If you know someone who is applying to study at a UK university, they may need your support in some areas of the process. For most applicants, the most difficult part of the process is writing the Personal Statement, which is something you can help with in a way that is incredibly helpful.
While you can’t necessarily help them write it, you can provide feedback on the drafts they write so that they know what works and what needs improving. However, you may not know what to look for in a statement or may be unsure of how to present your feedback in a way that helps the applicant.
In this guide, we’ll explore all of these issues so that you can learn how to provide effective Personal Statement feedback. Let’s get started!
What Are Personal Statements?
If you’re unaware of what a Personal Statement is in the context of UK university applications, here’s a quick rundown.
Universities in most countries will require some form of Personal Statement or college essay, and in the UK, this process is handled by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). UCAS handles all major steps in the standard UK university application process, including the application form, university selection and references.
Applicants must complete this form before one of two deadlines (depending on the university and course their applying for), including their finished Personal Statement.
The UCAS Personal Statement isn’t a single free-form document. Instead, applicants need to answer three specific questions relating to their motivation, abilities and experiences within their chosen subject:
UCAS Personal Statement Questions
- Question 1: Why do you want to study this course or subject?
- Question 2: How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?
- Question 3: What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?
For each question, applicants must write an answer in at least 350 characters. However, the overall character limit for the Personal Statement is 4,000, so applicants need to ensure they spread their writing out across the three questions.
All Personal Statements are submitted digitally, so the applicant will need to write theirs on a computer. Depending on how you prefer to give feedback, you could print their drafts out and provide feedback by hand or use the note tool in any standard word processing software to highlight specific areas.
Now that we understand the basic format of Personal Statements, let’s look at the things that applicants should include in their Personal Statements.
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What To Look Out For In A Personal Statement
Although a Personal Statement is meant to authentically represent the applicant who is writing it, there are certain things that admissions tutors look for. Everything an applicant writes should be true, but it’s important to be aware of what is expected in a Personal Statement:
What Do Universities Look For In Personal Statements?
Academic Ability and Potential
Universities seek applicants who can excel in an academic environment, especially environments teaching the subject they’re applying for. While academic ability is typically assessed through grades, which should already meet the course requirements, it’s crucial that applicants effectively convey their potential in their Personal Statement, particularly in their response to Question 2. This helps ensure that admissions tutors fully understand their academic capabilities.
Critical Thinking and Independence
Universities look for applicants who are not only intellectually gifted in their chosen field but also possess strong general cognitive abilities. Critical thinking is a key skill across numerous professions, so the ability to think logically and analyse situations – both academically and in everyday life – is vital for a successful applicant. Additionally, applicants must demonstrate initiative and the ability to work independently, which will often be required of university students.
Suitability and Enthusiasm for the Course
Successful applicants should be genuinely passionate about their chosen subject, showing an in-depth understanding and a keen desire to learn more. With limited spots available, admissions tutors prioritise students who are deeply engaged with their studies both inside and outside of school.
Applicants must prove that they are self-disciplined, motivated, committed, and eager to grow – traits that are essential for success at the top universities in the UK. These qualities should be highlighted in Question 1 of the Personal Statement, so applicants should take time to craft a thoughtful and compelling response.
Critical Thinking and Independence
In some cases, showcasing relevant experience, be it through work placements or other forms of extra/super-curricular activities – is essential (such as Medicine applications). Other times, it’s nice to have but may not always be easy to achieve. Either way, applicants need to find discussion points that link to their subject choice in some way, even if not directly.
With that in mind, let’s now consider what you should be looking out for when reading someone’s Personal Statement to give feedback:
What Do Universities Look For In Personal Statements?
Proper Personal Statement Formatting
This is the most basic point to consider: is the Personal Statement formatted properly? This means ensuring the writer has followed the three-question format (rather than writing one long statement) and has stayed within the character limit.
The character limit isn’t necessarily important in the first draft of the statement (we recommend that applicants write a long statement first before editing it down in later drafts), but you should ensure the content of each question has been explored thoroughly.
Also, be sure to check the usage of paragraphs, as separating text naturally makes any Personal Statement far easier to read. Correct spelling and grammar are essential, so read through the statement carefully to find any errors.
Questions Answered Correctly
Next, consider if the content for each question actually answers what is being asked. There are specific things that applicants should be discussing in each part of the statement, but it can be easy to accidentally start letting other topics bleed into the answer.
For example, if an applicant is answering Question 2 (which asked about a student’s academics), their train of thought may naturally move to a school trip they took or a work placement that was obtained via their school. In most cases, these things would be better discussed in Question 3, which is all about additional activities. Keep this in mind when reading through a statement, as it is important to keep each question on topic.
Content Relevant To Subject
There are two ways to approach this point when reviewing a Personal Statement. Firstly, you should ensure that the writer doesn’t discuss things that aren’t relevant to the course they’re applying for. For example, when discussing their academics, applicants should stick to the subjects that relate to the course.
However, that doesn’t mean that everything discussed needs to be directly relevant to the subject. It’s fine for applicants to write about general topics, and, in many cases, it will be necessary. When we say that the content should be relevant, we also mean that the writer should highlight a connection between the topic they’re discussing and the course.
This could come in the form of actionable skills that will be helpful in their studies, observations that made them view the subject in a new way or life experiences that encouraged them to move into their chosen field. The writer should find a balance between subject-specific content and general content that links to the subject in some way.
Self-Reflection
This is the point that will set apart a great Personal Statement from an average one. We know what kind of points applicants should be writing about, but the most important thing they can do is discuss how those experiences affected them personally. Self-reflection in a Personal Statement essentially boils down to what an applicant learnt/felt about an experience and how those lessons will influence them as a student at the university and beyond.
Part of this comes down to linking topics to the course, as mentioned before, but it’s even more important that the writer explains how each of their talking points helped them develop in some way and how the skills they learnt will be utilised in their studies. It can be easy for applicants to just simply describe what they did without this additional reflection, so highlight where more detail could potentially be explored when reviewing.
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Common Personal Statement Mistakes
We know what applicants should be including in their Personal Statements, but what should they be avoiding? Here are some common mistakes in Personal Statements that you should be ready to catch out:
Lying or Over-Exaggerating
These are two distinct issues, but both can lead to significant problems if an applicant is caught.
Lying is, of course, the more serious of the two and should never be included in a Personal Statement. While applicants don’t usually lie about their motivations, experiences or accomplishments, there may be a temptation to add what might seem like harmless embellishments to enhance their writing.
Some applicants might consider adding something that is unlikely to be questioned, like highlighting a book they haven’t actually read or claiming to have completed a task they didn’t actually do during a work placement. However, when it comes to a Personal Statement, every detail can come under scrutiny at some point, especially if the applicant needs to attend an interview as part of the admissions process. Therefore, it’s not worth risking a question they can’t answer truthfully.
On the other hand, a bit of over-exaggeration can be acceptable within reason. Applicants want to present themselves as the best candidate for their course, so highlighting their achievements in the most impressive way is understandable. However, they must be prepared to back up their claims during the interview to avoid appearing arrogant, unprepared, or dishonest.
If you spot anything that doesn’t seem right, be sure to question them about it yourself to see if they can actually justify its inclusion in the statement.
Pandering To Universities
Applicants may think they should write what universities want to see in order to impress them, and while this is partly true, many applicants misunderstand exactly what admissions tutors are looking for.
Some applicants try to cram their Personal Statement with every achievement they’ve ever had, believing that the admissions team expects a long list of accomplishments. Others might embellish details (as mentioned earlier), thinking it will make them sound more impressive.
However, admissions tutors can easily see through these strategies, as they’ve reviewed countless Personal Statements over the years. So, what do they actually want to see? While skills and experience are certainly important, they also focus on an applicant’s character. The most attractive candidates are those who are humble, curious, and able to reflect on the significance of their achievements – qualities that are especially valued at top universities in the UK like the Russell Group and G5.
When reviewing a Personal Statement, it’s important to recognise these positive traits while also being able to spot when the writer may be trying too hard to impress the reader. This is a common mistake, so guiding them to adjust their approach in a supportive and constructive way is key.
Plagiarism and AI Content
While plagiarising content has been an issue in Personal Statements since they were first introduced, the rise of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has created a whole new problem for those reviewing Personal Statements.
When reviewing a statement, it’s possible to use online tools to see if the content is copied from another source or was created by Chat-GPT or other AI systems. While these results aren’t 100% accurate, they will help indicate whether the work is original or not.
Alternatively, it’s possible to educate yourself on the tell-tale signs of AI-generated content if you would rather try to spot it yourself. Either way, it’s vital you check, as their application may be rejected by either the universities or UCAS itself if their Personal Statement exceeds the limits for AI content.
Spelling and Grammatical Errors
This is the most obvious issue to look out for, but it’s one that can be overlooked – especially by the writer of the statement. As you’ll have more distance from the writing process of the statement, it’s crucial that you pay close attention to the grammar and spelling to ensure no simple errors are present.
All modern word processing software will have spelling and grammar checkers built in, but you should depend solely on this as they can sometimes get things wrong. Review the writing yourself to ensure everything is correct.
Describing Rather Than Reflecting
As mentioned before, some applicants fall into the trap of simply describing things rather than reflecting on them. We’ve already explored the crucial difference between them and why reflecting is so valuable in a Personal Statement, but it’s important to understand where the line is drawn between the two styles of writing.
It’s essential to describe some aspects of an experience, as it provides context to the discussion. However, a good Personal Statement will then go deeper into why the topic is meaningful, whereas an average Personal Statement will simply move on to the next discussion point. If the applicant has written their statement in the second way, be sure to highlight this to them and explain how they can improve their statement by reflecting more.
Of course, adding additional detail to a Personal Statement will also increase the character count, so it will likely be essential for the applicant to edit their statement down. If necessary, work with them to find the talking points that are less essential and cut them.
Providing Personal Statement Feedback
Now that we know what you need to look for, let’s learn about actually providing feedback to an applicant. There isn’t a single method that you should adopt when presenting feedback to someone, but there are some good practices you should follow to ensure your feedback makes sense and is useful.
Provide Running Feedback
When asked to provide feedback for something, you may initially think to read the content and then provide a summary of your thoughts and suggestions. However, while this may be helpful with covering large issues, there’s a far more effective way to provide feedback for the whole statement.
While reading the statement, you should provide running feedback for each paragraph or, in some cases, each sentence that you’ve read. That isn’t to say that you should find something to say about every single sentence in the statement, but it’s a great way to ensure all of your thoughts are written down before you forget them.
When leaving notes, be as precise as possible when explaining where something needs changing, being sure to reference which sentence you specifically think needs work.
After going through the statement, you should then write a summary of your overall thoughts and key suggestions. You should also go back and review the notes you left throughout the statement to ensure they all make sense and that you didn’t misunderstand something. As well as this, make sure you haven’t overloaded the document with notes and that everything mentioned will have an actual impact on the final product.
Write As Clearly As Possible
It should go without saying, but it’s crucial that you write as clearly as possible when providing your feedback. Your feedback will act as guidance for one of the most important aspects of their university application, so it needs to be easily understandable and actionable.
This relates to written feedback, but you should also take the time to speak with the applicant if you can, as you’ll be able to explain your thoughts better and in a far more personal way. However, they should still have a written explanation of your feedback to look back on when revising their work, so ensure everything you write makes sense.
Look For Objective Issues
To a certain extent, Personal Statements are extremely subjective in how they should be written. This means that providing feedback can be difficult, as you may sometimes find that you’re explaining how you would do something differently rather better. This is something to avoid, as you should be altering the applicant’s personal writing style.
Instead, stick to objective factors that you have suggestions for. This includes spelling/formatting issues, irrelevant discussion points and a lack of self-reflection. These are all things that will have a positive impact on their statement, whereas altering the way they write a specific sentence will be less impactful and will remove some of their own personal touch from their work.
Offer Advice, Not Just Critiques
Lastly, it’s crucial that you actually offer actionable points for the applicant to implement rather than just providing critiques of their work. Not only will this give them no support in how to improve their work, but it will also demoralise them and cause them to second-guess everything else they’ve written.
Before you give your feedback back to the application, double-check all of your notes to ensure each one has a suggestion for how they could fix a problem or improve a section of the statement. If you do this, the applicant will actually be able to go through each of your notes and understand what they should do to improve their work.
As well as this, avoid specifically explaining what they should write, as this also reduces their own input into their work. Your feedback should be used to inspire new ideas rather than tell them exactly what to do, so keep suggestions broad enough to allow for independence in their writing (although it’s fine to offer more detailed suggestions if asked for them).
To demonstrate how you could approach your Personal Statement Feedback, here is an example of feedback given to a Cambridge Law applicant (this statement has been modified to fit the current Personal Statement format):
Example Personal Statement Feedback
Question 1: Why do you want to study this course or subject?
Law is the epitome of human reason; it is the force that holds society together and the cornerstone on which great civilizations were built upon. By dictating a code of conduct which everyone had to abide by, it has created a system of accountability and allowed society to flourish. However, Law is never static. It changes with time – internalising new concepts and discarding anachronistic ones to reflect societal norms. It is this dynamic nature of the Law that I find so enthralling – that there exists a gamut of good answers but never a right one. Such idealism aside, I believe excellence in legal study and work does not come easy. It requires much passion, intellect and hard work.
This section is perhaps a little bit too long and takes too long to explain why you personally want to study law. Aim to shorten the first half of the paragraph to be a bit more concise.
In conclusion, my unwavering passion for Economics & Management, coupled with my academic achievements, extracurricular involvement, leadership experiences, and commitment to making a positive impact, make me an ideal candidate for the University of Oxford. I am ready to embark on this transformative educational journey, and I am confident that Oxford’s renowned academic rigor and vibrant intellectual community will provide the perfect foundation for my personal and intellectual growth.
This paragraph does a better job of explaining your motivations, aim to expand upon this more, perhaps explaining where your interests began. “Multi faceted” should have a hyphen in it (Multi-faceted).
Question 2: How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?
At college, I offered 12 academic units (as compared to the standard 10 academic units) at the Singapore-Cambridge GCE ‘A’ Level Examinations. Concurrently, I represented Singapore in Swimming and was an active member of my College’s Swimming and Cross-Country team, training up to six times each week and achieving numerous medals and accolades in Inter-College Competitions. Such excellence in both sports and academics demonstrates my strong self-discipline, time management skills as well as my capacity for sustained hard work.
Discussion of your swimming experience would be better suited in Question 3, although briefly mentioning how you balanced it and your school work is appropriate. Although it shows some of your general skills you haven’t linked it too closely to law specifically. Something more relevant to law may be better to include here.
As a student, I heId numerous leadership positions such as Swimming Captain, School Prefect as well as being part of the Executive Committee of my College Freshman Orientation Camp. In addition, I undertook various community-based service projects aimed at spreading awareness on and massaging the plight of the less-privileged in society. These experiences in positions of influence and leadership have strengthened my organisational and problem-solving skills, teamwork as well as allowed me to develop effective communication skills.
Some of this information would fit better in Question 3, such as your experience in community service projects. You highlight the skills you learnt during these experiences, but they are all very general skills. Try to reference how all of this will benefit you as a law student specifically.
For my ability to balance studies, sports and leadership roles, I was among the ten students (out of nine hundred) on my College’s prestigious Principal’s Honour Roll in 2011 that acknowledged distinguished academic achievement and outstanding contributions to the College. Though challenging as it might have been, I have benefited greatly from my overall College experience and would certainly look forward to continue to represent, contribute and excel in university.
This is a good discussion point and you explained how this would benefit the university, which is great to include. However, it could once again benefit from displaying a tighter connection to law.
Question 3: What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?
During my National Service stint, I served as a Military Officer entrusted with the responsibility of leading and nurturing the next generation of soldiers. Besides leading soldiers out in the field, I had to handle soldiers from a myriad of backgrounds as well as run the general day to day administration of the battalion. I have had multiple opportunities to serve as a Defending Officer to servicemen (who were accused of various wrongdoings) in military courts as well as conduct investigations into various malpractices in my battalion. These unique and far-reaching dealings in the Army has reaffirmed my decision to pursue law, refined my ability to think critically and to work under significant constraints and duress.
This paragraph offers a solid link to your interest in law via extra-curricular activities. A couple of small grammatical errors are present (should be spelt day-to-day in the second sentence, the last sentence should be written as “decision to pursue law and refined my…”).
I am a firm believer in the importance of reading and see it as an avenue for the pursuit of knowledge. I read on a wide range of topics including legal conundrums, science, philosophy and even military tactics as I believe sufficient breath of thought is needed to develop one’s mental prowess. Through such extensive reading, I have honed my rigour of thought and widened my perspectives to a myriad of issues.
This is also a good paragraph that makes an interesting and relevant point about your knowledge. In the last sentence, it should be written as “widened my perspectives on a myriad of issues”. In the second sentence, you have written “breath of thought” when I assume you mean “breadth of thought”.
Overall, this personal statement shows a lot of promise but is being held back by two things. Firstly, some of your talking points need to be moved to different questions (e.g. moving the discussion of your swimming experience to Question 3) in order to ensure you are answering each question correctly.
Secondly, you need to link more of your academic experiences to your desire to study law, as you currently only reflect on the general skills that you learnt during these experiences rather than how they will benefit you as a law student specifically. This is something you do very well in Question 3, so consider how you could do the same in Question 2.
Your response to Question 1 could also do with shortening, as it currently takes too long to get to your own personal motivations. This is the most important thing to discuss in this question, so spend more time explaining them rather than providing general thoughts on law (a little bit of this is fine to keep as an introduction).
Keep in mind that this Personal Statement is a final draft and is quite a good one. The statements you review may require much more feedback than this one. We would suggest reading more examples of high-quality Personal Statements to understand what you should be looking for in the drafts you review.
That concludes our guide to providing Personal Statement feedback, so we hope this example (along with the rest of the guide) has given you a better idea of how to approach your own Personal Statement feedback when the time comes to provide it.
Our final tip is to ensure that you read the final draft of the statement before it’s sent off to the universities, as it’s crucial that any easily fixable mistakes, no matter how minor, are spotted before it’s submitted.
If you aren’t confident in your ability to provide effective support or feel that the applicant would benefit from an expert tutor, UniAdmissions’ Full-Blue Programme may be exactly what you’re looking for. We specialise in getting our students into the top universities in the UK, including Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial and more. As well as ensuring their Personal Statement is as strong as can be, we also support them through their admissions test and interview preparation, as well as developing their understanding of their subject beyond any standard applicant to ensure they have the best chance of getting their offers.
If you’d like to learn more about how we support our students, visit our Programme page or book a free admissions consultation to speak with a member of our admissions team.
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