The personal statement is considered as one of the most important academic papers. Why? It is primarily because the personal statement is a great tool that an applicant could use to convince universities and colleges that he is qualified and fit to become one of their students and to persuade these higher education schools that he should be offered a slot in the course he is applying for.
The personal statement is considered as one of the most important academic papers. Why? It is primarily because the personal statement is a great tool that an applicant could use to convince universities and colleges that he is qualified and fit to become one of their students and to persuade these higher education schools that he should be offered a slot in the course he is applying for.
But a personal statement would be entirely useless if it is not written according how it should be composed. Writing a personal without really knowing how it should be written is an exercise in futility. Thus, it would be the best course for an applicant to know to write a personal statement. Below are some tips and pointers on how to write a personal statement.
- Know the standards set for writing personal statements. In the United Kingdom, the standards for writing personal statements are set by the organization that manages the application process in the country – Universities and Colleges Admission Service or UCAS. This means that if you are going to apply for course at a higher education institution in the UK, it is best to write a personal statement that accords with what UCAS preaches.
- Know and understand the course you are applying for. Typically, universities and colleges want to know whether an applicant has the ability to study their courses. The applicant should conduct a research into the course he wants to study, and show in his personal statement that he fully understands how the subject interests him. To learn more how to write a personal statement by understanding his chosen course, an applicant could visit his preferred university on their open days or attend a higher education convention set by UCAS.
- Obtain samples of personal statements. When writing a personal statement, there various details and content that an applicant could understand more if he studies other personal statements. For example, an applicant could use samples of personal statement to determine how to best tell his chosen university or college that he is suitable to study the course he is applying for.
- Make sure you do not go beyond the length prescribed by UCAS on writing personal statements. According to UCAS, an applicant can enter up to 4,000 characters including includes spaces, or 47 lines of text including blank lines, whichever comes first. The applicant does not have to use all the provided space.
- Edit and proofread your personal statement. To learn how to write a personal statement also means to learn how to ensure their quality. The applicant must make sure that his personal statement is accurate and coherent as well as free of any writing mistake.
