Personal Statements

Writing a personal statement

When writing a personal statement, you should use the following structure:

Paragraph 1

Write a little bit about yourself and the type of person you are including your hobbies, interests, and favourite subjects.

Words to describe yourself: Hard working, friendly, outgoing, confident, enthusiastic, punctual, polite, cooperative, trustworthy, honest, team worker, flexible, dependable, reliable, independent.

Paragraph 2

Why you are selecting your chosen course and your possible career aspirations. (Please do not mention the place you are applying as this personal statement cannot be changed to suit different places.)

Possible sentence starters:

I would like to study ....

I am interested in this because .......

I have studied .... at school and ......

I have not studied ..... before but ........

Paragraph 3

Why does this subject interest you? 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.

Paragraph 4

Why do you think you’re suitable for the course(s)? Do you have any particular skills and experience that will help you to succeed on the course(s)? What are your achievements?