Mature Student Personal Statement Examples

A mature student personal statement for university should describe your motivations for wanting to study a particular subject at university. It tells the admissions tutors who you are and why you will make a great candidate on their course.

Whether you're applying for an undergraduate or postgraduate course, it's crucial you present yourself in the best possible light to convince the university you will be a valuable asset to their department.

As a mature student, you are likely to have the advantage of  more experience than those who have just left school or college, so don't be put off from applying!

We recommend you start your mature student personal statement by jotting down some notes about your skills, experience, hobbies/extracurricular activities, strengths and ambitions for the future.

As mentioned earlier, you probably have more experience to draw on than students that have just completed their A-levels (or similar qualifications).

However, it's important to only include life experience that is relevant to your degree - remember that your statement needs to stay focussed, and not become overwhelmed with too much detail.

Our personal statement template can help you structure your thoughts into coherent and concise paragraphs.

Many mature students like to open their personal statement with why they became interested in their chosen subject, and their motivations for wanting to pursue a degree in it.

However, this doesn't mean you have to do the same - just try to make the first sentence or two interesting enough that the admissions tutors want to read on.

Start drafting your statement early and give yourself plenty of time to revise and improveyour statement, and proofread it for spelling and grammar. You will need to go through at least three or four revisions before you have a final, polished draft.

Once you're happy with it, make sure you check it for spelling and grammar (don't just rely on Spellchecker for this). Get someone else to read through it if you're worried you might miss something. You can then think about pasting it into your UCAS form, ready to submit.

To write a successful personal statement as a mature student, we recommend:

1. Talk about why you want to go to university now (rather than earlier, when you left school/college). Perhaps this had always been your plan, but if you can put your decision into context, then it helps the admissions tutors get a better idea of who you are and your motivations.
2. Show universities evidence of recent formal study you have undertaken. This can include anything from an Access to HE course or NVQ, to job training courses or a Diploma. This shows that you're committed to academic achievements and are ready for the next step.
3. Write about your wider reading, hobbies/interests, work experience and anything else that demonstrates a degree in your chosen subject is the next logical step in your career plan. Make sure you do your homework and know what's involved in this - tutors want to see you have done your research.
4. Be specific and try to give examples of your skills, such as analytical, communication, research, team work, IT, and problem solving, all of which are important in a degree.
5. Tailor your statement if you’re applying for a joint honours, e.g. business and computing, so you relate it to both of these subjects.
6. Include any relevant work experience. For example, a law personal statement might mention a role of responsibility, such as leader of your student debating society school or head boy/girl at your sixth form. Or for an economics and finance personal statement, you could mention managing money or a budget at one of your jobs, and what you learned from it.
7. Any hobbies or other activities you are involved in, either at school/college or later on, should always be linked to your degree programme. If you don't feel something is relevant, then don't mention it - remember you only have a limited space of 4,000 characters, so every word has to earn its place.
8. Round off your statement by talking about your ambitions and where you hope your degree will take you in the future. However, be aware that this might involve juggling various other commitments such as childcare or a part-time job, so make sure the tutors know you are aware of these addeded pressures.
9. Remember to be honest throughout your statement, and make it personal. This means using your own voice and being transparent about your reasons for wanting to studying for a degree (it doesn't always have to be for a career change - maybe you just want to excel in this subject for your own personal development).

For more help and advice on what to write in your mature student personal statement, please see:

• Top Rated Personal Statements
• Personal Statement Editing Services
• Personal Statement Tips From A Teacher
• Analysis Of A Personal Statement
• The 15th January UCAS Deadline: 4 Ways To Avoid Missing It
• Personal Statement FAQs
• Personal Statement Template
• Personal Statement Timeline
• 10 Top Personal Statement Writing Tips
• What To Do If You Miss The 15th January UCAS Deadline.

There are lots of great resources out there with in-depth advice on applying to university as a mature student. These include:

• Studential Mature Student Guide
• UCAS Mature undergraduate students
• UCAS Undergraduate For Mature Students
• The Complete University Guide for Mature Students
• UCAS Mature Students' Guide