This article was last updated 14 December 2021.
With applications for UK undergraduate uni courses due in January, it's all starting to feel pretty real. The deadline is on 26 January 2022 for a majority of courses.
Whilst it might feel a bit overwhelming, your personal statement is a great chance to tell your chosen universities all about yourself and why you're passionate about the course you're applying for. But how do you know what makes a good statement? We caught up with StudyTuber and second-year student, Fran Tchapdeu (aka Simply Fran), to get her top tips.
Fran:
Tip 1
University is such a massive personal and financial investment, so it's so important to pick the right subject for you. I can assure you that, once you have, writing your personal statement will become less so of a chore and you'll actually start to enjoy it a lot more cos you're writing about a subject you really enjoy and you're expressing those interests.
Tip 2
We have to remember that, at the end of the day, these admissions tutors are reading through hundreds of personal statements every single day of students who are probably going to say they have a similar set of skills, such as communication and organisation. So we want our personal statements to stand out with unique examples of when we demonstrated those skills. Also, avoid just listing work experiences that you did. I really recommend reflecting upon what you actually learnt from each individual work experience and why that furthered your passion and interest in the degree that you want to do.
Tip 3
Now my third tip for your personal statement is to be yourself. The personal statement is very much that – your personal reasons for wanting to do that subject. A really good way of conveying this is that, when you're proofreading or redrafting your statement, look at it line by line and ask yourself: "does this sentence convey my personal passions and reasons and enthusiasm for doing this subject?" If it doesn't, maybe consider rewording it so it does.
Tip 4
Now my fourth point is to remember that your personal statement is almost like an essay. It's so important to remember that your personal statement must have a really good flow to it. As I said before, admissions tutors are probably spending hours reading through statements and it's so important that we try to make it easier for them by making our statements enjoyable to read, easy to read and also grammatically correct. A really good tip that I got from some of my teachers is to open all of your paragraphs off with a key sentence – a sentence that your whole paragraph will focus on and develop. Integrating your personal experiences with bursts of knowledge of the subjects you've been studying at A-levels can be a really nice way of structuring your statement.
Tip 5
Now my fifth tip is to be aware of the ratio of extracurricular activities to academic and super-curricular activities that your universities expect from your personal statement. Extracurricular activities are anything that you gain skills from but isn't directly related to your school work. Now super-curricular activities are things that are almost a development of the stuff you're learning at school. So books that you've read that relate to your History class, documentaries that you've watched that relate to what you were doing in GCSE Biology. For your more academic universities or science courses, they may expect a lot more super-curricular activities and academic activities. For more vocational courses, they may expect you to have more extracurricular activities and this may demonstrate that you have a lot of transferable skills.
Remember…
There's no right or wrong way of writing your statement. As long as you're able to express yourself in a unique, creative way, this is absolutely fine. Don't think that you need to fit any kind of stereotypical mould. Universities want you to be yourself – they celebrate diversity and they want to see students from all walks of life with a range of experiences and interests.
Don't feel that you need to fit any stereotypical mould… universities want you to be yourself – they celebrate diversity and they want to see students from all walks of life.
More on Fran's top tips
1. Make sure it's the right course for you
As Fran explains, making sure you've picked the right course for you is essential for keeping motivated both in writing your personal statement and once you get to uni! She recommends asking yourself the following three questions to suss out if you've made the right decision:
- Which subjects or topics do I actually enjoy revising for?
- Which subjects or topics do I find myself wanting to know more about? For example, you might find yourself reading about them or watching documentaries
- What are my top skills and character traits and do they overlap with a profession that relates to that course? You could ask a parent, friend or teacher for some extra input if you're not sure.
2. Don't just list skills – give examples
Giving really solid examples of how you've demonstrated different skills or what you've learnt from different experiences will show the admissions tutors that you mean business. Here's a handy example from Fran's personal statement showing the difference between just listing skills versus demonstrating those skills:
- Listing skills: "I have good communication and time management skills"
- Demonstrating skills: "As Head Girl, I have enjoyed delivering various presentations and assemblies which have challenged my ability to confidently communicate. Also, balancing Head Girl duties alongside the workload of Year 13 demanded an increase in my time management skills."
3. Be authentic. Don't try to be someone else!
Getting your own voice, personality and passions across is really important, so your prospective universities can get a sense of what makes you tick. It's also important not to fall into the trap of accidentally copying bits of other people's statements, such as example statements you've seen online. They might be worded particularly nicely but be aware that the UCAS system has plagiarism software to make sure your work is original, so keep it true to you!
4. Get the details right. Grammar and structure count
OK, OK, we all know grammar is important, right? But what if it's just not your strong point? Fran suggests seeing if your teachers at school can help out, such as English teachers and subject teachers for the course you're hoping to study. If your school or college has a UCAS applications administrator, they could also be a good person to ask. Bear in mind that they may be getting requests from a lot of students so try to approach them early if possible! Or you could always call on a grammar-savvy friend or relative to help you dot the i's and cross the t's.
5. Balance academic and non-academic activities
As Fran says, different courses and universities may require different ratios of academic (super-curricular) to non-academic (extracurricular) activities to be discussed in your personal statement. To find out what your chosen universities expect, Fran suggests checking on their website for the information. If you're struggling to find it, she recommends seeing if there is a contact listed for their admissions team, who should be able to point you in the right direction.
Find out more
- Check out UCAS' personal statement tool for more advice on how to structure your personal statement
- Head to The Student Room to see their bank of example personal statements broken down by subject.
How can I explain my skills to employers?
Learn how to demonstrate your abilities using the STAR method.
Ten skills you might not know you had
You have more skills than you realise and they are valuable to employers. Here a list of 10 personal skills you might not have thought about.
Five savvy ways to make money as a student
University side-hustles you probably hadn’t thought of.
