Personal statement frequently asked questions

We’ve produced this little guide to ease the pain of writing a personal statement for your UCAS form. Most of the guide is just general opinion rather than solid fact, so there are no guarantees of its’ accuracy and you can't sue us if you follow it and get rejected from your chosen universities. Legal stuff aside, we hope you find it useful, and please let us know if you have any comments.

When should I start writing my personal statement?

It's never too early to start thinking about it! Though you probably want a good idea of what course you're going to apply for before you launch in to actually writing the thing. On the other hand don't leave it too late; you'll probably need a few weeks to write it and a week or so to get a reference written. As a general guide I'd say start writing it when you come back after the summer, though it might be worth jotting down a few ideas during the holidays.

How long can the personal statement be?

There's no word limit if that's what you're asking. Instead you have a certain amount of space to use however you want. If you really want a rough estimate you can expect to get between 300 to 500 words on the page though this will vary depending on a lot of things. The electronic application system (EAS), works slightly differently and you have less control over the space you use. If you handwrite your statement there are a whole bunch of tricks you can use to get more space.

Where do I start?

Most people won't be able to just start writing the statement off the top of their head - so it's a good idea to jot down a few notes first. The main things to think about are: what you want to study, why do you want to study it? Personal qualities, interests and experience that show you are suited to this subject and to study at university. These are the two main things to start with, if this still doesn't help you can look at a few more detailed starting points. Many people have trouble writing about themselves and their personal qualities, so if you're having trouble pop down to a library or bookstore and get a book out on writing CVs which will go into this process in much more depth.

What are admissions tutors looking for?

Hopefully the sorts of things you've written about for the part above! Obviously the things admissions tutors are looking for will differ but in general: "Do we want this student on this course?" And "Do we want this student at this university?" the idea of your personal statement is to show this, so once you've written it have a read though and see if it answers these questions. Individual universities and departments often publish information on applying and writing personal statements, so surfing the admissions part of their website should turn up more specific information on exactly what they're looking for.

What's the most important part?

From my days of GCSE English, I would say either the beginning or the end. A good first sentence will get the reader interested and ensure they actually read your statement rather than skim it. A good ending will ensure the reader remembers your statement - it probably also helps to have a good middle as well. The first line is probably the thing to work on - most people put their reasons for studying the subject at the top, and this is generally regarded to be the most important bit of the statement.

How do I write it for two different courses?

There's no easy way to write a personal statement for two totally unrelated courses. If the courses are similar (i.e. business studies and economics) you may find you can write a statement relevant to both without mentioning either subject by name. If the courses are totally unrelated it may be impossible to write for both subjects without your personal statement sounding vague and unfocused. Instead you will need to concentrate on just one subject and just ignore the other - it sometimes works!

Should I talk about what I want to do after university?

You could, but only if you have a good idea of what you want to do. If you sound sure about what you want to do after university, it gives the impression that you've thought carefully about your course and what you want to do with it. It is also a nice way to round off your statement, rather than just finishing on less important stuff like extra curricular activities. If you don't have any future plans then leave it out - you don't want to be asked about them at interviews.

What sort of structure should I use?

Most people write their personal statement in an essay style, usually starting off with the course and why they want to do it, then talking about their relevant work experience and skills and finishing off with extra curricular activities - though you can use any style which fits you. As a guide spend around 50% of the space talking about your course and how you're suited to it and 50% on your work experience and other activities. Exactly how you write your statement depends on your subject generally people write more about work experience for vocational subjects like medicine and law than they would for maths or English where work experience is less important.

Is it worth doing loads of extra-curricular stuff to make it sound good?

There's no point doing extra things just to try and make yourself look good to universities - you won't enjoy it and it probably won't help much either. From what I've seen an interest and aptitude for the course is more important to admissions tutors than lots of extra curricular activities. If you do want to do something to boost your application, read relevant books or do work experience related to the subject instead.

Should I lie on the personal statement?

Only if you think you need to - and you can get away with it. Most people seem to embellish the truth slightly, especially when it comes to extra-curricular activities, so you may be at a slight disadvantage if you don't. However there should be no reason you need to lie and you could easily become unstuck if asked about something at an interview. If you do lie make sure it's about something small that you can comfortably talk about. Don't lie about reading books related to your subject - chances are the interviewer will have read them and may use them as a source of easy questions.

Should I talk about my qualifications?

No. There's already a section on the UCAS form for this, so don't waste the space on your personal statement. If you have something important which doesn't go in the qualifications section, ask your referee to put it down in your reference - it will sound better if it comes from them than from you.

Where can I see some example personal statements?

Type "xxxx personal statement" into Google, where xxxx is the subject you're applying for - many kind people put their personal statements on the internet where you can take a look at them. If you're just looking for general guidance, there are around 700 example statements on the personal statements page.

What should I do now I've written it?

Ask for opinions on it! Show it to your friends, parents, teachers, career advisors, etc and note down their comments. The most useful comments are likely to come from your teachers in the subject and the people at your school or college who handle UCAS applications. If you have enough, time leave your personal statement for a couple of weeks to a month and come back to it - if you're not still happy with what you wrote, it's time to start redrafting.

Should I post my personal statement online?

It's generally not a good idea to post it on an internet forum or discussion board as anyone can steal information off a website and pass it off as their own, and with something as important as a personal statement you don't want that to happen. You should be ok sending it to people you trust by email - see the next question for a better way of getting people to look at it.

Can someone take a look at my personal statement?

To get people to look at your personal statement without the risk of plagiarism visit the personal statement review section. It's a small community of university students who will look at your personal statement and offer advice without you needing to show the personal statement to everyone on the internet. You can also get people to look at it by asking nicely on the forums (without actually posting your statement) and a few members should be able to help you.

A few last tips

What have you done, relevant to your subject, that is unique and no one else is likely to put down? Many people have the same old boring interests and work experience - you need something to separate you from the crowd, and while it's a gamble to make an individual personal statement, anything individual you do related to your chosen field can only look good. Have a think - what makes you so special? If you can't think of anything then you can't complain if you get rejected!

Finally, remember it's your personal statement, and you can write whatever you want on it. If everything in this guide conflicts with what you've got already but you think you still have a killer personal statement, then use that. A personal statement is about you, and you shouldn't let anyone tell you what to put - sticking blindly to the formula mentioned here will just stop your true personality showing through.

I'm looking for something a bit more in-depth.

Try looking through our personal statement guide. This takes you through how to write a personal statement step-by-step and goes into far more detail than this short Q and A section does.