Many students find it difficult to write a personal statement. In our experience, deciding what to study and where is one of the most nerve-wracking decisions to make followed by how to write the best UCAS Personal Statement. The stakes are high because most admissions officers firstly look at a combination of grades obtained in your 10th board examinations followed by 11th standard and pre-board scores (if 12th-grade scores are available, then those are considered) followed by the student’s personal statement.
Be authentic and honest in why you want to study your chosen subject:
The majority of your personal statement must consist of why do you want to study a particular subject with examples that support your skills and interest in that subject. For example, On your personal statement, being a ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ or ‘Scrubs’ enthusiast does not rightly justify a strong desire to study medicine. Support your interest in the medical field with relevant research, work experience, and volunteer work in hospitals, etc to create a strong argument for yourself.
Briefly, mentioning extracurricular activities that are relevant to your application (field of study) will help you look like a well-rounded candidate. For example, if you are applying for a degree in Mass Communications mentioning your Public Speaking skills supports your application. However, being a good cricket player, dancer or painter will not make a huge impact on your personal statement if your academic profile is weaker than the next applicants and your grades do not match the course requirement.
UCAS has a very strict policy against plagiarism. Do not copy friends or relative’s personal statements or get it written by ‘agents’ If more than 10% of your personal statement appears to have been copied or plagiarised from the internet it will be automatically rejected on the basis of plagiarism.
Typos, Grammar, and spelling errors
The most underrated yet important detail to pay attention to when writing your personal statement is to avoid poor spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Typos and using informal language in writing your personal statement comes across in poor taste and will not impress the admissions officer. Stick to using a polite professional tone in your writing without sounding dull and uninspiring in your essay. The key is to strike an appropriate balance. For example, do not use I’m, I’d, I’ve, etc. As it is informal written English. This is an important detail if you want to be taken seriously in any application you make, be it for a university or for a job.
The UCAS Apply software does not have a spell-checking facility. You should draft your statement on Microsoft Word and check for spelling errors and grammar prior to copy-pasting it onto the UCAS Website. On Microsoft Word, make sure you have set UK English as your default. Proofread your essay aloud at least thrice before making a final submission.
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