Writing your personal statement

1. Write a story

When I say write a story it doesn’t have to be over the top and fictional. It has to be a journey written as a story. Talk about how you became interested in studying your degree. Did you study something at school that sparked your interest? Did you attend a session at a university? Whatever it was speak about it. You can then go on to speak about what you did to further understand the degree. Did you read a book? Attend a lecture? Do some work experience?

2. Tailor it

Tailoring a personal statement can be difficult because you are writing to more than one university but if there is something in particular that stands out to you try and mention it slyly so that it is obvious to the person reading it at the university you are talking to. There may also be some common modules that the universities offer that you are interested in. For example, in a law degree there are some modules that all law schools offer. If you are interested in that specific module then you could discuss that in detail.

3. Make it personal

Your personal statement shows who you are as a person outside of your predicted grades. You should try and show what is important to you. This maybe some volunteering that you’ve done or a book that you have read. It doesn’t have to be a major part of your personal statement, but I personally think it adds another dimension to your writing. It makes the reader feel like they know you personally. It also shows a lot about your personality and what drives you as a person. Do you have an interest in charity, sports, volunteering?

4. Have a variety of people read it (but not too many)

One thing that is certain is that different people have different views on what is ‘right’ and what is ‘wrong’. Although this can be interesting to listen to, when it comes to writing your personal statement it can sometimes make things messy. My advice is to ask a few people who you know will be able to give you good advice and go from there. Remember, just because someone tells you to change something or add something doesn’t mean you definitely have to. It’s just advice. I would say take this advice and think about whether it suits the style of your personally statement. You don’t want to make lots of changes based on other and then when you read your final draft it doesn’t reflect what you wanted to covey to the reader.