How to write an excellent UCAS Personal Statement
The January UCAS deadline is only a month away.
But worry not.
PA Finland decided to provide you with a comprehensive personal statement guide to help you use the time before the 15th of Jan productively and aid you with writing an outstanding personal statement.
Why is the PS important?
As universities specify clear entry requirements on their websites, it is almost certain that the overwhelming majority of applicants will apply with more or less similar grades.
Thus, the purpose of the personal statement is to distinguish you in the crowd.
If you have the grades the PS is the most significant component of the application. Great academic credentials will not compensate for a poor personal statement.
What should the personal statement tell about you?
1. Why are you interested in the course you are applying to study?
What specifics of the course are you interested in?
This could be a sub-discipline within the course, methodologies of the discipline that fascinate you (such as labwork/fieldwork), or a passion for working with texts if you are applying to study a humanities course for example.
What makes you passionate about the subject?
Think about what are the things related to the course that you would want to do because you genuinely enjoy them (as opposed to being forced to do them as part of ‘schoolwork’). This could be essay-writing, doing math at home, tutoring etc.
2. What makes you an academically qualified applicant?
Academic activities (extracurriculars), merits, etc.
Remember that the grades specified in the entry requirements are the baseline. Your independent engagement with the subject will be something that will distinguish you from other applicants.
What else have you done that makes you somebody who will contribute to the course and to the university?
This might be volunteering for example. However, remember that the PS needs to be primarily academic.
Show don’t tell!
All this in 4000 characters and 47 lines.
Every letter, word and sentence needs to serve a purpose
The admissions tutors want someone who:
Will be someone they would like to teach
Academics don't like students they need to force to study. Demonstrate cases of initiative.
Will take full advantage of the learning opportunities that the university offers
Show that you’ve engaged in opportunities to explore the subject outside the classroom.
Will not drop out or switch course
Show that your decision is something you’ve thought about for some time now
Show that your reasons to choose the course are intrinsic and specific to the course you are applying for.
This means that you are interested in the subject in itself and not as a means to an end.
There is nothing wrong in viewing your university studies as an instrument of getting ahead in life. However, your personal statement will be read by people who have dedicated their lives to the subject, so make sure that you demonstrate that you will derive genuine enjoyment from the course and approach it as something with intrinsic, as opposed to instrumental, value.
These attitudes typically correlate with success in your studies and admissions tutors will look for hints of such thinking in your PS.
To conclude, avoid the most common mistakes:
Wasting space on rambling about your subject. Talk about yourself and what makes YOU a good applicant.
Writing controversial things: You don’t have a large amount of space to discuss academic debates etc.
Don’t just name-drop books/writers/scientists. Think!
Don’t overcomplicate your writing. Write clearly and concisely.
We’ve made an entire post about common PS mistakes. You can find it here: https://projectaccess.org/finland/blog/4-ps-mistakes
When writing your personal statement, do not worry about writing an extraordinarily good piece right away. Best personal statements take time to polish and it is ok to make tons of drafts.
In the meantime, good luck!
You can always approach your PA mentor if you have any questions :)