My advice to you Sixth Formers...

Your UMS if your life.

There is no simpler way to put it.

Nothing you do in your personal statement can influence a university's opinion about you as much as your UMS.

What you SHOULD be putting in your personal statement or your teacher's reference is your UMS score, because while it's not formally required, it is what every university wants to see.

If you apply to high-ranking universities, UMS is pretty much obligatory and you will be numerically compared to other students based on it. This is a practice Cambridge has been using for years, Durham has picked up, and many more will too.

If you apply to low-ranking universities, a good UMS will let you pretty much walk into them.

UMS is your life. UMS is you. Get that number to 300. That number is your responsibility, and it will be your fault if you have doubts about it a year from now.

Get that UMS to 300. You will thank me later.

Not necessarily the case for some courses, such as medicine where vocation, extra-curriculars and reflection count