Universities get thousands of applicants each year and it's a dog eat dog world out there - you have to stand out of the crowd. Now, I'm not talking about throwing in jokes and pictures and this, that and the other, I simply mean to show the university that they should choose you.

First things first, what actually is a personal statement?

 

A personal statement (herein known as PS) is a key component of your application to university. Along with filling out forms on UCAS, a PS is the only form of input you have to let universities know the real you. It lets you talk about why you want to go to uni and what skills and qualities you have that are suited to your chosen subjects.

Where to begin?

Do a little bit of research; find information about what type of skills and qualities your chosen university and subjects require - do you have these skills and qualities?


If so, begin to draw a mind-map of these and think of examples of when you have used them. Don't list them, your university will want to know of times when you have put them to use. Example;
Rather than simply stating 'I am self motivated and hard working.', I have used my achievement of gaining student of the year and my ability to go beyond the syllabus as an example of how I am both self motivated and hard working.

After you have built up your skills and qualities, think about your work/school experience, hobbies and interests and how they all link to your chosen subject. If they do, add these to your mind-map and again, rather than list them, begin to develop ways of showing how they link.

Next up, talk about why you want to go to university and why you have chosen your particular subjects.This is the part where you have to show your ambitions, tell the university that you have a life plan, you know where you're going and university is a big part of that journey.

How do I structure my PS? 

 

Once you have your mind-map of all your fabulous skills and qualities, your experience and the reasons why you want to go to uni, you should begin draft one of your PS.

To open your statement, I would suggest explaining why you want to go to uni and your motivation for your chosen subjects. Next you should talk about your academic achievements and answer a key question; What have you done so far that is relevant to your course choice? After that, talk about your skills and qualities and any relevant hobbies/extra curricular activities and then your conclusion of where you aspire to be; where will this degree take you?

The main thing to keep in mind: What have I done, what skills have I gained and how do they relate to this course?

Once you have a finished draft, begin to tweak it and make sure it contains all the relevant information you have. Add to it, take bits out - eventually you will have a finished statement that you can send off along with the rest of your UCAS application.

One of the key pieces of advice I can give you is under no circumstances do you copy and paste anything on your personal statement - they have a tracking system that picks up similar key phrases and can result in your application being delayed or even scrapped altogether. Don't risk this happening, if you're really struggling with writing your statement, talk to a teacher or careers adviser.

Even if you don't believe the scare stories about copying others, why would you want to copy and paste anyway? 

The UCAS website has tonnes of helpful information including expanded info on what I have said, mind-maps, videos, and downloadable documents to look at. This section of the website has more info on how to write your PS; UCAS personal statement 

I particularly recommend downloading this; PS Worksheet it's a worksheet containing a basic structure plan that you can fill out and then write up again in your own format to send off. Pretty helpful if you're really stuck putting words to paper.

That's about it! Although it may seem daunting at first, once you get the hang of it you will find that it was nothing to worry about. Just make sure to stay within the character count of around 4000 - that's not an awful lot considering it's individual letters and spaces.

Aside from UCAS, here are some other helpful sites/articles:
Writing your PS
Most over-used PS opening lines
Last minute guide to your PS
What the experts say
Guide to your PS
What not to do
The do's and dont's of you PS


I wish you all the best with writing your statement and I hope you get the offers you deserve. Let me know if this information was useful.

Much love,