The Universities and College Admission Service (UCAS) mediate all applications made to universities in the UK. You cannot apply directly to a UK university and therefore all applications must be made via UCAS using the dreaded UCAS form. This form requires you to enter your personal details, your course choices and most important of all your personal statement. Your UCAS personal statement is your opportunity to sell yourself to admissions tutors and convince them they should offer you a place at university over the 100’s of other applicants.



A clear and well-planned personal statement gives you the best possible chance of securing an offer from your first choice university. As the competition for university places in the UK increases the need for a clear and correctly structured university application is paramount. Universities are looking for enthusiastic individuals who will be committed to their studies whilst contributing to the university as a whole.

Your UCAS personal statement must demonstrate:

·Why you would like to study your chosen subject

·What has influenced your choice of subject

·How studying your chosen course will progress your intended career

·That you are prepared for and will be able to cope with university life

·Attending university will develop you as an individual

·Your achievements in life both academic and extra-curricular

·How any work experience you have conducted has improved you as a person

·That you are a person with a range of interests

Preparing to write your UCAS Personal Statement

The first step you need to take when preparing to write your UCAS personal statement is to summarise the important points about you. Try taking a blank piece of paper and brainstorming each point listed below. Try to write down as much as you can; at this stage it is about getting your ideas down on paper so that you have the information you need to begin composing your UCAS personal statement.

·Why do I want to attend university?

·What has influenced my decision to study my chosen subject at university?

·What are my academic achievements?

·What are my future goals?

·What work experience do I have and how has this developed me as a person?

·What are my extra-curricular achievements and hobbies?

Structuring your UCAS Personal Statement

Although there is no officially recognised structure that a UCAS personal statement must conform to, it must flow in a logical manner and contain the information summarised in the introduction. A standard order for your UCAS personal statement could be:

·Introductory sentence introducing why you would like to study your chosen subject and why you would be suitable to study at university

·Give specific examples of your academic experiences and explain how these have influenced your choice of subject

·What your future goals are

·Explain what responsibilities you have had in and out of school

·Detail of work experience you have and how it has help developed you as a person

·Include a concluding sentence summarising your application

Submitting Your UCAS Application

UCAS forms can be submitted either in paper form or electronically. Either way your personal statement needs to be typed up electronically and must not exceed 47 lines (~550 words).

For more info visit UCAS Site

UCAS Personal Statements – The ‘Top 10’ mistakes

·Spelling mistakes (This is unacceptable and will mean that many admissions tutors will move you to the bottom of the pile)

·The opening sentence of the personal statement is not punchy and attention grabbing enough (Remember the admissions tutor has to sift through 100’s of applications so your introduction needs to stand out above the crowd and grab the attention of the admissions tutor)

·The personal statement does not outline why you would like to study your chosen subject

·The structure of the personal statement is too disjointed and does not flow (There is nothing worse than jumping ‘backwards and forwards’)

·The word ‘I’ is used too much throughout the personal statement

·Lack of paragraphs (There is nothing worse than staring at a solid block of text)

·Sentences are too long – use full stops to break up long sentences

·Misuse of grammar (Most notably commas)

·The personal statement does contain a concluding sentence summarising your application (Don’t just end your personal statement with a ‘cliff hanger’!)

·And finally……PROOF READ, PROOF READ, PROOF READ!!!! (Ask as many people as possible to read through your personal statement and give you feedback – but do remember that it is YOUR personal statement)

·For more information visit Apply2Uni – UCAS Personal Statement Help-.