When you're applying to university, your personal statement can help you stand out from the crowd. It’s a great way to talk about your experiences, skills and goals.
Here, we look at how personal statements work, and share some top tips for writing them.
Many university courses don’t require an interview, so decisions are based on your application form. Your personal statement is an important part of this.
Your personal statement is an opportunity to make an impression. It’s reviewed by admissions officers or tutors and can help them decide whether to offer you a place.
Until now, personal statements have been one single essay of up to 4,000 characters (including spaces).
From September 2026, they’ll be broken down into three questions instead. There will still be an overall limit of 4,000 characters.
The new format makes it easier to structure your answers and focus on the details that universities are most interested in. This includes:
Question 1: Why do you want to study this course or subject?
Take the opportunity to talk about what motivates you to study a course or subject. Maybe it was a specific event or person in your life? Or perhaps it’s been an interest of yours for many years – and you’re excited to learn more about it.
If you’ve explored the subject outside of school – maybe through books or activities – now’s the time to mention that.
You can also explain how the course fits into your career plans and future goals.
If you're going to Open Days, they can help you here. They can give you an insight into what's expected from students on different courses.
Question 2: How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?
This is where you can showcase subject-specific skills and knowledge you've developed at school or college.
You don’t need to list your grades here – they’re included on another part of your application. However, you can talk about other academic achievements such as leadership roles, awards, or involvement in activities such as sports or the arts.
You can also talk about more general (transferable) skills that show you’re suitable for the course. Some examples of transferable skills are:
Question 3: What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?
The third question is about your experiences beyond education.
Here, you can highlight skills, knowledge and achievements that show you'd be a good student of a subject. These might have come from:
If you’re no longer in full-time education, explain what you've been doing since and how it’s prepared you to study at university.
The answer to each question should be at least 350 characters long, and there’s an overall limit of 4,000 characters.
UCAS has a character counter, so you can keep track of how many words you’ve used.
Here are some good ways to approach writing your personal statement.
If you haven’t applied through UCAS in the current academic year:
If you have applied through UCAS in the current academic year, you might change your mind and decide to apply for a different subject. If that’s the case:
Your personal statement should feel genuine and mention your specific skills and experiences.
Universities are really interested to hear what motivates you to study a subject. They want to get a sense of you as a person, so we recommend using ChatGPT or other AI tools carefully.
You could use AI to:
When you complete your UCAS application, you’ll be asked to declare that your personal statement hasn't been copied or provided by another source, including AI.
UCAS guide to personal statements
The following documents don't follow the new question-based approach, but are useful guides to structuring your answers. They also point out some of the things universities will be looking for.