Personal statement builder

Welcome to The Student Room's personal statement builder tool. We've put this tool together because we know it's not easy working on a Ucas personal statement. Since you're on this page, you probably know that too.

This tool is designed to make things a bit simpler. We'll break down the task into manageable chunks, guiding you through each stage of your personal statement.

We'll even check it at the end for common mistakes. This tool is free for all members of The Student Room. Get started here.

What is a Ucas personal statement?

Your personal statement is a document that forms part of your university application. It's basically the one part of your application where you get to talk directly to the universities' admissions staff. You can explain why you're applying for your chosen course and why you are suitable for studying it.

You'll want to include mainly academic information; referencing relevant books, writers and podcasts, for instance; writing about relevant work experience; and perhaps including a small paragraph about relevant extra-curricular activities. You can write up to 47 lines or 4,000 characters, whichever you hit first.

What is a Ucas personal statement NOT?

When you're staring at that big blank screen, it can be easy to veer off on a tangent. Here are a few things your personal statement should not be:

• It's not a letter to the admissions staff. No need for 'Dear Sir/Madam' or 'Yours faithfully' here. You'll also want to avoid addressing the reader directly. You're probably going to have several different universities reading your personal statement, so saying something like "I really like your university" is just going to come across insincere.
  
• It's not an autobiography. You want to be writing about your academic interests and your reasons for wanting to continue your education in this area. You don't need to tell your life story or cover every one of your achievements and experiences.
  
• It's not an academic essay. Try not to get wrapped up in an analysis of textbooks you've read. The 'personal' part of this statement comes from why these things have interested you.
  
• It's not a job application. Keep the focus on why you want to study the course, not the career that you hope to start several years from now.
  
• It's not a school report. There's no need to talk about exam grades here - these are listed elsewhere in your application. Skip any issues which have affected your results. If information like this is relevant, it should be included in your reference rather than in the personal statement.

Why is a personal statement important?

Think of it as an opportunity to make a great first impression. Your personal statement introduces you to the admissions staff who will hopefully be offering you a place on their course.

Here you get your chance to stand out from the other applicants, to explain why you want to study the course you've chosen and why you're a good fit for it. This might be particularly helpful if you're applying for a competitive course.

For any course, your personal statement will be looked at if you miss your offer and it could help a university accept you even though you didn't get the grades.

If an interview forms part of the selection process for your course, then your personal statement will probably be used to shape some of the questions you're asked. With that in mind, make sure you know the content of your statement.