Before you begin working on your personal statement for British universities

1. Decide what you want to study.

Starting to write a personal statement is impossible if you don't know what you want to study, because you need to focus on a specific direction and describe why you chose it. Read as much information as possible about the directions that might interest you, including details about the subjects. This will help you to be sure of your choice and whether you are the right candidate for a particular direction. If you leave this to the very end, you may find that you have chosen something in which you will not be able to fulfill yourself.

2. Choose the 5 best courses for you.

During the application for undergraduate studies at UCAS or master studies at MasterApply, you can choose up to five courses. Although, the best option is if you have chosen only one (or very similar courses) that interests you at different universities you would like to go to, it means that you can focus your personal statement on this particular course and increase your chances of getting a positive decision by having different universities in your choices.

3. If you have chosen the same or similar directions…

If you are applying for five courses related to business or five in engineering, it will definitely be easier for you to write a personal statement. It won't be possible to write a good letter while having two or more different courses, meaning if you choose both engineering and business, your personal statement will be good for only one or neither of your chosen courses. You should focus your attention on one field and will be able to connect everything easily.

4. If you chose a mix of various directions...

If you have chosen three courses related to computer science and two related to video games, writing a personal statement might turn out to be a little more difficult. In this case, you must very carefully organize and analyze what you will write, in such a way that it relates to all five courses. Seek advice from people who have already gone through the university application process; you will obtain valuable advice from them. If you need help, write to the university with an inquiry on how to reconcile several courses in one personal statement.

5. The best advice for applicants in veterinary, medicine, and dentistry.

If you decide to apply for veterinary science, medicine, or dentistry with your four choices, there's nothing stopping you from choosing a completely different field for your fifth option. However, remember to focus your personal statement on your primary choices. For some courses, the one written previously might suffice, but sometimes universities will ask you to write a separate motivational letter focused on a specific field. If you need this, don't hesitate to ask for help.

6. Choice of joint degrees.

If you are applying for combined courses, such as psychology with marketing, it is important to also connect them in your personal statement. In this particular case, there are connections that you can easily use while writing and achieve a favorable impact on the outcome of your work. When choosing a course with different, unconnected directions, it will be best for the person reading your personal statement if you try to connect them in a light way.

7. Use guidance and check before you send

We have prepared an interactive personal statement worksheet - available entirely for free - where you can find instructions on what to put into the letter. You can use it as your guideline, starting point and... what's the best part - you can send your letter for a professional review to improve your letter before it's sent to the universities.

8. Plagiarism is bad...

and we know you know it already, but we need to stress this out enough. Personal Statement needs to be entirely your work, you can't copy any fragments from the internet, other works and the ones written by AI. With multiple cases of having fragments generated by AI in letters sent to the universities, the admissions team are more and more cautious. If you send a copy-paste, your application might be entirely withdrawn and you might also face other consequences. AI is not bad though, it can be very useful and helpful addition for your struggles. You can of course use it to give you inspiration and/or to get a guidance or other support with your worksheet.