What should you avoid in a UCAS personal statement?

What characters are not allowed in UCAS personal statement?

Common symbols not allowed are €, long dashes (–) and the special quote characters “ ' ' ” which will simply be removed from your statement.

What should you absolutely never do when writing your personal statement?

What are dos and don'ts in a personal statement?

Don't be modest or shy.

You want your passions to come across. Don't exaggerate – if you do, you may get caught out in an interview when asked to elaborate on an interesting achievement. Don't use quotes from someone else, or cliches.

What is a bad personal statement?

Listing your accomplishments or rehashing your CV and extracurriculars. You need to show, not tell. Choosing a bland topic that admissions committees see over and over again. Overstating the obvious and using clichés.

UCAS Personal Statement │5 Things to Avoid

What is the best opening sentence for a personal statement?

What is one thing you want to avoid while writing a personal statement?

Clichés. It's difficult to avoid personal statement clichés when you haven't seen other personal statements. If you avoid using templates and keep it simple, stay away from quotes and use your own words, your statement will be naturally original.

Can I just lie on my personal statement?

Firstly, and most crucially: never, ever lie in your personal statement. If you do, it will almost certainly come back to haunt you. Don't make up qualifications or pretend you've read books when you haven't (even if you've read little bits of them).

Should you brag in your personal statement?

It's a document that goes through many drafts and in which you need to “humble brag,” presenting yourself in the best possible light without sounding conceited. You talk about your accomplishments, hurdles you've overcome, future plans, tailoring the statement to what you're applying for.

Is it OK to use quotes in personal statement?

Control your urge to “quote”

Rarely does incorporating quotes into your personal statement strengthen your presentation – a poorly selected or randomly applied quote is often a sign of weak writing skills.

How long should a UCAS personal statement be?

UCAS personal statement word limit

Your personal statement length can be up to 4,000 characters long. This may sound a lot, but it's a word limit of around 550–1000 words with spaces and only about 1 side of typed A4 paper. You need to keep it concise and make sure it's clear and easy to read.

How to write a personal statement for UCAS template?

Include details of jobs, placements, work experience or voluntary work, particularly if it's relevant to your chosen course(s). Try to link any experience to skills or qualities related to the course. Explain what you've been doing since leaving education, and provide additional evidence to support your application.

How to end a personal statement?

A good way to finish your personal statement is to summarise your overall goal or aim when moving forwards towards this job and your career. This means you have spoken about the past, present and future, in just a few lines and gives the employer a good idea of you and your potential.

Does UCAS check your personal statement?

Each personal statement is compared against a library of personal statements previously submitted to UCAS, and a library of sample statements collected from websites and other sources. Each personal statement received at UCAS is added to this library after it has been processed.

What makes a good UCAS personal statement?

Give examples of any related academic or work experience. Show you know what the course will involve and mention any special subjects you're interested in. Demonstrate who you are by listing any positions you've held, memberships of teams or societies, and interests and hobbies. Show consistency in your five UCAS ...

What should a UCAS personal statement include?

Your work experience and future plans are important to include. You should share details of jobs, placements, work experience, or voluntary work, particularly if it's relevant to your course. Try to link any experience to skills or qualities that'll make you successful.

How do I know if my personal statement is good?

An effective essay should be personal and unique, and it should also display a little bit of who you are as a person. Ask yourself if it shows or explains who you are as a person.

What makes a great personal statement?

The reader should feel your personal connection to the degree or program you're applying to and clearly understand your motivations. Discuss what makes you different from other candidates by including specific details and brief examples of your experiences to help your personal statement stand out.

What does a good personal statement look like?

The personal statement should demonstrate the qualities, skills, and values that you've cultivated over your life and how those skills have prepared you for attending college. I (Ethan) have spent the last 15 years answering this question, which you can learn more about in my free 1-hour guide.

Should I leave spaces between paragraphs on my personal statement?

Leave some space by skipping a line between paragraphs – this will make it easier for admissions selectors to read. You will still find you can produce a text of about 450-500 words in the space available.

Can UCAS make mistakes?

Mistakes can happen at any stage of the selection process, ultimately leading to an incorrect decision. Evaluate the different stages of your application processes for clarity, training and competence of staff in those processes, any checking or monitoring steps, and record keeping.

Does your UCAS personal statement have to be 4000 characters?

Personal statement – practicalities

4000 characters (not words, so includes spaces) or 47 lines of text, whichever comes first. No formatting such as bold, underline or italics.

Should I put my name on my personal statement?

Do you put your name on a personal statement? It's better not to put your name in the first paragraph of the application essay. The name is usually mentioned in the header of the personal statement. However, it's necessary to consider the guidelines for an essay.

What are the restrictions for a personal statement?

There's a limit on how much you can write: your personal statement can be up to 4,000 characters (including spaces) or 47 lines of 95 characters (including spaces); whichever is shorter. This may appear generous (read: long) but once you've got going you may find yourself having to edit heavily.

How to write a personal statement without sounding arrogant?

Aim for a more conversational (but not casual) tone so that the statement flows easily for the reader. Further, forget the big words that you think make you sound smart. They actually risk making you sound arrogant, pretentious, or even unintelligent (if used improperly).