Writing a UCAS personal statement is no small task. It can be difficult to know where to start and what information should be provided. This blog is designed to help you with the process and give you the tools needed to create an impactful personal statement.

Where can I find help for my personal statement?

Your school/college

Before you begin, it is worth talking to teachers at your school or college. Remember that they know you and are therefore ideally suited to discussing your options with you and suitability for the courses you want to apply for. They will also have years of experience preparing students for university and will be familiar with the UCAS application process, not to mention their own experience at university! Be sure to arrange a time to talk to them and come up with an action plan in terms of drafting, redrafting and submitting in good time. They want you to be successful in your application – so be sure to utilise their experience with applications to benefit you.

University websites

You will find yourself spending a lot of time on university webpages looking at the different courses on offer. They will often include advice on what to include in your personal statement that will boost your chances of acceptance. Whatever you do, make sure you spend time looking at the course description and modules on offer – this is vital because it means that you can hone the details of your personal statement to suit that particular course. These vary from university to university and available modules depend on the teaching staff they have at any given time. You may even find that one university stands out above all others because the modules reflect your interests. Putting in the time will allow you to make a fully informed decision and be confident that you have selected the top five courses for your degree programme.

Open days

Whether virtual or in-person, university open days are a brilliant way to learn more about the university that you are considering applying for. Students often lose sight of the fact that the location is very important – after all, you will be spending years of your life there so you want to have the right ‘fit’. On the day, you will have the chance to meet the Admissions Tutor for your course, lecturers and students who are enrolled there. This is a great opportunity for you to ask questions and benefit from the experience of people who know the university inside out. There is no better way to determine whether a university is right for you than by spending time there yourself. If, however, you are unable to do so – make the most of the virtual tours on offer or arrange a meeting online with Admissions staff who will be able to give you the information that you crave.

So – talking to your school, visiting the university websites and attending university open days are the key steps that you need to take in your journey to writing your UCAS application. Doing all of the above will be of great to help to you as you navigate uni applications. Let’s look at other ways that you can find help…

Blog pages

A simple google search will quickly identify huge amounts of webpages that will give you help with choosing universities and writing your UCAS personal statement. Your task is to make sure that you use reputable websites that offer you genuine and good advice. Start by visiting UCAS, WhatUni? and Which? University – where there is a vast amount of free and highly useful information to help you.

Personal statement writing services

On your search for help writing your personal statement, you will come across ads from people who will offer to write it for you. This might be tempting but it is very important that your personal statement is authentic. You must also remember that UCAS uses plagiarism detectors – so your only way to guarantee that you don’t fall victim to this, is to write it yourself.

Feedback services are, however, an excellent way to ensure that your statement is a cut above the rest. By producing your own draft statement, teams of writers and people with a huge amount of expertise can ensure that you have included the right information and a structured it correctly. This can be a skill in and of itself due to the space constraints of the statement – and it is often this element that applicants struggle with the most. Feedback is therefore highly useful and can be excellent in terms of guiding you through the editing process, as well as identifying grammatical errors which are much easier to spot as an outsider.

4000 characters is not a lot. Many applicants find that they have a huge amount of information that they want to include and this is simply not possible. Feedback services can help you discern what is the most important information to include in your statement that is relevant to the course/courses that you are applying for.

This can be an excellent resource if you feel that you could benefit from one-to-one guidance – perhaps if you think that your teachers are too busy and your parents are unsure about the process. Whatever you do – make sure that you choose the people to help you with caution and that you make sure that you submit a UCAS personal statement that is authentic to you.

Below are two industry-leading companies that provide prospective students with extra support;

Getting In offers unparalleled support from editing personal statements to guiding applicants on selecting courses themselves, and preparing them for university interviews. A multitude of services are available that are all tailored to the specific needs of the client.

Personal Statement Service is the UK’s leading personal statement provider supporting undergraduate, postgraduate, PhD and Medical/Dentistry school applicants with expertly crafted statements for all institutions of higher education. The services are bespoke and use professional writers who complete the heavy-lifting when it comes to writing personal statements.