How to Write a Personal Statement?

Wanna impress the university authority? That’s why you are here to know how to write a personal statement to enrol in a UK university.

But why is a personal statement so significant?

A personal statement is your big chance to show your personality, dedication, determination, and dream in 4000 characters, where you will write about yourself in a way that makes you unique. In the letter, you should provide the reason for your uniqueness that makes the authority immediately propose you an offer letter.

Choosing to study in the UK is the best decision for you. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to gain skills, outlook, confidence to polish up your potential.

So if you are here to know about the techniques of writing a perfect personal statement, Congratulations on my side! You are way ahead of your dream. But to turn your vision into reality, now you need to work towards your goal.

The first step to your overseas education in the UK is to select some of your preferred universities. Now you need to apply to them. But here is a catch! Only submitting your application with other papers is not enough to enrol in a UK university. With it, the university demands a personal statement to justify your reason to enrol there.

So to make yourself prominent among the race, you must write an impressive personal statement that reflects your personality, passion, and firm will be a part of that university. Before jumping to the techniques of writing a personal statement, let’s know what it is and how it differs from the others.

Let’s know how to write a personal statement.

Personal Statement vs Statement of Purpose vs Letter of Motivation

Personal Statement is your application to a particular college or university for study. A personal statement is more personal than the SOP, where you emphasize your aspiration and motivation to chase the university and the course.

Besides, you can state the major accomplishment and hurdles you have faced along the way in it. In short, in a personal statement, you can mention your former experience and a brief description of who you are. It is usually less formal and lengthier than SOP.

Moreover, SOP is more about what you want to do. It showcases your academic qualification, skills, accomplishment, professional background, career goals, research interest, and why you are fit for the program. The Statement of Purpose is lengthier than the personal Statement.

And lastly, the letter of motivation is directly addressed to the admission committee or the faculty, where you explain your motivation, objectives, and skills.

In your UCAS application, a personal statement is a central part. In it, you will describe the reason behind your course choice and why you will be a good fit for it.

The Personal Statement in the application process is the only part you can control and arrange according to your will. So do a lot of research that shows your passion, interest, and drive to pursue the subject.

How long should a personal statement be?

A personal statement should be within 4000 characters or 500 words. But at the beginning of the personal statement, don’t think about the word limit.

Write wisely, and show your perspective and ambition in it. Take a time gap in between writing the letter. If you write continually day after day, it will focus your monotony in the letter.

Generally, you have a month ahead to submit a personal statement. So take a week gap which will give your brain a chance to think anew.

Your personal statement should be:

• In clear paragraph
• No lying, only truth.
• No repetitive information
• Written by you.

How to Structure a Personal Statement for university?

Structure your personal Statement in some short paragraph divided into three or four parts. In the sections, you need to include some information. Such as-

• Why do you want to study in the institution?
• Why are you suitable for it?
• How is your current study relevant to the course?
• Write about your hobbies and interests.
• Your skills and accomplishments.

Information that I should include in the Personal Statement.

The purpose behind the university authority wanting you to write a personal statement is to know about yourself. But it’s not like you should include things such as your favourite destination, food, or colour.

This section will get to know how to write a personal statement. Here are some things that you must include in the personal statement. As in-

• Your interest and suitability in the course: It would help if you talked about your interest in the course and why you want to study at the university for three years. Tell about your career goal and ambitions around the subject.

• Show the relevance of your previous studies to the subject: It would help if you made it clear in the letter that you are not interested in the subject randomly. Your pre-planned relevant course on which you have studied a lot and your understanding requires you to study the subject.

• Mention the purpose behind your university choice: You have to mention your purpose and interest in choosing the university in this part. First, mention the university’s name and why you like the university most. I will suggest that you research the university location, its ranking.

• Your intention behind studying in the UK

It would be best to mention why you are keen to take higher studies in the UK. Here, you should explain why this UK university is perfect for your career.

• Your proficiency in the English language: When you write a personal statement, make sure your writing is grammatically correct, oriented language, and something that a reader finds interesting to read.

• Your career plan, knowledge, and experience revolving around the course: This part is the convincing part. Explain to the university authority how you used the knowledge and experience you have gained and related to the course you are interested in. Besides, tell them how you are planning your career related to the course.

How to structure a personal statement?

Ok, so you are to know how a personal statement should be, right? I am giving you a structure to follow-

Write a killer introduction

A thought-provoking introduction can make your letter stand out from others. But trust me, most of the applicants are hurdled in this phase. Why? It is because you don’t know where you begin when you have so many great experiences to brag about.

If you are in the same boat and want to know how to write a personal statement, some tips can be a saviour for you. Such as-

• Be an old hand storyteller at the beginning: To hook the reader of the admission team, always start with a captivating incident that completely changed your life. It will create an emotional effect on the reader. And they will be interested to know more about you.

• Always emphasise your word choice: The introduction should be ornamental. Your word choice and writing style will create an intense impression on the reader. Do not write complicated words.

• Connect your past, present, future: Keep in mind that you are not writing a letter to your buddy. It’s a letter to the university authority. So tell the admission team in brief about your past, present, and future goal. Bridge them to make it evident to the authority about your goal, your current activity, and how it linked to the past.

• Always end with your final goal: Write your final goals at the end of an introduction. Always end your final goal clearly without any obscurity.

After the introduction, here comes the main body.

Main Body of the Personal Statement

• This section should provide examples that indicate your readiness for the course. Research your chosen subject through books, newspapers, public lectures, museums, or other sources.
• After researching these areas, make three to four examples and pick the most suitable.
• Don’t just mention your skills and qualities. Instead, explain your skills and qualities in detail related to your future goals.
• Think academically here and imagine yourself as an admission holder. Look over the examples to justify if they are enough to demonstrate your skills and experiences on the course.

A Personal Statement- Dos and Don’ts

There are some Do and Don’t of the personal statement. If you want to succeed, you have to follow these things properly.

Dos

• To attract the admission holder, make a story-like personal statement. It’s all about how much interest you can make the story. So rather than typing a traditional 5-paragraph essay, engage them with your storytelling capacity.
• In the personal statement, you can boast of your skills and accomplishments. But do it in a good way. Without telling them about your goodness, write the good deeds and how they inspire you to do more positive things in life.
• Always respect the word limit given by the authority. The application holder always deals with many applicants at a time. So, writing a large personal letter will be a red alert for you.
• Make sure your writing is grammatically correct as well as simple to understand. Check your spelling. The authority doesn’t want you to be a pro. But also, don’t expect you to write a letter that is not error-free.
• Mention the name of the school you are applying to.
• Before submitting, check it yourself and by others. Besides, don’t forget to proofread it.

Don’ts

• Don’t exaggerate in the personal statement. Don’t repeat a thing that you have mentioned before.
• Write only necessary positive things. Don’t write something that makes the reader uncomfortable.
• Write it by yourself. Don’t allow anyone to write it on behalf of you.
• Try to write a personal statement before submitting it at least a month ago.
• So, I hope now you know how to write a personal statement. Good luck.

Conclusion

Here summarize the key points of your statements and remind your strength to the admission tutor. Tell your final goals here.

FAQ- Frequently asked questions