Can I re-use/recover personal statement from 4 years ago?

Hi, i initially started university in 2009 but needed to drop out due to serious health issues.. but my desire to study the same course-LLB LAW has stayed with me.

I am now applying for the accelerated LLB degree at the university of Hertfordshire. I have been out of touch from my studies since 2010 and really feel frustrated about writing a personal statement as i have no time to get it proof read by an academic.

Therefore, my question is, whether it is possible to recover my personal statement from 2009 through UCAS? if yes then what is the procedure?

Thanks in advance!

Reply 1

ihateusernames

you can use your log in details if you still have them and then go to personal statement. its worked for me provided that u havent appliedto ucas before. having said this you shouldnt use it as it is atm. you need to change it not only because youve been out of education and so have to say what uve been doing during this time but also cos unis can see the ps is plagiarized even if its plagiarised from yourself so u may b automatically rejected

Reply 2

Lasershark

So you're saying you have nothing new to write about from the last 5 years? You've done nothing with your life, no experiences to write about, no work to write about, no extended reading or research to write about?

You don't need a personal statement to be proofread by an academic; people on here will do that for you, or you can just read it over yourself; it's not too difficult. The university will question as to why you can't think of anything to write about the last 5 years, and if you resubmit the same statement it will flagged up by the plagiarism software, even if you wrote it.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 3

Gul91

Thanks for the replies Guys @ihateusernames and @lasershark, of course i don't expect you all to know the common sense i have but the criticism is unnecessary. I am totally aware that there has been a 5 year gap, i have plenty to mention. I just need to add or take a few paragraphs from my own statement thats all.. just trying to save some time and be efficient really.

So howwill i recover the personal statement? as i am unable to log into UCAS, seems like phoning them directly is the only way into this..

Reply 4

All-in

Original post by ihateusernames

This is absolutely false. UCAS will manually override the detection because it is from the same person.

Reply 5

ihateusernames

Original post by All-in

This is absolutely false. UCAS will manually override the detection because it is from the same person.

could be but at the same time all unis i applied for medicine for said that they wont accept ps thats exactly copied from last yrs and it tells them if it has been copied. i wouldnt risk it tbh

Reply 6

ihateusernames

Original post by Gul91

basically search ur emails for ur id number and then if uve forgotten ur password go through the whole process of ive forgotten my password. Once uve logged on u can go onto the ps bit- it worked for me but mine was from last yr dunno if itl work for 4 yrs ago. Dont bother contacting ucas because i did and they said i wouldnt be able to log in again- i tried just out of curiousity and it worked

Reply 7

Juno

Have you not got it saved anywhere? Check all document folders on your computer and memory stick. Did you email it to anyone? Check your email sent folder.

You won't be able to log in to ucas as it was so long ago. You might be able to request it from them, but it will cost you £10. For a statement you won't be able to use it's not worth it.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 8

All-in

Original post by Gul91

You can definitely view your personal statement through a FOI (Freedom of Information) request to UCAS. This way they will send to you all the information they have of you, including personal statement, reference etc. when you applied. This may have a cost though (when I made a FOI request it cost me £10). Call UCAS to check.

Reply 9

Gul91

Original post by All-in

Hi, yes i totally agree.. however, i need this information before by Wednesday (within two days) i can only call UCAS tomorrow at 8.30 am.. so do u think theres a possibility that i could retrieve it online rather than through the post?

Reply 10

Gul91

Original post by Juno

I've checked everywhere, and do not have a copy of it. I'm not so bothered about the cost you see, But i have been really active at college getting involved in many out of study activities.. unfortunately, due to my health issues I'm experiencing a certain kind of memory loss (although I'm recovering) and therefore i can not remember much. And the willpower to apply for universities has come so suddenly that i do not have much time to prepare and the deadline the adviser gave me is 8th May.

Reply 11

All-in

Original post by Gul91

It is highly unlikely I am afraid. I received the documents via post. This was a few years ago though, so it could be that they also send via email now, but even if this were the case, it is not immediate. My request took around 2 weeks to process.

Reply 12

All-in

Original post by Gul91

The deadline is the 30th of June. I'm not sure why you were quoted the 8th of May, which is the deadline for universities to make decisions on applications that were sent before the 15th of January. This deadline doesn't apply to you because you are a late applicant.

Reply 13

Clearing and Applications Advisor

Original post by Gul91

As the poster above says - there is no UCAS deadline for APPLYING on 8th May. The next upcoming deadline for APPLYING is 30th June.

Which adviser gave you this deadline? if it is a college/careers advice/referee then the deadline might be early to give them time to write your reference (and so you'll be able to edit/amend your PS after this date before the application is submitted to UCAS).