The Student Room Group

Writing my personal statement (psychology)

Hi! I started writing my personal statement today, and so far I've written just under half a page on Google docs. But I don't really know how to write it. I looked at some personal statements on tiktok, and a lot of people wrote full fledged essays (no discredit to those who did, I'm sure they all worked really hard!) but then I went on the UCAS website and what they told me to write seemed more similar to writing a CV?? I will admit, I'm a little confused and don't really know how to go about writing the rest of my personal statement, so if anyone could provide a step by step guide of how to write it and what to include, that would be very much appreciated!! Thank you.

Reply 1

Tbh, I just yapped about cognitive psychology and neuroscience as that's my favourite topic within psychology. I've had a boring few years, so haven't done any work experience etc - only thing I did was a MOOC course, which I wrote about in a paragraph (it was about cognitive neuroscience). I'm sure someone else will give you better feedback than I, though.

I guess write about a topic within psychology that you're passionate about, include any relevant books you've read, courses etc. to show your passion for the subject. If you have any work experience at all, you could try and tie that in to psychology. I also struggled with my personal statement - also recommended by school etc. to include work experience, hobbies but didn't want to include any of that.

Reply 2

Original post
by PrettyMaryKay
Tbh, I just yapped about cognitive psychology and neuroscience as that's my favourite topic within psychology. I've had a boring few years, so haven't done any work experience etc - only thing I did was a MOOC course, which I wrote about in a paragraph (it was about cognitive neuroscience). I'm sure someone else will give you better feedback than I, though.
I guess write about a topic within psychology that you're passionate about, include any relevant books you've read, courses etc. to show your passion for the subject. If you have any work experience at all, you could try and tie that in to psychology. I also struggled with my personal statement - also recommended by school etc. to include work experience, hobbies but didn't want to include any of that.


Okay, thank you. This is very helpful :smile:

Reply 3

Original post
by carol_darrell10
Okay, thank you. This is very helpful :smile:

I could probably PM you my ps so you could get an idea of how you might structure yours? obvy don't copy it because they'll know (doubt you'd copy it anyway) :tongue:

Reply 4

Original post
by PrettyMaryKay
I could probably PM you my ps so you could get an idea of how you might structure yours? obvy don't copy it because they'll know (doubt you'd copy it anyway) :tongue:


yes, that would be so helpful! no dw, I won't copy it

Reply 5

Original post
by carol_darrell10
yes, that would be so helpful! no dw, I won't copy it

Just sent it over now!
Original post
by carol_darrell10
Hi! I started writing my personal statement today, and so far I've written just under half a page on Google docs. But I don't really know how to write it. I looked at some personal statements on tiktok, and a lot of people wrote full fledged essays (no discredit to those who did, I'm sure they all worked really hard!) but then I went on the UCAS website and what they told me to write seemed more similar to writing a CV?? I will admit, I'm a little confused and don't really know how to go about writing the rest of my personal statement, so if anyone could provide a step by step guide of how to write it and what to include, that would be very much appreciated!! Thank you.

Hi @carol_darrell10
When i wrote my personal statement, it was like a brief essay with an introduction and conclusion, which covered why you've chosen the course and why the subject excites you, supercurricular activities, skills and ambitions/plans for the future and how the course fits into these. For each of these points I explained the activities or reasoning behind this but its important not to go into fine detail on every point due to the word limit. It's like a CV in terms of you show your experience in the subject area but its also important to demonstrate your passion for wanting to study the subject.
Here's a useful link to the UCAS website How To Write Your Undergraduate Personal Statement | UCAS
If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
-Jasmine (Lancaster Student Ambassador)

Reply 7

Original post
by Lancaster Student Ambassador
Hi @carol_darrell10
When i wrote my personal statement, it was like a brief essay with an introduction and conclusion, which covered why you've chosen the course and why the subject excites you, supercurricular activities, skills and ambitions/plans for the future and how the course fits into these. For each of these points I explained the activities or reasoning behind this but its important not to go into fine detail on every point due to the word limit. It's like a CV in terms of you show your experience in the subject area but its also important to demonstrate your passion for wanting to study the subject.
Here's a useful link to the UCAS website How To Write Your Undergraduate Personal Statement | UCAS
If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
-Jasmine (Lancaster Student Ambassador)


thank you so much for the advice!

Quick Reply