Writing a personal statement is no easy task! That being said, it’s certainly not impossible and it can be relatively fun when you know what to write - though do be careful with the 4000-character limitation (including spaces)!
By no means am I a personal statement mastermind but… I have read and edited many personal statements and I know the types of things that UK universities (Oxbridge, in particular) are looking for! So here goes…
The opening…
Your opening sentence must be engaging and not cliché. For example, “behold, you are reading the personal statement of the future Prime Minister…” and “I have had an irrevocable love for Biology since I was a foetus…” are not good openings. These statements are bold yet unrealistic and universities won’t take you seriously. Try to adopt a more intellectual approach. Open it up with a fact/statement about your subject which can be linked back to yourself – “Money! Money is the most integral cog in the world-machine, and yet it is the reason why our planet is dying!” – this statement immediately grips the reader. You can also start with a question, though I advise against it.
The Content/Bulk
This part is like pitching a product to a panel – the only difference is, you’re the product and the panel are your universities. You’re trying to show that you’re impressive but also that you’re passionate about your subject.
In terms of structure, your personal statement must be 80% SUPER-CURRICULAR and 20% EXTRA-CURRICULAR. What I mean by this is; if you play football, do drama, work part-time as a barista or any other extra-curriculars, they make up 20% of your personal statement. This may seem absurd but, apart from showing that you’re a well-rounded person and you have skills that aren’t academia-related, universities don’t care about these! The best way to discuss your extra-curriculars is to describe the skills you have developed from them and then relate them back to their usefulness in your degree.
They care much more about super-curriculars! These are degree-related extracurriculars. To put this into perspective, if you’re applying for politics and you write about the time you ran for youth parliament, or if you’re applying for geography and you talk about a geography research trip you went on, or if you’re applying for physics and you talk about an event you attended where Prof Brian Cox talked about Quantum Theory. They are all subject-related extracurriculars AKA super-curriculars, and universities love them!
You’re probably sitting there thinking… ‘well I haven’t been on any trips or to any events’ – fear not, super-curriculars can be done from home. For example, read a book about your subject, listen to a podcast, complete an online course, watch some documentaries or TED talks. Also, consider your local area – is there a relevant talk or workshop taking place at a local college? Is there a business where you can get some experience? Also, apply to different schemes such as ‘UNIQ’, ‘Sutton Trust’, ‘Eton summer schools’, ‘Oxford study days’, ‘Target schools – shadowing events’ and so on. These look very impressive and also convey to universities that you’ve been taking an active role in your subject prior to applying.
You’re A-levels and GCSEs are NOT super-curriculars. If you start saying “I do A-Level computer science thus, I can do computer science at university…” you’re wasting valuable space. Universities know your A levels and what GCSEs you have – don’t add them into your personal statement! That being said if you say something like “having done coding in class; I decided to build upon this skill by writing some scripts on ‘Python’ in my own time…” This shows you’ve taken the initiative to delve into your subject beyond the scope of your A-levels.
A few things to note:
o Don’t just list your super-curriculars - mention 3 or 4 and state what you learned from them, what it led you to do, the transferable-skills you developed that are applicable to your degree.
o Don’t get someone else to write it - it’s called a ‘personal’ statement for a reason.
o Don’t lie or embellish the truth - most universities conduct interviews where they will ask you questions related to your personal statement. If you’ve lied, they can tell.
o Don’t write about open days.
o Don’t fill your personal statement with fancy words – it needs a personal tone, your tone!
o Don’t worry if your personal statement is catered towards one university more than the others - I kept mentioning Earth Sciences in my personal statement (alluding to Oxford’s degree) but I applied to do Geology in the other 4 universities – the universities understand.
o Make reference to modern day issues to illustrate your capacity to keep updated with current affairs i.e. Pharmacology students could talk about Covid-19 vaccine development.
o Don’t copy other personal statements – UCAS has an in-built software which can detect when the same sentence structures have been used. If your personal statement appears to be copied, universities WILL NOT GIVE YOU AN OFFER!
The Ending
Don’t use “in conclusion…” or “to conclude…” You’re not writing an essay! I recommend listing your extracurriculars, state the skills you obtained from them and make it clear to the universities that those skills make you a brilliant applicant.
Well done, you survived your crash course in personal statement writing. Hopefully, you now have a better insight. Please don’t stress too much about your personal statement. Remember, universities also look closely at your GCSEs, A-levels, your teachers’ report, entrance tests, submitted written work, interview performance and other things. Just relax and give it your best shot! Please do not hesitate to email or dm us if you have any questions.
(Little addition from Maz = for your first draft just WRITE. Write down all the relevant things you could put in your personal statement, what you learnt from them, why they are relevant, if you developed any relevant skills etc. This will give you content from which you can build on and begin to structure and edit. Don’t try to write a perfect first line initially, this can even be one of the last things you do).
Love from Abbie xxx
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