Share your personal statement/writing tips

Hi all,

I know many of you are currently writing your personal statements and so I though it would be a good idea for those of us who have already written ours or write often to share our tips.

Here are mine:

Putting pen to paper: Sometimes I get stuck starting a piece and everything I write doesn't sound right. But I have learnt to just continue writing even if it doesn't make sense at first, just writing helps me get in the flow. Then I can go back once in the flow and change it to something that works better.
Getting a second opinion: If you have someone at college or sixth form or even a family member or friend who can read through, make sure to do so as they will have some useful feedback and see it from a new perspective. I also read what I have wrote out loud as it helps me see what does and doesn't make sense.

Feel free to share your advice and hopefully this will be helpful :smile:

-Grace (Kingston Rep)

Reply 1

Coventry University Student Ambassadors

Official Rep

Hi there,
I also found applying for universities a daunting task and writing my personal statement a really difficult thing to start. It can be tricky too figure out what needs to go in a personal statement of what the university is looking for. My best tips for getting started on one are:

1. make your personal statement course centered- talk about why you interested in the course what you've done in that area in your own personal time, why you would like to study that course at that university especially - around 70% of your personal statement should be course centered in my opinion.
2. Definitely mention any experience you have in the area whether it's work experience, personal projects, reading you've done- anything that shows the university that you're really interested in this area and would like to study there. It also helps if you can link these experiences you've had with some key skills that you think will help you whilst at University.

And just remember whatever you write the first time doesn't have to be your final submission so don't worry too much about writing the wrong thing in your first draft!
Amber Harper
Student Ambassador at Coventry university

Reply 2

04MR17

Volunteer Team, Clearing and Applications Advisor

Coming from someone who reviews personal statements and has done for 3 years. Not saying I am an expert, but I've read more PSs than your average uni student.

Focus on the course, why is that course something you want to dedicate (at least) 3 years of your life?

Soft skills = waste of time. You don't need to list out communication skills, time management etc. Universities can easily identify for themselves that if this person has a part-time job, they can manage their time well. You don't have to say "this developed my time management skills" - you're burning characters. The only university on record who explicitly asks you to point this out to them is Oxford Brookes.

Talking about your A Levels = waste of time. Thousands of people do the same A levels as you, that's not a unique personal thing to discuss. You write out your A Levels int he education section of the UCAS application, no need to duplicate that into the PS.

Personal circumstances not in a PS. They go in your UCAS reference by your referee who also enters your predicted grades.

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 3

BCU Student Rep

Official Rep

Original post

by Kingston Grace

Hi all,
I know many of you are currently writing your personal statements and so I though it would be a good idea for those of us who have already written ours or write often to share our tips.
Here are mine:
Putting pen to paper: Sometimes I get stuck starting a piece and everything I write doesn't sound right. But I have learnt to just continue writing even if it doesn't make sense at first, just writing helps me get in the flow. Then I can go back once in the flow and change it to something that works better.
Getting a second opinion: If you have someone at college or sixth form or even a family member or friend who can read through, make sure to do so as they will have some useful feedback and see it from a new perspective. I also read what I have wrote out loud as it helps me see what does and doesn't make sense.
Feel free to share your advice and hopefully this will be helpful :smile:

-Grace (Kingston Rep)

Great thread @Kingston Grace

The above advice is already great ideas to follow.

My tip is to make sure you're sounding genuine and 'like yourself' in your writing. You don't have a lot of characters to say everything about yourself so you want to make sure everything you do write is valuable. My first draft was full of stuff I had thrown in in an attempt to sound more intelligent and knowledgeable on my subject area, when in actual fact it wasn't relevant to me and it wasted precious characters.

Stay true to your own interests and voice, and express why you want to study your chosen subject - keep your main points core to the course.
Remember that this is still a formal piece of writing, so make sure it is written well, but you want it to feel like your voice coming through your writing.

Good luck everyone! 🙂
Emily
Student Rep at BCU