UCAS Personal Statement Tips

Applying through UCAS to a University this year? A personal statement is a key part of the application process.

This personal statement is your chance to prove yourself to a potential university, and a chance to talk about the unique experiences and opportunities that you have had that will make you perfect for a course.

Here are five tips that will help you to create a personal statement that really stands out from the crowd.

Preparation is key

Before you start writing, think about why you are applying for the course and what the course can bring to you personally. You need to have a good mix of practical reasons as well as what makes you different to everyone else that will be applying.

Don’t worry about making these notes and ideas perfect as this is more of a task to help you understand fully why you should be offered a place.

Take some time to research the university, the course and what things they would like in a student.

Don’t overthink your introduction

Start off your personal statement by showing off why you love the subject and what you want to achieve. Avoid cliches as you want to be able to impress the person reading it and not put them off.

Make sure to keep the intro relevant and simple as you are limited on how many words it can be.

Include your work experience and future plans

Universities want to see that you are studying on their course as you are interested and not just picking it as an option for the sake of it.

Including relevant work experience and what your plans are for the future are a great way of telling the applications team just who you are and why you would be a great fit.

If you don’t know what you to want to do in the future than that isn’t an issue. Just focus on what ideas you may have had or what you hope to learn from the course with current knowledge.

Don’t exaggerate your skills

Some people may add skills they don’t know or experiences they haven’t had as a way of seeming like a great choice for the university. If you go for an interview chances are that you will be asked more about what your personal statement includes.

This means that you will be caught out if you lie and will actually work against you. Universities would rather their applicants be honest.

Get feedback

If you aren’t sure how your personal statement looks, make sure that you get some feedback about it. You can show it to our careers team or one of our tutors for example who will know what you makes you unique and will be able to see whether they think your statement matches who you are.

It is also good to have someone else read it as they may be able to spot any spelling or grammar mistakes that you have missed.

Want some more help with your personal statement?