Personal Statement

Do universities really look at personal statements? Do unis consider an applicant if their grades are good but their personal statement isn't that great?

Reply 1

plain__jane

I feel it depends on the the Uni you want to apply to though... but I know many top unis hold the personal statement in high regard

Reply 2

Sinnoh

Original post by Naima16

Do universities really look at personal statements? Do unis consider an applicant if their grades are good but their personal statement isn't that great?

A lot of the time, offer rates for courses are very high. This is because a lot of the time, an offer doesn't translate into the applicant actually enrolling - they might firm another uni, they might miss their offer, they might insure it and not need it etc. So unless it's quite likely that offer-holders would firm it, such as for particularly competitive courses/unis, they're likely quite generous with offers as long as you've got the right grades.

LSE places a lot of emphasis on the personal statement though.

Reply 3

Interrobang

A PS might be important for near miss candidates come results day to decide if they will offer anyway though. You should still spent some time on it

Reply 4

viennas

Original post by Naima16

Do universities really look at personal statements? Do unis consider an applicant if their grades are good but their personal statement isn't that great?

A lot of top universities will receive lots of applications with the same grades, so naturally they'll have to use your personal statement and your reference to differentiate you from other applicants. For competitive universities, this can be very important in getting an offer, but it's still relatively important anywhere you go.

They doo

I don't think that all universities will read every single applicant's personal statement. Some will just go off of the grades depending on the course.

Reply 7

plain__jane

Based on the reply I received from a particular uni I emailed, they told me that they first look at the grades to see if they meet the uni cut off, then they read the personal statements of those who make the cut and look at other documents submitted. This is for a top uni btw

Reply 8

xoAimeeRosexo

Original post by Naima16

Do universities really look at personal statements? Do unis consider an applicant if their grades are good but their personal statement isn't that great?

If you are applying to a subject such as History that you are already studying at school then they might look more at your grades/predicted grades than your personal statement, if you're predicted a high grade and you have studied the subject for a few years then they know that you are capable of the course and you will enjoy the content of it as well. With other courses I think it is important to have a strong personal statement because the universities want to see that you actually want to do the course and that you understand what it will be like. For example, just taking Biology at school doesn't show that you understand that being a nurse is a very challenging job so you need to show that you understand the role of a nurse and the skills and experience you have which makes you think that you are the perfect candidate. I think as a general guide most personal statements are good if they have good grammar, are easy to read and understand, show why you want to do the course and your own skills/experience.