Cracking the Code: Your Guide to the New Personal Statement Format
Big changes are here! UCAS has replaced the traditional personal statement with a new, structured format. Instead of a long essay, applicants can now answer three questions in three paragraphs.
Here is a quick guide to break down what the questions are and how you can ace them!
The Three Main Key Questions:
- Why do you want to study this course or subject?
- How have your qualifications and studies helped you prepare for this course?
-What else have you done outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?
The questions might look simple at first glance, but the way you answer makes all the difference. Let’s break them down together. Here are some quick tips to get you started:
Question 1: Why this course or subject? (Main Key points to remember)
- Motivation: Share what inspired you, maybe a role model, a key moment, or simply a subject you love. Let your passion shine.
- Knowledge and Interest: Demonstrate curiosity by mentioning research, books, experts, or super-curricular activities that deepened your interest.
- Future plans: Link the course to your future. Show how it will help you achieve career goals or develop skills to explore opportunities.
Top Tips to consider: Don’t just say what you want to study, show why. Share what first sparked your interest, how you’ve explored it since, and what makes you excited to take it further. Keep it clear, personal, and focused on your subject. (You can brainstorm and write several drafts before feeling confident enough to submit)
Question 2: How have your studies prepared you? (Points to keep in mind)
-Studies and Training: Highlight the most recent and relevant studies or training that relate directly to your chosen course.
-Transferable Skills: Showcase skills developed through subjects, modules, or projects that prove you’re ready to succeed. It could be a leadership role you have played in a team, or initiated a school project, or how you have influenced your friends or a group with your communication skills.
- Achievements: Go beyond grades, mention competitions, leadership roles, or unique accomplishments that make you stand out. We love to see how you shine and are confident in yourself with all the amazing things you have achieved, or you have the potential to achieve.
Top Tips to Consider: Reflect on the skills and experiences that make you well-suited for this course. It could be from school, part-time work, volunteering, or even a personal challenge you’ve overcome. Show how these moments shaped you and why they’ll help you succeed in your subject. (Be confident and flaunt your achievements, but also stay authentic and grounded)
Question 3: Experiences outside education (Points to include)
- Work and Volunteering: Explain what you did, and the skills gained that relate to your course.
- Life Experiences: Reflect on personal challenges or responsibilities that shaped qualities like resilience, empathy, or independence. Hobbies & Extracurriculars: Highlight activities outside the classroom that show passion, teamwork, or commitment.
- Achievements & Post-Education Activities: Include roles, awards, or qualifications, and if you’re no longer in full-time education, show how work, training, or experiences have prepared you. You can bring part-time work experience or volunteering, or even a random act of kindness you did to add as a bit of your personal touch in the writing process. We want to know you as a real person and your personality, and not some AI-generated figure writing about you.
Top Tips to consider- Show that you understand what the course involves. Mention areas of the subject you’re curious about, topics you’ve enjoyed exploring, or what you’re looking forward to learning. This proves you’ve done your research and are ready for the challenge. (You can also add module titles and information in your statement extracted from the university website to show you have done your research about the course, and you are ready to learn more about)
A must-step to follow- Have a solid reason why you want to study the course and go to university, make several drafts before your final submission, and get as much feedback as possible from friends and family, or even teachers. Finally, remember you’ve got up to 4,000 characters to share your story, so make them count. Keep it clear, make it personal, and let your enthusiasm come through naturally. This is your opportunity to show universities who you are, what drives you, and why you’ll do well in your chosen course. Just focus on being genuine, no need to overdo it or repeat yourself.
Good luck! And if you have any questions, pop them below!
Here is a quick guide to break down what the questions are and how you can ace them!
The Three Main Key Questions:
- Why do you want to study this course or subject?
- How have your qualifications and studies helped you prepare for this course?
-What else have you done outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?
The questions might look simple at first glance, but the way you answer makes all the difference. Let’s break them down together. Here are some quick tips to get you started:
Question 1: Why this course or subject? (Main Key points to remember)
- Motivation: Share what inspired you, maybe a role model, a key moment, or simply a subject you love. Let your passion shine.
- Knowledge and Interest: Demonstrate curiosity by mentioning research, books, experts, or super-curricular activities that deepened your interest.
- Future plans: Link the course to your future. Show how it will help you achieve career goals or develop skills to explore opportunities.
Top Tips to consider: Don’t just say what you want to study, show why. Share what first sparked your interest, how you’ve explored it since, and what makes you excited to take it further. Keep it clear, personal, and focused on your subject. (You can brainstorm and write several drafts before feeling confident enough to submit)
Question 2: How have your studies prepared you? (Points to keep in mind)
-Studies and Training: Highlight the most recent and relevant studies or training that relate directly to your chosen course.
-Transferable Skills: Showcase skills developed through subjects, modules, or projects that prove you’re ready to succeed. It could be a leadership role you have played in a team, or initiated a school project, or how you have influenced your friends or a group with your communication skills.
- Achievements: Go beyond grades, mention competitions, leadership roles, or unique accomplishments that make you stand out. We love to see how you shine and are confident in yourself with all the amazing things you have achieved, or you have the potential to achieve.
Top Tips to Consider: Reflect on the skills and experiences that make you well-suited for this course. It could be from school, part-time work, volunteering, or even a personal challenge you’ve overcome. Show how these moments shaped you and why they’ll help you succeed in your subject. (Be confident and flaunt your achievements, but also stay authentic and grounded)
Question 3: Experiences outside education (Points to include)
- Work and Volunteering: Explain what you did, and the skills gained that relate to your course.
- Life Experiences: Reflect on personal challenges or responsibilities that shaped qualities like resilience, empathy, or independence. Hobbies & Extracurriculars: Highlight activities outside the classroom that show passion, teamwork, or commitment.
- Achievements & Post-Education Activities: Include roles, awards, or qualifications, and if you’re no longer in full-time education, show how work, training, or experiences have prepared you. You can bring part-time work experience or volunteering, or even a random act of kindness you did to add as a bit of your personal touch in the writing process. We want to know you as a real person and your personality, and not some AI-generated figure writing about you.
Top Tips to consider- Show that you understand what the course involves. Mention areas of the subject you’re curious about, topics you’ve enjoyed exploring, or what you’re looking forward to learning. This proves you’ve done your research and are ready for the challenge. (You can also add module titles and information in your statement extracted from the university website to show you have done your research about the course, and you are ready to learn more about)
A must-step to follow- Have a solid reason why you want to study the course and go to university, make several drafts before your final submission, and get as much feedback as possible from friends and family, or even teachers. Finally, remember you’ve got up to 4,000 characters to share your story, so make them count. Keep it clear, make it personal, and let your enthusiasm come through naturally. This is your opportunity to show universities who you are, what drives you, and why you’ll do well in your chosen course. Just focus on being genuine, no need to overdo it or repeat yourself.
Good luck! And if you have any questions, pop them below!
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