Personal Statements

Your personal statement should be unique, so there’s no definite format for you to follow here – just take your time. Here are some guidelines for you to follow, but remember your personal statement needs to be ‘personal’. 

Write in an enthusiastic, concise, and natural style – nothing too complex. 

Try to stand out, but be careful with humour, quotes, or anything unusual – just in case the admissions tutor doesn’t have the same sense of humour as you. 

Structure your info to reflect the skills and qualities the unis and colleges value most.

Check the character and line limit – you have 4,000 characters and 47 lines. Some word processors get different values if they don’t count tabs and paragraph spacing as individual characters. Do show you know your strengths, and outline your ideas clearly. 

Do be enthusiastic this section – if you show you’re interested in the course, it may help you get a place. 

Do expect to produce several drafts of your personal statement before being totally happy with it.  Do ask people you trust for their feedback .

The personal statement is an important part of your UCAS application. It’s your chance to describe your ambitions, skills, and experience to university and college admissions staff.  You should create yours on Unifrog so the sixth form team can work on it with you before the final version is submitted  to UCAS. 

A personal statement supports your application to study at a university or college. It’s a chance for you to articulate why you’d like to study a particular course or subject, and what skills and experience you possess that show your passion for your chosen field. 

You. You’re telling admissions staff why you’re suitable to study at their university or college. 

It’s important to remember you can only write one personal statement – it’s the same for each course you apply for. So, avoid mentioning any universities or colleges by name. 

If you’ve chosen similar subjects, talk about the subject in general, and try not to mention courses titles. If you’ve chosen a variety of subjects, just write about common themes, like problem solving or creativity. 

Look at course descriptions and identify the qualities, skills, and experience it requires – you can use these to help you decide what to write about. 

Tell the reader why you’re applying – include your ambitions, as well as what interests you about the subject, the course provider, and higher education. 

Think about what makes you suitable – this could be relevant experience, skills, or achievements you’ve gained from education, work, or other activities. 

Include any clubs or societies you belong to – sporting, creative, or musical. 

Mention any relevant employment experience or volunteering you’ve done. 

If you took part in a higher education taster course, placement, or summer school, or something similar, include it.