Writing your personal statement

Why you need a personal statement

As well as your grades, and any other conditions you need to meet, your personal statement will be used to decide if you receive a place at your chosen universities.

Your statement will be read by academic and admissions staff from the department you've applied to. A lot of universities won't interview you, so your personal statement is a way to show your passion for the subject you want to study.

How the personal statement is changing for 2026 entry

The personal statement structure has changed from one longer piece of text to three separate questions.

Instead of working on a blank page, now you’ll have questions to give you a starting point to talk about yourself and your achievements. This will help you focus on the key things that universities want to learn about you.

Personal statement questions

Each question has a minimum character count of 350 words, with a limit of 4,000 characters for the whole statement.

Question 1: Why do you want to study this course or subject?

This is your opportunity to show your enthusiasm and knowledge about your chosen subject area. Consider what makes you want to pursue it at university level and how it will help your future aspirations.

Examples of what you might cover include:

• What sparked your interest in the subject?
• What do you enjoy most about this subject?
• Specific topics or ideas that you’re interested in
• How your interest developed over time
• Your future goals and ambitions and how the course will help you achieve them

Question 2: How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?

In this section, you should reflect on what you learned in your formal education. You should explain how the skills you developed will help you succeed in this subject area.

Examples of what you might cover include:

• Current and previous studies at school, college or another training provider that are relevant to your subject
• Specific assignments or projects that deepened your knowledge
• Short online courses you’ve completed
• Transferrable skills such as research, critical thinking, analysis or problem-solving

Make sure to not only list what you have done but also include what you have gained from your experiences. Explain how it will help you in your university studies.

Don’t waste your word count talking about your grades, as universities and colleges will see them anyway. Focus on other skills and accomplishments.

Question 3: What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?

This section should be all about other activities and experiences you’ve taken part in and how they helped you prepare for university.

Examples of what you might cover here:

• Work experience or volunteering
• Extracurricular activities and hobbies
• Personal life experiences
• Other achievements completed outside of formal education

Think about what you have learned from these experiences and how they have helped you prepare for studying your chosen subject.

Writing a personal statement

Your personal statement should be about you, with a focus on your experiences and achievements.

Keep in mind:

• You only write one personal statement which is read by all the universities you apply to. Avoid mentioning a specific university or course name.
• Your writing should be authentic, focused, positive and show that you're confident and enthusiastic about studying at university.
• Anyone can say "I'm passionate about studying English" – admissions teams want to see evidence through your actions and experiences.
• Include examples of work experience, volunteering, personal projects or anything else that shows you have a genuine interest in the subject.

Writing tips:

• Your personal statement must be easy to read, so use plain English.
• Be conversational, stay focused and concise.
• Avoid clichés and exaggerating things that you've done.
• Your statement should be authentic and original (do not plagiarise or use fully AI-generated text).
• Web pages can time out, so use a word processor to draft your statement first.

Remember, the admissions team will be looking for your potential to succeed. They don't expect you to know everything already but want someone who will work hard and wants to learn.

Thoughtful reflection on your experiences and ideas is more important than the number or scale of opportunities you’ve had.

Check your personal statement

Make sure you proofread your personal statement. Spelling and grammar checkers don't pick up everything, so try to go through it as much as possible before the deadline.

You should also give your personal statement to someone else to read, like a teacher, friend or parent. Getting someone else to proofread your statement is always a good idea because they'll pick up things you might not have noticed.

Tips from the experts

We've gathered some comments from our admissions and teaching staff about what makes an excellent personal statement.

"The best personal statements get to the point quickly and demonstrate real enthusiasm – I look forward to teaching these students."

"I really like a well-structured personal statement; one that's easy to read and understand."

"I like to know why the student has got to where they are now. If they have an interesting life story, then they should tell it. However, if this has no relevance to the subject, then it can put me off."

"I like information in the statement that shows that the students understand the subject that they have applied for and what using the degree professionally might entail after university."