How to: Write a Personal Statement

One huge part of applying for University is writing your personal statement. Universities can receive hundreds or thousands of applications for just one degree course. Without interviews or admission tests, the personal statement is the only part of "you" that you can show them. While your grades may impress the admissions tutor, it will be your personal statement that will show them if you are a motivated, able and suited to do this course. They are often the deciding factor in whether or not you receive a place at that University. 

I remember when we were first told about Personal Statement’s. 4000 characters on myself? I find it difficult to write an "About Me" page on my blog, let alone write something that will make a University want to accept me, especially when I knew how important it would be. My mind balked at the idea. 

We were given a booklet with detailed tips on how to write our Personal Statement’s (including a basic outline), and we were advised to look at the UCAS website to help us while we were writing. While this was helpful (and for some, it was enough), I spent the 8 weeks writing mine wishing that I had someone who had already done it with me, giving me some guidance. 

I slaved over mine until I couldn’t do any more to it. I wasn’t completely happy with it when I sent it off, but looking over it a few years later, I am actually quite proud with the end result. I would have felt a lot better if I had know that there is no such thing as a "perfect" personal statement. However, I probably would have found it easier and been more confident if I had had someone my own age, or a year or two older than me that could offer me guidance. 

So, because of this, I’ve decided to write a post with tips on how to write a Personal Statement, written by someone who’s actually had to write one in the last year or two. I originally wrote this post for my old blog 4 months after I submitted my University application. Although that was a couple of years ago, I have read through, done more research and edited this post to ensure it is as helpful as possible.

I have 6 main tips (plus some extra tips at the end) and an outline of a statement to try and offer you as much help as I can. Feel free to bookmark this page to come back to it or you can download the two documents available at the bottom of the page. 

My first, most important tip is: Do not copy anyone else’s personal statement. While it can seem so easy to just copy and paste or to even rearrange someone else’s words, especially if you're stuck and frustrated, don’t. You will be caught. I’m not exaggerating or trying to scare you; UCAS use a Similarity Detection Service which checks every single personal statement for similarities and, if needed, action will be taken. If you are stuck, ask for help. Don’t risk your application.

My second tip is don’t lie. I know it’s tempting to throw in a little white lie, especially if (like me) you do next to nothing outside of school. I would recommend that you don’t. Personal Statements can be used in interviews and nobody wants the embarrassment of being caught out in the middle of an interview. It’s just easier to emphasise what you have done instead of inventing stuff to try and make yourself sound better. 

My third tip is don’t rush this. I get that it’s boring and difficult and Twitter/Facebook is so much more interesting but this is a pretty big deal. It took me 8 weeks to finish mine and a good 4 - 6 weeks for some of my friends. Your Personal Statement is important and you deserve to have the best one possible. To make sure you do, you can’t write it the night before or the week before. Start as early as you can; you may not find it fun but I promise you, it will be worth it in the end. 

Now I’ve got those three things out of the way, I can talk about actually writing the statement. 

I found the first draft of my statement almost impossible to write. I’d never written anything like it before and 47 lines (or 4000 characters) suddenly felt like the impossibility of a 10 page essay. 

Knowing how hard it is to even begin writing your personal statement, I would recommend that you start by making a list of all your academic achievements/details (a level subjects, open university, GIFmat, Head Boy/Girl etc), your extra-curricular activities (sports, chess, committees you are on), anything you do outside of school (help out in clubs, jobs, sports) and then anything else that you are proud of/that is relevant to the degree you want to study. Next to each point on your list, write down skills/qualities you have gained from them. You won’t use a lot of these in your personal statement but just having them written down in front of you will help boost your confidence. To help, I've made a downloadable sheet that you will find at the bottom of this post. 

If it helps you, write a plan of your statement paragraph by paragraph. Having a structure will help you even if the words aren’t flowing as well you want them to. Use your lists (see paragraph above) to help plan what will go in each paragraph. 

Once you’ve done that, it’s time to actually write the statement. Now, it’s important that you stay realistic. This is your first attempt. It’s likely that it will be too long or too short, it might not sound right or ‘flow’ properly.This is okay. You won’t be sending off your first draft, you probably won’t even send off your second daft either. It’s vital to just get something written down on paper. Even if you’re not happy with it, it’s a starting point. 

UCAS has some tips on what to include but I still found this a bit too vague. I wanted a structure to use that wasn’t too rigid but that gave me enough information that I could focus on my writing. It was really hard to find this online without copying someone else’s statement so in the end, I just wrote and didn’t worry about a structure. It turns out this was the best solution and surprisingly, there’s a pretty clear outline present. I thought it might help to write it here:

1. What you want to study and your most relevant subject (e.g. English for a English degree) referencing parts of the course to show you have researched it and to demonstrate your interest. The more interest and knowledge you can show, the better. Just keep in mind that you are not advertising the course, you are advertising yourself. 
2. Other A Level subjects being studied and how the skills you have gained/are gaining from these are relevant to your degree (e.g. Maths A Level would be useful to anyone studying a degree that involves a Statistics module).
3. “Other” Academic achievements (Open University, Duke of Edinburgh etc). For example, I have a Level 2 qualification in Paralegal studies and I mentioned this here. I made it relevant to my personal statement by referring to the fact it was taught by a local college and I completed it at the same time as I took my GCSE’s (I showed that it demonstrated skills such as time-management, coping with pressure, organisation etc.). If you have a project or coursework that you are proud of, you can include it here.
4. Extra-curricular activities. If you do sports, mention them here. Participation in sports is valued highly by Universities as it shows dedication, people skills and shows you’re not just academic. Universities are also proud of their sports (and other) societies so demonstrating an interest in these can look very good. This is where I hit a wall. See, I think I’m actually allergic to exercise/all sports. While I thought this would only be a problem when I had to think of an excuse to get out of P.E. lessons in school, it also became a problem when I came to write my personal statement and realised I have never been part of a school sports team (I don’t count netball because I spent the whole of those 4-6 months trying to quit). However, if you are like me, don’t despair! Sports aren’t the only extra-curricular activities that count. Extra-curricular means any activity that was done in addition to your normal school studies. I used this paragraph to talk about tutoring, mentoring, my role as Deputy Head Girl and being on the Prom Committee. If you help with Numeracy or Better Reading, mention these as well (especially if you’re applying for a teaching course). Peer Support and any other committees/clubs should be talked about as well.
5. Talk about your job (if you have one) or work experience (if you did it). Just remember that everything you include must show how you are suitable for the course you are applying for.
6. “Other”. This is where you should talk about what you do outside of school, for example if you help run clubs or if you are a member of a sports team, art group, drama group etc. I do none of these things. The only thing I do outside of school is read, go out with friends and eat. Now, the only one of these things that is remotely relevant is reading. I was lucky in that my love of reading actually inspired my interest in Psychology and this is what I wrote about. If you have something you love to do and you can relate it to your degree, include it. The worst that can happen is that you will have to edit it out. 
7. Gap Year. (Leave this section out if it doesn't apply to you). Use this paragraph to talk about why you're taking a gap year, what you're doing on your gap year and how this might be relevant to your degree. 
8. Conclusion. I suck at conclusions. 14 years of English and I still can’t conclude anything. One way to conclude your statement is by talking about how this course will be useful to you in the future. If you aren't sure what you want to do in the future, a useful tip is to just say you’re looking forward to the course/university and sum yourself up as a person (no more than 3 adjectives). 

This outline may not work for you and that’s fine. Write the way you feel most comfortable. Once you have your first draft, hand it in and feel glad that the worst part is over. All that comes next is re-writing and editing until you’re happy with it. 

This is where my fourth tip comes in: write as many drafts as it takes for you to be happy with your Personal Statement. By the time I was ready to send my UCAS application off, I had written 6/7 drafts of my personal statement and had handed each one to the Head of Sixth Form, my Psychology Teacher, a couple of my friends and even my Mum. With each draft I wrote, the quality improved noticeably. By the end, the only problem I had was needing to cut sentences out (a huge difference to my first problem of trying to expand 31 lines to 47).

Which leads nicely to my fifth tip.. Hand your draft/s in to more than one teacher. I don’t mean as many random members of the teaching staff as you can, so don’t go handing out your personal statement in the staff room like a leaflet. Hand it in to teachers that know what personal statement’s should be like and, if you have a teacher who is related to the degree you want to do, hand it in to them as well. For example, I handed all of drafts to my Head of Sixth Form and (because I applied to do a Psychology degree), I handed it to my Psychology teacher as well. This is important because the notes they will write on your statement will help you change/improve your statement. I would make a note of all of the comments made by both teachers and use these when writing my next draft. 

My sixth tip is don’t leave the editing to your teachers. While my teachers were marking my drafts, I would a print a copy of my current draft and go through it myself. I would write notes along the edge and write changes I wanted to make. I read it as though it was someone else’s piece of work and this definitely helped. It meant that when I received my drafts, I had 3 sets of notes to work from. Sometimes my notes were similar to one of my teacher’s, other times I had picked up on something they had missed. Editing your own work will help you learn what you want from your statement, the way you want it to sound and ultimately, will create a piece of work that you can be proud of. 

My seventh and final tip is always keep the purpose of your personal statement in mind. You are trying to convince the University that they should accept you on to the course. Universities want to know if you have the necessary qualities, if you can cope with the demands of University life and if you have a genuine interest in the course you are applying for. Everything you mention must show how you are suitable for the course or it must emphasise a particular skill/characteristic that is important (hard-working, people skills, time-management). 

To end, here are some general tips to keep in mind as you’re writing:

• Don’t mention random achievements like “I have a swimming certificate for 500m.” Even if you can argue that this shows your dedication to reaching a goal, leave it out. Everything you mention must be recent and relevant. Avoid anything before Year 10 unless it is absolutely necessary. For example, don’t mention a certificate you were given in Year 6 for a class project but do mention if you sat a GCSE in Year 9 or did Duke of Edinburgh in Year 8. 
• Don't mention your grades. These will be included in your UCAS form and you will waste a valuable part of your word count. 
• It’s okay to not have an academic reason for everything. They want to know that you’re a well-rounded individual, not just a study-machine. If your job contributes nothing to your school life, that’s okay. Think about the skills it has given you. People skills? How to deal with pressure? How to work well within a team? There are skills that will enable you to contribute to the University as an individual, not just a student and that’s important. 
• Don't use 'fancy' words. The better the statement, the simpler the English. 
• Avoid cliché's and over-used quotes. 
• Be wary of using humour. Jokes can fall flat and it could damage an otherwise great statement.
• Don’t be modest. A University is not going to pick you because you didn’t sound big headed or because you came across as humble. They want to know why they should accept you; they are waiting to be persuaded that you are worth it. Now, I’m not telling you to write things like “I am the best person for this subject and you should definitely pick me” but don’t be afraid to say you’re good at something. For example, when I spoke about my job I wrote “I’m good at my job, I enjoy it...” and it’s the truth. I am good at my job and I’m not going to hide that just so I can sound modest. It shows I am confident in my abilities and that I am sure of myself, and that is not a bad thing. 
• Don’t be offended by any of the suggestions for change when you receive your draft/s back. I know it sucks being told you should change something, especially if you are pleased with it. What you should remember is that your teachers do this every year. They know what works and what doesn’t, so their opinion isn’t something that should be easily ignored. If you do have a real problem with a suggestion, go and speak to them about it. Ask them why they think it should be changed and listen to their reasons. Give your reasons why you want to keep it as well. If at the end it stays, well done. If it still has to go, make sure you understand why and then remove it. There will be things that you like that will have to go but that’s just how it goes and if it means the end result is better, then it’s worth it. 

Aaaaaand that’s it! That’s all the advice I have to give. If you would like to use either of the documents I have made you can find the skills document here and the structure guideline document here. 

I hope I’ve helped, or at least made the process a little easier. All that’s left to say now is... Good luck!