrate your
enthusiasm, commitment, skills and abilities to
the admissions tutors
 Applicants for Cambridge also complete the SAQ
(Supplementary Application Questionnaire)
which includes an optional additional personal
statement.
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SIMILARITY DETECTION
UCAS use similarity detection software to test all
personal statements
 This helps university and college admission
tutors to judge whether personal statements are
your own work
 This software compares your personal statement
to those previously submitted to UCAS, sample
statements from websites and from those in
books and UCAS guides
 If the level of similarity is 10% or more, the
universities you have applied to may be
informed, which may affect their decision to
interview you or offer you a place
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WHEN TO BEGIN?
WHEN TO BEGIN?
FEEDBACK FROM CURRENT YEAR 13 STUDENTS
“When I started mine I realised that to show my
enthusiasm and commitment to the course I
needed to say what I’d read that was linked to it.
I hadn’t read anything so I had to read a load of
stuff before I could even include it as it might not
have been relevant. Pick what course you want to
do then start extra reading now.”
 “I was applying for an early deadline course and
didn’t start it as early as I should have – it was
stressful getting it completed in time.”
 “Write in PROPER English (no slang, proper
spelling, punctuation and grammar) from your
first draft – if you don’t it takes much longer to
correct it later.”
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WHEN TO BEGIN?
FEEDBACK FROM CURRENT YEAR 13 STUDENTS
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“Don’t just do stuff to include in your personal
statement but do make sure that you have some
extra-curricular interests (get a hobby if you don’t
have any – don’t mention that you were in the Year 7
Football team!) and make sure you link them into the
course you’ve chosen in your personal statement, e.g.
say what skills they’ve helped you develop.”
“I did mine at the end of the holidays (I wasn’t
applying for the early deadline) – it was good to get it
sorted early BUT I didn’t realise how much
accommodation cost at the unis I’d chosen and how
much student loan I could get. If I’d known I would
have applied elsewhere. Make sure you are organised
with your research AND your personal statement.”
FIRST DRAFT
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Spend 10 minutes beginning to draft your
personal statement
Remember, your personal statement should include
the following sections:
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Writing about the course
Skills and achievements
Hobbies and interests
Work experience
Future plans
Start by focussing on the course you are
applying for
If you do not know what course you are applying to,
begin drafting for a course relating to one of your A
Levels
Sharing examples
WHAT NEXT?
Meet with your Higher Ed Tutor before the
summer holidays to discuss the course(s) you are
intending to apply for and to ask any questions
you have regarding your personal statement
 Begin preparation for your application, including
additional reading and arranging work
experience for the summer if necessary
 Write a first draft of your personal statement,
preferably before the summer holidays, so that
your Higher Ed Tutor can give you early feedback
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Good Luck!