What should a university personal statement be about?

Question

What information should I include in my personal statement on my university application? I need a brief outline of what I need to write. Also how long should it be in terms of word count?

Answer 1

Your personal statement should include information on why you want to do the course, what you will gain from it, and why they should choose you!

Think of anything you've done that is at all relevant to your application (work experience is good). Write a short sentence describing what you did, and follow it up by a short piece on what you got out of it. Be selective over what you write about - only choose things that are relevant. For example, if you want to do a languages degree write a short piece about a holiday abroad you took or if you want to do a nursing degree maybe talk about voluntary work or something you've done helping others.

Don't just say "I am independent" or "I am hard-working" - always use evidence to back up your points. For example say "I am independent, and I showed this by organising a solo trip to __________".

Make sure to be confident about yourself, and sell yourself! You know you're great so let the admissions people know that! You could ask around friends/family or employers to see what your best points are and use them. Don't bother lying. If you aren't the most punctual of people, don't say that you are - don't mention it at all! Pay attention to your best qualities.

If you've done a Duke of Edinburgh's award or any voluntary work make sure to add that as admission's tutors love to hear that kind of thing. Always make sure to back up anything you've done by saying you learnt something out of it that's relevant to your application. For example don't just say "I did my bronze D of E" say "I did my Bronze D of E and it taught me the importance of team work"

Make sure that you include a paragraph on why you want to do the course - state what you want to get from it, why you looked to study that particular course, include any A Levels/extra qualifications you've done or any work experience you have had.

Remember applications people have to look over tons of statements that all look the same so make sure yours stands out. Add about any unusual hobbies you have, making sure to make them relevant to your chosen course.

And another tip is not to start every sentence with "I" as that sounds repetitive! Make sure grammar, spelling, punctuation etc is good.

Your careers advisor at school should have tons more ideas for you and will check over your personal statement. The UCAS form will have guidelines on how much to write but remember quality is better that quantity, be concise and don't ramble.

Good luck and hope it goes OK for you :-)

Answer 2

It used to be the case that we wrote personal statements on the back of the UCAS form - is this still the case?

A personal statement is the only part on the UCAS form that gives you the opportunity to sell yourself to the Admissions tutors. You can select and emphasise certain points about yourself that you feel will help your application. When trying to sell yourself, remember to be honest and specific.

Examples: http://www.studential.com/personalstatements/


What you should say in the statement
In your personal statement you should try to include the following:

* Your reasons for choosing the course
* What aspects of the course you enjoy?
* Do you look forward to studying the subject in more depth?
* Do you look forward to putting your theory into practice?
* Do you possess certain skills needed for the course? Which ones?
* Specific career plans - don't panic if you don't have any yet though.

Any work experience you have, and any skills you gained while doing it? For example:

* Working to deadlines
* Diplomacy
* Problem solving
* Using initiative
* Communication skills

When you write your personal statement remember the following:

* Organise your material so it is an informative and interesting read
* Write clearly and try not to pack in too much information
* Only write things that you are prepared to talk about at an interview
* Don't repeat material already on the application form
* Think about the impression you want to give
* Don't describe what courses you are doing now
* Don't ramble or fill in space with irrelevant information
* Don't say that you prefer one University to another
* Don't forget to sound interesting

http://www.studential.com/guide/write_personal_statement.htm

Answer 3

It would probably be wise to speak about the 'grander scheme' of things that the university--if given the oppurtunity to attend will offer you. Speak about how it wll prepare you for a life and career. Be persuasive in insisting that you are certain yo uwill receive a well rounded education that will teach you knowledge, and society, culture and such. Also say that you will better sculpt your personal identity. Higher education is more about the experience of learning an meeting people fromdifferent walks than it is just about academia.
Write at least a page worth, so you don't become boring ad repititive. Kepp it frank and to the point and don't get too personal .GOOD luck and spell check all your work..

Answer 4

Don't forget to write about your interests *outside* of academic life. Doesn't matter if it's sport, video games, train spotting, whatever, just make sure you include something that says "I have a life outside school."

Also, try not to appear too sycophantic... It won't help.

Likelihood is though, you'll be invited to an open day or interview based more on upon your projected grades and your teacher's statement (reference) than your own. The personal statement is really just a chance to show that you can write competently and with good grammar, and so on.

Answer 5

My personal statement was 462 words but youre applying via UCAS you get a certain line or character limit - can't remember
I wrote about;
- why I wanted to do the course I was applying for
- what I had done previously experience wise that contributed to my learning experience or how it would help me with my degree
- what I wanted to do after university which the degree would prepare me for
- what I liked about the course i was applying for
- what I liked about doing english at A levels (i applied for english)
- I took a gap year so I explained why I wanted to take a gap year and what I was planning on doing it

If youre applying to the more elite universities like Oxford or Cambridge then they might have specific requirements of what they want you to include - not sure as I never tried my luck there ;)

Answer 6

One word: yourself!

Restrictions will vary depending upon the university you apply to. Find out from the universities you want to attend. Some of them will give you a prompt to answer, others leave it wide open. In general, you don't want to write more than a page and a half, at the very most two pages. Admissions counselors are busy people, and they don't necessarily want to read your life story.

Think of an interesting way to tell a story - you don't want to recite stuff verbatim i.e. "My name is so-and-so. I want to attend XYZ college because I'm soo interested in microbiology. I love riding motorcycles and blah blah blah..." boring! Imagine that you're giving the reader a personal glimpse into your life rather than telling them about your life, if that makes sense.

Do a web search on personal statements and you'll find a ton of information and examples. Yahoo Answers isn't the place to give an entire lesson on writing.

And don't forget to have someone else proofread!

Answer 7

Not sure about a fixed word count. On my application, I included why I was wanting to do the degree, what I thought I would get out of it, what was in it for the uni from me (commitment, dedication etc), some recent personal goals that I had achieved and some that I hoped to achieve in the future perhaps as a result of gaining a degree.

Answer 8

It can only be 47 lines long. If you want to check if it fits go to the Ucas website, log in and then enter it then click preview. It tells you at the top if it's too long or short. Your first paragraph shoud be why you want to study ..., the second about the subjects you are doing at a level and why they help you, the third paragraph about your acheivements (in and out of school) and what skills you gain(ed) from them. The fina paragraph needs to sum up your interest in the course and you as a person. Good luck - i've just finished mine!

Answer 9

It cannot be mroe than 4000 chracters and consists of an introduction of wht you would like to do the degree, what interests you about it and how you came to like the subject. Talk about your interests specifically like what author you like and directors ect and why!Talk a little abit what a levels you are doing and what your good at. What sort of career you's like in the future and skills gained from past jobs.

Answer 10

Depends what subject you're doing. I applied for a few different subjects- history, politics and international relations, but it is doable- I'm doing the last subject at Aber Uni now...