A personal statement is part of your application to study at a UK university. In a personal statement, the student writes about what they hope to achieve on a UK university course, what they hope to do after the course and why they are applying to this particular university. It is your first chance to show a demonstrable passion and understanding of your chosen subject away from exam results.
Genuine experiences of extra-curricular clubs, work experience or knowledge around a subject are much more likely to make your personal statement stand out, while admissions officers are also looking for positive evidence of your character that will make you a productive member of the university.
The length of a personal statement varies depending on the university, but generally the average length for an undergraduate application is between 400-600 words, around one side of A4 paper or a maximum of 47 lines. Certain postgraduate programmes may require a 1000 word personal statement, but this will be clearly specified.
Try not to go over the given character limit as admissions officers have many personal statements to go through, and a clearly written and concise personal statement is more likely to stand out.
It is also important to not lie about any aspect of your personal life and education history, or even exaggerate. Admissions officers will question you about almost all aspects of your application and are more than adept at getting to the bottom of any non-truths.
In terms of presentation, attempt to create five clear paragraphs of text in a clear font such as Arial or Times New Roman, with a maximum size of 12.
Once you have completed your personal statement, visit SI-UK India for a free consultation. We can edit your personal statement and ensure the English is clear and grammatically correct. Once this process is complete, we will return your personal statement within 1-3 working days.
Applicants should avoid misspelling and grammar errors, as well as discussing topics unrelated to their application and character.
Yes, universities read UCAS personal statements, and they play a major factor when shortlisting candidates.
If you lie on your UCAS personal statement your application will be rejected and any offers revoked.
If UCAS detects similarities in your personal statement it will be flagged for review and your university choices will be notified while it is under review.
Yes, UCAS will notify you if your UCAS application has been rejected. You may also receive a mail from the university stating why your application has been rejected.
Once your UCAS application has been submitted, it cannot be changed. So, before submitting, make sure that you have proofread your application, or get it proofread by someone else to make it error-free.
Please see below for an example of a personal statement to a Development Studies course.
I sincerely thank SI-UK for getting me accepted to UCL. The MSc in Urban Development and Planning is extremely competitive, but the right guidance provided by SI-UK made my dream of studying at University College London a reality. The services were exceptional from beginning to end.
Rashmi Lakshanya Urban Development and Planning at University College London
