Second year personal statement

I had good grades at my current uni so I want to transfer to a better one. Just wondering, if I use the personal statement I used last year (with some slight changes), will it be picked up by the plagiarism checker?

Reply 1

thehistorybore

Original post by SancaBoat

Very possibly. Also, wouldnt you have more to add?

Reply 2

SancaBoat

Original post by thehistorybore

Very possibly. Also, wouldnt you have more to add?

I added a bit about my first year at my current uni, but other than that, not really. My views and etc haven't changed. I think my PS is pretty good right now, that's why I wouldn't really want to rewrite it. Kinda funny being reported for "plagiarising" your own work though.

Reply 3

Snufkin

Universities Forum Helper

Yes, but it won't matter. UCAS staff will be able to see that you're just reusing your old statement so it won't be counted as plagiarism. You should try to add something new to the PS, admissions tutors will want to know what you've done in the year since you wrote it.

Reply 4

undercxver

That's not considered as plagiarism because it's your own work. It's completely fine to do that.

Reply 5

SancaBoat

Original post by _I_

That's not considered as plagiarism because it's your own work. It's completely fine to do that.

Yeah, my fear is that if the checker is completely automated, it will still be picked up regardless.

Reply 6

undercxver

Original post by SancaBoat

Yeah, my fear is that if the checker is completely automated, it will still be picked up regardless.

For your assurance I'll tell you that I am currently reapplying for UCAS (on a gap year) and I was confused whether I could use my own personal statement from last year with a few bits edited. So I called up UCAS asking if it would be okay for me to do that and they told me that it's my own work so it's fine.

You can call them up if you like, this is the link to their contact us page.

Reply 7

Interrobang

It won't count as plagiarism for UCAS (although you can plagiarise yourself generally), however, you should make sure that your PS is current. If you are applying for the same course, you can say what things you've enjoyed studying so far. Check that the unis you are applying to will accept a transfer

Reply 8

Juno

Original post by SancaBoat

Yeah, my fear is that if the checker is completely automated, it will still be picked up regardless.

It's not completely automated. The computer checks it first, and flags up statements with high similarities. Then a human checks to see why it was flagged and if it was actually plagiarism. In your case they'd see it was your own application and you'd be fine.