PHOTOS: HOLLIS PHOGRAPHY UK
WRITING A PERSONAL STATEMENT
Writing a Personal Statement The University of Warwick’s Top Tips The personal statement section of the UCAS form can seem a daunting part of the process perhaps the most daunting, but here are a few suggestions that we at the University of Warwick think might be helpful. There are no hard-and-fast rules, and the specific details you write will depend on what course or courses you are applying for; but specific details do need to seem relevant to the area or areas you are applying for. What admissions officers are looking for is a rounded individual who can explain themselves in a coherent fashion. This tends to mean that a good personal statement should not be a list of achievements or activities or interests, but an argument
about why these things have been important or are relevant, with context for the interest in the subject/discipline that is being applied for. This also means that you should not make up an interest in an area! If you can provide evidence or context, a mini-
78 | EDUCATION CHOICES MAGAZINE | AU T U M N 2 02 3
story about yourself and your experiences that have propelled your personal interest into this subject area, that is often really great. This will also mean that you avoid sounding flippant or vague. Facts and spellings need to be correct: for Classics and Ancient History, this of course means that ancient proper names and personal names need to be spelled correctly. It also means that information presented needs to be true or properly researched and grounded. You don’t need to write a huge amount about your wider interests, but they are important to include. Try to make them relevant, or be prepared to write analytically about the skills or interests that you have developed in taking on these broader
