If you are considering applying to university or college, it is important to consider what you will include in your personal statement. Your personal statement is a key part of your UCAS application as it is your chance to tell universities and colleges what makes you stand out from other applicants. We know it might seem intimidating but if you give yourself enough time to plan, write and edit your personal statement it can make all of the difference. Here are some top tips to help you write a successful personal statement:
No Inflammatory Statements
Remember not to include any inflammatory or exaggerated phrases in your personal statement. What the university is looking for is a real and honest reason for why you are interested in that subject area. It does need to be profound, it just needs to be honest.
For example, if you are interested in a nursing course, your reasons for applying could be that your auntie is nurse and hearing her speak about her experiences inspired you to choose this profession. It may also be that you had a talk at school from a nurse or it could that you recently researched what nursing is and it would be a good job for you.
Edit, Draft, then Edit Again!
Not many of us take a picture and post it straight on Instagram; we edit and add filters to it until we think it is perfect. Similarly, editing is the most important part to getting the perfect personal statement.
So we suggest to write your first draft, edit it, get your friends, teachers and parents to read it and give you feedback and then, EDIT AGAIN! Keep going until it is the best possible version on YOU to send it with your application.
Highlight your experiences and achievements
Your achievements and experiences do not need to be related to academic study but instead may be personal achievements or related to part-time employment. It could something small and you could tie it in with how the skills that you learnt make you a fit for the course.
For example, if you are applying for a business management course, your experience of working part-time at a local supermarket could contribute to your personal statement. You could highlight your skills of organisation, communication with customers and vendors, training new staff and so on.
You also do not need to list your academic qualifications as this will already be visible on another section of your application and adding it will waste of valuable characters that could be used to further boost the personal statement. However, if you have an academic award at school (e.g. School Physics Award) then they could add that into the achievement section to showcase your commitment to the subject.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Talk about your strengths in your statement and how it can help you do the course and build a successful career in the subject area. At the same time, do not shy away from mentioning your weaknesses. Nobody is perfect!
Include statements about how you plan on overcoming your weaknesses and how the course can help you. Writing about this shows the admissions team that you are confident yet highly self-aware.
Take your time
Writing your personal statement is not a matter of a single all-nighter. Make sure to span your writing and editing over a week or so. It is important that you sleep over it or take a day’s break before coming back to it. Doing this will give you a fresh perspective and will make the editing process less tiring.
Hope these tips help you write the perfect personal statement. Good luck with your applications and see you at RGU soon!
3 responses to “Top Tips to Write a Personal Statement”
[…] the application process was all new for me. I applied through UCAS, wrote a personal statement and I also had to put together a portfolio, which was something I had never done before. I am not […]
[…] Student Admissions Services and Personal Statement Writing Tips […]
[…] Top Tips to Write a Personal Statement 5 Things I Didn’t Expect: Transitioning to University […]