UCAS Personal Statement

What is a university personal statement?

A personal statement is part of your application to study at a UK university. In a personal statement, the student writes about what they hope to achieve on the course, what they hope to do after the course and why they are applying to this particular university. It is your first chance to show a demonstrable passion and understanding of your chosen subject away from exam results.

How long should my personal statement be?

The length of a personal statement varies depending on the university, but generally the average length for an undergraduate application is between 400-600 words, around one side of A4 paper or a maximum of 47 lines. Certain postgraduate programmes may require a 1000 word personal statement, but this will be clearly specified.

Try not to go over the given character limit as admissions officers have many personal statements to go through, and a clearly written and concise personal statement is more likely to stand out.

What to include in your personal statement

Your career aspirations
How you became interested in studying the subject
What, if any, relevant work experience you have undertaken that is related to the course or subject
What aspects of your previous education you have found the most interesting
What attracted you to the particular university
Other relevant academic interests and passions which display positive character and personality

Genuine experiences of extra-curricular clubs, work experience or knowledge around a subject are much more likely to make your personal statement stand out, while admissions officers are also for looking for positive evidence of your character which will make you a productive member of the university.

Common personal statement errors

The personal statement is too short/long
The personal statement does not include important information/includes negative information
The personal statement has a confusing structure

It is also important to not lie about any aspect of your personal life and education history, or even exaggerate. Admissions officers will question you about almost all aspects of your application and are more than adept at getting to the bottom of any non-truths.