This article will provide a perspective on writing a well-structured, coherent personal statement, providing factual insight into best practice. This includes guidance to such vital questions as: how to write? (Process and Structure), what to include? (Content) as well as some useful tips (Do’s and Don’ts) to set you on your way.
The majority of the application form mainly consists of drop –down boxes and filling out factual detail fields. In contrast a personal statement is the ‘creative’ part or in other words the only part you have control over. As such personal statement is the only opportunity to ‘talk’ directly to the admissions officer and market yourself to the university. Universities do not normally interview (unless this is an admission requirement for the course), so writing an impressive personal statement will help you to stand out and persuade the admissions team that it is you who deserves to be on this course.
A personal statement is a unique piece of writing (as unique as the author), subsequently there is no correct way or ‘magic formula’ which will guarantee an offer. This article is just one recipe on how to write a winning personal statement; the ingredients are your individual achievements, experience and skills that illustrate your suitability for the course.’
What is a personal statement?
Just a few words about requirements for personal statements: Personal statements can be up to 4,000 characters long (with minimum requirement being 1,000 characters), which roughly equates to 47 lines or A4 (that is where word count function might come in handy). Undergraduate applicants can only submit one personal statement with their applications to all their five choices.
Universities use personal statement in different ways. One of which is to differentiate between applicants with similar academic grades. In this case universities look at personal statement to assess the quantity and quality of your statement, and your enthusiasm for the course you are applying for. Secondly, personal statements are looked at to assess borderline cases: those who initially came close but did not quite make it will be reassessed and if there are places left on the course, a place will be offered. One example of this is the UCAS clearing process, where students who did not quite achieve the advertised grades are reconsidered at the end of the application cycle for courses that still have places.
How to write a perfect personal statement?
As every individual is unique in terms of their experiences, interests, aspirations, interests, academic background. There cannot be a definite formula for writing a personal statement. However, there are some guideline principles that will help to make your personal statement stronger.
BEFORE you start writing
First and foremost it is important to show that you have researched the course thoroughly and that you know what it expected if you. Therefore research is key to making the right choices and finding ideas for your personal statement. Before writing a personal statement think about:
- What subject interests you?
- What career do you want?
- Which course will help you to get there?
Once you have made a list, it is time to decide:
- Which university will help you best achieve these goals?
- What are the university looking for from the students?
Once you are happy and know exactly what you want and why, it is time to start brainstorming some ideas to write about. This could be done in the form of a mind map, brainstorm web, bullet points or any other technique you are comfortable with; the main idea is you get some content written down (do not worry about what it looks like at this stage, you will get ample opportunities to redraft it later).
WHILE you are writing
Now that you have something written down might be high time to work on the looks of your personal statement, including wording, structure, spelling.
Once your first draft is ready, it might be a good idea to health check it yourself. Further consider giving it to close friends, relatives, teachers, or colleagues for feedback and recommendations. Their comments can help you spot key achievements you may have missed, as well as spelling and grammatical corrections..
Expect to produce several redrafts. Everybody is different, so it does not matter how many versions your perfect personal statement takes. The goal is to be happy with the final version, so that it expresses everything you want to say.
AFTER you have written
Once the application is submitted, it cannot be changed or undone, it is therefore recommended to do final checks thoroughly before hitting submit button.
It is important to be truthful about your achievements (as not only admissions will be using third party reference and transcripts) in case you are invited for an interview, expect further questions on everything you have written in your personal statement. It is therefore recommended to keep a copy for refreshing your memory before the interview.
How to structure a personal statement?
In terms of structuring a personal statement you might want to stick to the following sections:
- Introduction is an opening section where you have an opportunity to capture reader’s attention. A strong opening helps engage your reader
- Main Body is the main section, where you have an opportunity to identify yourself as a reflective and mature individual, with appropriate knowledge, skills and attitudes
Here is what an admission colleague recommended:
‘We are looking to see genuine commitment to the chosen subject – this is almost ‘hidden’ within the personal statement, as it tends to be demonstrated by what the applicant writes about their subject and their experiences in relation to it e.gs. wider reading/research, school studies, work experience, etc.’
‘A personal statement is an academic statement about why you want to study a subject. Therefore, the majority of the statement should be focussed on discussion of the subject and why you want to study it.’
- Conclusion is your final section. You might want to end on a positive note, leaving the reader with a firm impression of your strong desire to study the subject chosen
What to include in your personal statement?
As we discussed earlier every individual is unique. There is not a formula on what should be written, and consequently this article offers guidance on what you may choose to mix ‘n’ match in your personal statement.
Universities are looking for several things in a personal statement: motivation, ability and inclination to study, extra information that is unique to you and how it is related to your course.
Motivation could be demonstrated through:
- evidence of interest in the subject area
- motivation and commitment, which is better demonstrated through discussion on the subject and the experience you have had, rather than through writing a sentence saying that you are interested in your subject choice
- evidence of understanding the course
Here is what Helen Lee, Professional Development Officer at UCAS said about motivation in Undergraduate Personal Statements:
‘Some people find it difficult to choose what subject they are actually applying for. The problem with that, if you are applying for multiple courses, the personal statement will not reflect any commitment for a particular course or subject, which could be detrimental in your application. Go down the choice of one subject and that way you will show how enthusiastic and keen you are for one subject area.’
Ability & Inclination to study could be demonstrated through:
- good numeracy and literacy skills
- Essay writing (structure and argument well, including proof reading)
- Research skills (to start off with, have you thoroughly researched the course you are applying for?)
- Time management skills
- Enthusiasm to go beyond the syllabus
It is advisable to develop, support and evidence your points as opposed to just listing them. You might want to adopt the ABC approach, where A is an activity / achievement, B is a benefit they have given you / transferable skills you have learnt, C is the Course – how you can relate that to the course.
For A in the ABC method you can also talk about hobbies, clubs, volunteering, project or coursework, work experience, etc.
Extras
Finally you might want to mention a few thing that are specific to you, for example if you are an international student, then why have you chosen the UK; if you are a mature student, then why did you decide to start / continue your studies at this stage in your life?
You might want to talk about what you may want to do in the future and how the course will help you to achieve your goals.
DO’s and DON’Ts
| DO’s | DON’Ts |
| · DO develop any statements you are making
· DO show your enthusiasm · DO be honest – the truth will come out · DO spellcheck your grammar, proofread · DO ask people you trust for their feedback · DO research the course, the university · DO be clear, concise and precise · DO allow yourself plenty of time, to give yourself an opportunity to write a brilliant personal statement, have the time to go back and change things · DO save your personal statement regularly, or copy and paste from a word document. · DO use an appropriate email address.
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· DON’T plagiarise: Must be all of your own work. All personal statements are checked for plagiarism, with software which detects if anybody has used somebody else’s personal statement as their own or used wording from a personal statement website.
· DON’T include anything that is irrelevant; make every word count · DON’T use what is already on the form, make every word count · DON’T mention the name of a particular university; all the universities will see the same personal statement (most relevant for undergraduate students applying through UCAS) · DON’T use jokes, as not everyone has similar sense of humour.
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To sum up, personal statements are mostly looked as a whole, so whatever you include, however you approach this piece of work this will be unique to you. The main take home are; write it yourself with a focus on academic, work and personal achievements and subject interests; relate the statement to your specific course of interest; seek the advice of those who know you best.
