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 processperhaps 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- 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 interests.

So, in order of priority, it is generally a good idea to emphasise the following:

Your interest in the subject you are applying for. This might (but doesn’t need to) be evidenced by further study opportunities at school that you have taken on, and by topics that you have taken time to research or have enjoyed specifically, including perhaps through wider reading, or museum or site visits beyond the classroom.

This would then include the argument you might build around your interest: what was it that sparked your interest and how would you reflect upon this?

And finally, your wider interests: again, an opportunity not to provide a list of achievements, but a reasoned argument about what you have gained from these broader interests.

Important things that an exposition of wider interests might demonstrate could include: focus, work-ethic or timemanagement. One of the biggest challenges of the transition from school to university is the commitment that students need to make in order to manage their own time effectively across the vast array of their interests both within and beyond the classroom. We understand and expect students to have, and indeed to need, broader interests and a wider range of activities beyond the classroom, in order for them to function effectively and indeed to thrive both academically and as adults. So, writing openly and engagingly about wider interests on the personal statement is a really important opportunity to show that you already understand the importance of timemanagement, as well as personal growth and open-mindedness. The very best of luck!

PROFESSOR DAVID FEARN Professor of Ancient Greek and Head of Department at the University of Warwick warwick.ac.uk/classics