Writing a UCAS Personal Statement: My Top Tips

So it’s that time of the year where you should be thinking about writing your personal statement in order to apply for universities via UCAS. I remember writing mine well in advance, ensuring I had enough time to redraft, polish it up and get it checked over for grammatical errors, as this is one of the first things admissions tutor, alongside your reference will see in order to get a clearer idea of who you are as a person, and if they can see you on the course. Here are some of my top tips which I learnt through the process:

Start early: Starting your personal statement off early definitely helped me ensure it was the best I could make it, without it being rushed. I would recommend writing freely initially without worrying too much about the word limit after planning some key things you want to get in there, before refining it to see what can be taken out or phrased differently to fit the word limit.

Be original but authentic: Your personal statement is your chance to demonstrate your enthusiasm for the subject and showcase your relevant skills and experience. Be sure to write in a style that reflects this and presents you as the person you are. Now is not the time to undersell yourself by being too generic, but be careful not to exaggerate as it’s likely admissions tutors will see straight through it. Writing authentically and positively will ensure that your passion will come across to them.

Get it read over several times: Something that really helped me, and still does with essays is leaving what you’ve written for a day or two to allow your brain to unclog, and then reading over it. It allows you to get a fresher perspective and often you will find that things you initially thought worked or sounded good would be better rephrased or changed. It is also a good idea to get someone else to read over it, whether that be a family member, friend or teacher to get an alternative perspective.

Check grammar! – This flows from the point of getting it read over several times, as often you or others will find grammatical errors you hadn’t noticed before. This is something that is easy to rectify once you’ve looked over it and yet should you not, this may play a significance on the decisions of some admissions tutors. Showing that you’ve taken some care with what you’ve written will only reflect well on them.

I hope these tips helped in some way; let me know in the comments if you have any other questions!