[F1 fanatic]

The UCAS Personal Statement is an important part of a university application as it is the only opportunity that you have to write at length about why you want to study the course you are applying for and to set yourself apart from other applicants with the skills and experiences you have to offer. For many people this may be the first time they have had to write an important piece of prose about themselves. TSR has several resources to help you with your statement:

Where should I post?

Drafts/Content from your PS

Any content from your statement, either single sentences or complete drafts should be posted in the private Personal Statement Help forum. Personal Statement Help is a private forum visible only to a selective group of PS Helpers who have all been to university and can review and offer advice on your Personal Statement. For more information on how the forum works please read the Personal Statement Help FAQ DO NOT post your drafts or PS content anywhere else on the site as there is a risk it may be plagiarised.

General questions about Personal Statements

General questions about personal statements, what they should include, style and character/line limits should be posted in this thread. However this first post will attempt to answer many of them so read this before posting.

Subject specific questions

If your query is specific to a particular course or university you are applying to, for example how important books are to a Law Personal Statement, this should go in the appropriate University and University Courses sub-forum. Regulars in these forums are more likely to be able to answer your specific questions.

Before posting your query or draft have a read of the following:

How long can my Personal Statement be?

The UCAS form you fill in using UCAS Apply has both a character and a line limit for the Personal Statement section, and your statement must conform to both:

• Maximum of 4000 characters (including spaces). Generally you probably want to be aiming for 3000-3500 characters to allow room for line breaks and still be within the 47 line limit.
• Maximum of 47 lines, as measured on the UCAS Apply form. The only way to check this is to try inputting your statement into the form and it will tell you how many lines you are using. In MS Word Times New Roman at 12 point, with 3.17cm left and right margins gives a reasonably close approximation for the line count on the UCAS form.

Generally speaking, the 47 line limit is more strict than the 4000 characters and so it is important to check when writing your draft how many lines you are using in addition to how many characters. You don't want to perfect your statement only to find it doesn't fit!

If you enter/submit a statement which is too long then the remaining lines or characters will simply be chopped off the bottom of your statement, even if that is mid sentence or mid word.

Formatting in the UCAS Apply form

The Personal Statement section of the UCAS Apply form will convert any text you enter to a standard format (font size and style). You cannot get around the line limit by writing in a smaller font. You cannot use bold, italic or underline text to emphasise as this will not be retained in the final form.

The form also removes any excess spaces automatically, so if you use tabs or spaces to indent paragraphs this will not be retained in the final form. Similarly double spaces between sentences will become a single space. The only way to separate paragraphs is through a linebreak (pressing return twice) and this will be retained in the final form. Each linebreak is included in your line limit, but if space allows it is recommended that you do this as it makes your statement more readable. Remember an admissions tutor looks at hundreds of statements so you want to make their lives easy!

The formatting is unable to recognise non-conventional characters so you shouldn't use é, á and other accents in your statement. Style also dictates that you should avoid characters like & and numbers (1, 2, 3...) should be written in full (one, two, three...). Once you're happy with your statement and have pasted it into your form and previewed it, read it or print it out before you submit it to check that the formatting is as you expect!

So what's the point of a PS anyway?

The Personal Statement is your opportunity to talk directly to the admissions tutor and to tell them why you want to study the subject you are applying for and why you think you are well suited to studying it. Everything in your PS should therefore relate to:

• Why you are interested in the subject, and why you want to study it further
• What relevant experiences you have both academically and socially and how these experiences give you the necessary skills for study at degree level
• Your diversity as an individual, demonstrating a wide range of interest and experiences.

In addition to this you hope to demonstrate that you have an appreciation of what is required of the course you are applying for, that you have the ability to write in coherent sentences and can form a compelling and focused argument.

Where do I start?

The first thing to do before you begin writing your statement is to think about what it is that the statement requires (see above) and to gain an appreciation of the style/format it should be written in. Many of the resources on the TSR wiki are useful at this early stage:

• Personal Statement Frequently Asked Questions
• Guide to Writing a PS
• Subject specific guides to writing a PS (still a work in progress)
• Example Personal Statements - Old statements submitted by site users to provide a guide to the style and content of a Personal Statement. Don't plagiarise - the statements are referenced by UCAS Copycatch software.
• Reviewed Personal Statements - Example statements reviewed by the PS Helpers to demonstrate good and bad practice in a PS.

Once you have familiarised yourself with the general expectation and style of a PS then you can start to plan your statement. Instead of jumping in and trying to write a first draft, brainstorm your experiences and the skills that you gained from these. Having done this you can write a more structured plan to think about what paragraphs each experience belongs in.

What is the structure of a personal statement?

There is no set structure for a PS, but the most commonly used structure is something like this:

Recommended Structure

• Introduction - This is a more general paragraph which should immediately explain and discuss why you want to study the course at university and why you are interested in the subject. You don't need to demonstrate skills or list experiences at this stage.
• Section 1 - This should discuss your academic experiences. Discuss your relevant A-levels and how these have inspired you and what you find interesting about them. Try to give specific examples of things you have enjoyed studying. You don't need to discuss every A-level you do and you don't need to list your A-levels, since these are elsewhere in your application.
• Section 2 - Continuing with academic interests you should discuss your interest in the subject outside of the classroom, so summer schools or open days you have attended, books you have read or relevant experience to your discipline. Again specific details of what you did and how this makes you a better/more motivated candidate are good. When discussing books try to avoid name dropping and instead discuss aspects of the book you have enjoyed reading or have been inspired by.
• Section 3 - Discuss any work experiences, relevant or otherwise, with particular focus on how the experiences have enabled you to develop relevant skills for the course. This is an opportunity to show appreciation of what skills the course requires.
• Section 4 - Include hobbies and extra-curricular activities in a paragraph again with focus on skills. Sport, music and voluntary work are all good examples and help to show that you are a diverse person outside of the classroom. Avoid more mundane hobbies like socialising with friends, watching tv, playing computer games or stamp collecting.
• Conclusion - The conclusion should be brief (1-2 sentences) but should summarise and reiterate you interest in the subject and your aptitude and skill for it. This is also a good place to discuss any future career aspirations, but if you don't have any then you don't need to mention it.

This structure is only a guide and will be dependent both on the subject you are applying for and your own experiences. You may have lots of work experience or you may not and so the exact structure is unique to you.

How much of my statement should be extra-curricular activities and how much academic?

The rule of thumb is that your statement should be approximately 2/3 academic and 1/3 extra-curricular. Your application is for an academic course and so should focus primarily on your academic abilities and experiences. Extra-curricular activities show diversity and provide a good opportunity to discuss the transferable skills you have developed. However, these should still be discussed with regard to how these pursuits make you well-suited to studying the course. These hobbies should not take up more than 1-2 paragraphs in your statement.

Can I include quotes in my statement?

You can, but use them sparingly. Using a quotation doesn't make you intelligent and it's not personal to you. It's quite possible that many other applicants have used the same quotation. As a general rule, quotes should only be used where they are used to show an interest in the subject and should be discussed. Don't just put a quote in because you like it or because it sounds intelligent. You might like to look at this thread, especially post #15, for more advice on this.

How important is work experience?

The importance of work experience depends on the course you are applying for. If you are applying to a course like medicine or a vocational subject then relevant work experience is very important and should be used to highlight the skills you have shown and developed which are important on the course (bedside manner for example in the case of medicine). For a more theoretical subject like mathematics it is very hard to get relevant work experience and it is not expected.

Can I mention my module marks in my statement?

There's nothing to stop you mentioning module marks if they are particularly good, but things like this are actually better going in your reference from your school which accompanies your application and you can ask them to mention it. Other things which are better in your reference:

• Extenuating circumstances as to why you did badly in a particular module/GCSEs/AS levels
• Reasons why you didn't take particular courses (for example because your school didn't offer it.
• Background of your school - if your school wasn't the best and you were surrounded by troublesome classmates don't put it in your PS, get it mentioned in your reference.
• Virtuous qualities - avoid saying things like "I am a dedicated and committed student who will be an asset to your university." or "I was the best student in my year". These just make you sound arrogant and presumptuous and should be discussed in your reference. When discussing personality traits in your statement show rather than state, giving examples of where you have demonstrated these qualities.

How do I write a statement for joint honours or multiple subjects?

It can be hard to write a statement if you are applying for multiple subjects because you need to show dedication to both. This is a lot easier if the two are closely related in which case you can focus on the aspects that they have in common. It's less of an issue for common joint honours disciplines, as other universities will be more forgiving if you have applied for PPE and then economics elsewhere.

If you are applying to very different subjects because you can't decide which you want to do then you may be better off narrowing down your options earlier rather than later. You will have to decide sooner or later and spreading yourself thinly across many disciplines can actually harm your application to each of them. For example if you apply to Veterinary Science and History, it will be no surprise if neither the vets or the historians are particularly impressed by your lack of commitment.

What about Personal Statements for foreign universities?

These may be different to the UK style of application. American Personal Statements in particular are written in a very different style and you should seek separate advice for these kinds of application.

Refining your Personal Statement

Having written your first draft, check it over thoroughly for spelling and grammatical errors. Get as many people to look over it as you can - parents, teachers, family, friends and remember you can also submit a draft to Personal Statement Help for a review by the PS helpers. You may end up going through many many drafts, but sometimes this is necessary. Sometimes it can also help to take some time away from writing it. You will come back afresh with a new perspective and maybe see things that you didn't before. You may receive lots of advice but at the end of the day it is down to you to decide what to change and what to put in because it is your personal statement.

How important is a Personal Statement anyway?

The personal statement is just one aspect of your application and will be considered along with your A-level results and predicted grades (or equivalent qualifications), your GCSEs, your reference and any interviews that you attend. You are unlikely to be offered a place solely on the basis of your personal statement but you can certainly lose a place if you write a bad one. In many ways you have more to lose than to gain from writing one and so the key is tick the boxes as best you can without trying to be revolutionary.

How does the UCAS Plagiarism software work?

UCAS use a piece of software called Copycatch which scans your statement against a library of previously submitted statements and online resources, such as the TSR Wiki. If there is a greater than 10% similarity between your statement and another then it will be flagged for a member of UCAS staff to investigate. They will then decide whether they believe the statement has been plagiarised and if they think it has will notify both you and the university. If your statement is judged to have been plagiarised then your application will not automatically be voided, it will be up to the university to decide whether they still wish to consider your application. More details of how the software works can be found here.

The plagiarism software is not something to worry about. If you don't cheat then there is very little chance of your statement being flagged and even less chance that the member of staff will decide to progress it further. Please note that plagiarism and asking for help are not the same thing. UCAS expects and encourages you to seek advice from family, friends and online resources such as the PS Helper service. The key point is that when writing it, it should be your own words.

I'm reapplying, can I use the same statement as last year?

In a word, yes you can. For the purposes of UCAS you cannot self-plagiarise. While it is very likely that in submitting the same PS it will be flagged as a match by the Copycatch anti-plagiarism software, it will be discounted by the investigating member of UCAS staff when they see that the two statements were written by the same individual. The universities will not be informed of the fact it matched and it will not affect your application. However, you may want to think about changing your statement for other reasons. Doubtless your circumstances have chances since you applied the first time and you may have more experiences worth mentioning in your statement.

[jenna109]

I'm applying for law. My personal statement is due in October. What's the percentage breakdown of what we should talk about in our personal statement? I forgot. I think it was 50% academics, 25% why you want to study in the UK (I am an international student), and 25% other (co-curriculars, leadership etc).
And if I send my personal statement to the PS helper forum, will it definitely be confidential? How do I know if the person who is reading it won't give it to his/her little sister to copy when she applies?

[LH123]

I heard if you don't get these exact percentages, you get rejected:

Academic: 63.7546%
Extra-Curriculars: 12.5432%
Why you want to study in the UK: 23.7028%

[jenna109]

Wow that is extremely exact...O yea, i think I heard the rounded up version of that.

1. If i did a summer course about law, does that count as academics or no?
2. How about why I want to study law? where does that fit in...does that go into why i want to study law in the UK?
3. if i read several books about the law (during my free time) where does that fit in? is that co-curriculars? should i state exactly which books i read? how am i going to fit this and co-curriculars in 23.708% oh my god.

**I am applying to Cambridge by the way.
4. Does that mean I should make it even more academic...to 70%?
5. What's considered academic other than saying "oh i have high marks" etc.?

[DAFOne]

I read somewhere that Cambridge and Oxford applications should be more academics based than the others.

Anyway, look on the UCAS website, they do give quite good advice about how to write personal statements.

[jenna109]

Originally Posted by DAFOne

I read somewhere that Cambridge and Oxford applications should be more academics based than the others.

Anyway, look on the UCAS website, they do give quite good advice about how to write personal statements.

Haha I'm from Canada too (for now). Ya I've read the UCAS advice several times...

[DAFOne]

Originally Posted by jenna109

Haha I'm from Canada too (for now). Ya I've read the UCAS advice several times...

So what are you studying? Where? (if you don't mind sharing)

I'm doing law at Birmingham

[jenna109]

Originally Posted by DAFOne

So what are you studying? Where? (if you don't mind sharing)

I'm doing law at Birmingham

I'm applying for 2010 entry. Cambridge, LSE, UCL, KCL and Warwick for law.

[DAFOne]

I had a conditional from KCL but I didn't get the grades

Also, saying this from experience, start preparing for the LNAT as soon as you can (its hard!) and if you have any questions about it, feel free to PM me (I might be able to help)...

[jenna109]

Originally Posted by DAFOne

I had a conditional from KCL but I didn't get the grades

Also, saying this from experience, start preparing for the LNAT as soon as you can (its hard!) and if you have any questions about it, feel free to PM me (I might be able to help)...

I'm really scared for the LNAT..don't know when I'm writing it. Since Cambridge doesn't need the LNAT this year, my guidance counsellor said I can write it later since most universities don't do rolling admission...I'm not sure if should trust my guidance counsellor lol. English is like my worst subject ah. Did you do the IB or AP, or just the diploma of whatever province you live in?
I've done the LNAT prep test online and some from the thin blue book and some LSAT...given up on it for a bit, taking a rest, it's summer. Keep on getting like 14-16/30 for the LNAT practice tests. Haven't done that official LNAT book (the thicker darker blue book) yet.

[Noble.]

Originally Posted by jenna109

I'm really scared for the LNAT..don't know when I'm writing it. Since Cambridge doesn't need the LNAT this year, my guidance counsellor said I can write it later since most universities don't do rolling admission...I'm not sure if should trust my guidance counsellor lol. English is like my worst subject ah. Did you do the IB or AP, or just the diploma of whatever province you live in?
I've done the LNAT prep test online and some from the thin blue book and some LSAT...given up on it for a bit, taking a rest, it's summer. Keep on getting like 14-16/30 for the LNAT practice tests. Haven't done that official LNAT book (the thicker darker blue book) yet.

If English really is one of your worst subjects you should probably think twice about reading Law.

[jenna109]

Originally Posted by Noble.

If English really is one of your worst subjects you should probably think twice about reading Law.

Yes, it's a bit weird. I'm better at sciences.

[DAFOne]

Originally Posted by jenna109

I'm really scared for the LNAT..don't know when I'm writing it. Since Cambridge doesn't need the LNAT this year, my guidance counsellor said I can write it later since most universities don't do rolling admission...I'm not sure if should trust my guidance counsellor lol. English is like my worst subject ah. Did you do the IB or AP, or just the diploma of whatever province you live in?
I've done the LNAT prep test online and some from the thin blue book and some LSAT...given up on it for a bit, taking a rest, it's summer. Keep on getting like 14-16/30 for the LNAT practice tests. Haven't done that official LNAT book (the thicker darker blue book) yet.

Nah, I just had my CEGEP diploma - no advanced placements, enriched programs or anything of the kind (I'm just too lazy). I did have great SATs though so that might have helped a bit.

As for the LNAT you just have to practice and (don't panic) the actual test was a bit harder than the practice ones.

Also, do you have to take the 'Cambridge test' or is that starting only the following year?

[jenna109]

Originally Posted by DAFOne

Nah, I just had my CEGEP diploma - no advanced placements, enriched programs or anything of the kind (I'm just too lazy). I did have great SATs though so that might have helped a bit.

As for the LNAT you just have to practice and (don't panic) the actual test was a bit harder than the practice ones.

Also, do you have to take the 'Cambridge test' or is that starting only the following year?

Yup I have to take the Cambridge Test. Kinda nervous for that too. I looked at the exemplar questions and actually didn't even understand the terms they used in the quesion...how will I be able to write an essay then lol?

[F1 fanatic]

Originally Posted by jenna109

I'm applying for law. My personal statement is due in October. What's the percentage breakdown of what we should talk about in our personal statement? I forgot. I think it was 50% academics, 25% why you want to study in the UK (I am an international student), and 25% other (co-curriculars, leadership etc).
And if I send my personal statement to the PS helper forum, will it definitely be confidential? How do I know if the person who is reading it won't give it to his/her little sister to copy when she applies?

Yeah that sounds about right, the emphasis should certainly be on the academics rather than anything else, maybe even a little higher than 50% but there is no exact figure it depends what you have to talk about.

In answer to the question about the PS Helper forum, the forum itself is private so only the helpers and the moderators can see all the threads. All of these helpers have had to prove they are at university, but at the end of the day I can't provide you with a guarantee you they won't give it to brothers and sisters, you just have to trust us. It's just a risk you take, as you do in showing it to anyone! It's safer than sticking it elsewhere on the internet for sure.

[jismith1989]

10% Perspiration
90% Ostentation

[Abara]

If u have joined the red cross, done projects for history/literature, helped at a museum, kindergarten, homeless shelter, charity stuff, children library, that would be much better than saying - I have only As.

Try finding smth more colorful :>

If u have studied other languages, even for a week or two, write it down. I've studied Latin for 1, 2 but I said I was remarkable learner ~ And I'm awful at German, but at the personal statement I was brilliant ~

But~ U r going to Cambridge...so I doubt u haven't written all of the above :>

[jabed786]

55% what interests you about it, 35% what youve learned from your extracurricular and work experience - make sure its relevant to your course. And 10% what you hope to gain from studying in the UK.

Thats my view anyway.

[xmarilynx]

Originally Posted by jenna109

And if I send my personal statement to the PS helper forum, will it definitely be confidential? How do I know if the person who is reading it won't give it to his/her little sister to copy when she applies?

UCAS is pretty hot on anti-plagiarism right now, so if someone copied your ps directly they and the universities would know.

"The new system, Copycatch, will compare every application submitted for entry next year with thousands posted on websites and 1.5 million from previous years. If three sentences or more - 10 per cent of the statement - appear to have been copied, the form will be passed to staff for further scrutiny."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/se...ighereducation

[kironkabir]

Hey there!

Erm, if you've started doing your UCAS form, or already in Uni, then you'll know what I'm talking about.

Take a look at the link: http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...kabir/ERGO.jpg

I'll post this thread somewhere else as well.