Your personal statement is a big part of your uni application. It's where you can show universities why they should give you a place on your chosen course.
Read on for quick tips on writing your personal statement. We'll cover what sort of things to include, how to approach the three-question format, and answer some of the most commonly asked questions that get asked on The Student Room.
When should I start writing my personal statement?
It’s never too early to start thinking about it! It's quite a long process and you're likely to have a few drafts before reaching your finished product. However, you'll need a good idea of what course you’re going to apply for before you launch into writing it.
If you get yourself organised over the summer, you can start by jotting down a few ideas over those few weeks - ready to start writing it when you arrive back to school or college in September.
The Ucas application deadline for most undergraduate uni courses starting in September/October 2026 is 14 January 2026. If you're applying to Oxbridge or for medicine, dentistry or veterinary science courses to start in 2026 there's an earlier deadline – 15 October 2025. You can find all the key Ucas deadlines and application dates for 2026 entry in this article.
How long can the personal statement be?
Your personal statement will be written as the answer to three questions:
- Why do you want to study this course or subject?
- How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?
- What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?
You have a maximum of 4,000 characters (including spaces) to be spread across all three answers. Each answer must be at least 350 characters long (including spaces).
The form on Ucas Hub includes a character counter, which will show how many characters you have used.
How do I get started with my personal statement?
It's a tall order to start writing the statement off the top of your head, and it's probably not the best idea either. Instead, start by getting down all your thoughts as notes. Those three questions will give you a steer of what to cover; the main things to think about are:
- Why do I want to study this course, and how can I demonstrate this?
- What do I know about the course, and how have I been building the skills I will need for it?
- What personal qualities, interests and experience do I have which show I am suited to this subject, and to study at university?
Many people have trouble writing about themselves and their personal qualities. If you’re struggling with this step, it can be helpful to look up some information on writing a CV - there are a lot of parallels in how to put yourself forward effectively.
What should I focus on in my personal statement?
Exactly how you write your statement depends on your subject. For instance, people tend to write more about work experience for vocational subjects like medicine and law than they would for subjects like maths or English where work experience is less of a big deal.
You've got three questions to answer and each covers an area that universities will want to hear about. Just make sure that everything you include has a focus on you and the course you have chosen.
You want to show that you are committed to your course choice, that you understand what it will entail and that you have already been working in a way that will help you make the step up from your current studies.
Should I talk about what I want to do after university?
This can be relevant to add into the first question, in particular, where you are talking about your motivations for choosing this course. If you have a good idea of what you want to do, you can mention this: it will help build the impression that you’ve thought carefully about your course and what you want to do with it.
If you don’t have any definite future plans, then leave this bit out and focus specifically on what you love about the course.
Should I talk about my qualifications?
You don't need to list them. The second question asks specifically about your studies, but it's not there for you to add a list of GCSE grades and A-level subjects. Those are already covered elsewhere in your application.
The point of the second question is to link the work you have been doing to the course you are applying for. It's a space where you can show that you understand the skills you will need for this course, and that you have been proactive in starting to develop them.
How do I write a personal statement for two different courses?
There’s no easy way to write a personal statement for two totally unrelated courses. If the courses are similar you may find you can write a statement relevant to both, without mentioning either subject by name.
If the courses are completely unrelated, it may be impossible to write for both subjects without your personal statement sounding vague and unfocused. Instead you will need to concentrate on just one subject and just ignore the other – it sometimes works!
What are admissions tutors looking for?
Different admissions tutors are looking for different things, but in general they will be thinking things like: “Do we want this student on this course?”, and “Do we want this student at this university?” And most will be looking for an interest in the subject you are applying for that goes beyond simply your A-level syllabus/reading list.
Remember, most universities and departments now publish information on applications and writing personal statements, so reading the subject section of their website might list more specific information on exactly what they’re looking for. If in doubt, google the name of the university along with the subject/course and admissions statement.
Any other tips?
What have you done that's relevant to your subject, that can be unique to your personal statement?
Many people have similar interests and work experience: can you find something to separate you from the crowd? For example, everyone who applies for economics seems to read The Economist, The Financial Times, and The Guardian. So if you put down those, don't expect them to be amazed by your reading around the subject. Have a deeper think – what makes you stand out?
And the most important thing?
Finally, remember that it’s your personal statement, and you can write whatever you want on it. If everything in this guide conflicts with what you’ve got already, but you think you still have a killer personal statement, then use that.
A personal statement is about you, and you shouldn’t let anyone tell you what to put – sticking blindly to a formula will just stop your true personality showing through.
Tricks to squeeze more in
- Don't repeat yourself.
- Cut out the waffle – be concise!
- Get rid of pointless words, such as very specific details or unecessary adjectives
- Ask your referee to mention some stuff that you cannot
- If you can't get it under the character limit, you may just have to chop whole sentences
What should I do once I’ve written it?
Get people's opinions on it! Show it to your friends, parents, teachers, career advisors and so on and note down their comments.
The most useful comments are likely to come from your teachers in the subject and the people at your school or college who handle Ucas applications.
If you have enough time, leave your personal statement for a couple of weeks and come back to it – if you’re not still happy with what you wrote, it’s time to start redrafting.
Definitely do not post it online. If your personal statement is published online before your application is complete, it may get picked up by Ucas' plagiarism detection.
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