Your personal statement is your chance to really sell yourself to a university and make sure you stand out against the hundreds of other applicants that will have almost identical academic records to you.
When you’re applying for a popular course, such as Architecture, it’s even more important to have a strong personal statement as getting a place will be highly competitive.
For many university courses, you won’t need to attend an interview as part of the application process, so your personal statement is your only chance to really impress the admissions team and show them that there is more to you than your grades.
You’ve only got 4000 characters (47 lines) for your personal statement so you need to make every word count. Start drafting it with plenty of time before the application deadline to give yourself enough time to edit and proofread.
Admissions tutors usually advise three or four revisions and a thorough proofreading before you even think about submitting it to UCAS.
We might sound like we’re exaggerating, but your personal statement really could be the difference between you getting a university place and you having to apply in the next academic year.
Here’s more about writing a personal statement for an Architecture degree:
Admissions tutors want individuality and creativity
Personal statements are about you as an individual and as Architecture is a very creative career, the admissions team will also want to see that you have some creative flair.
That doesn’t mean your personal statement needs to be wacky or controversial, but you should talk about what you find interesting about the subject, who has influenced your decision to study Architecture, what your future career plans are etc.
Skip the “good stuff”
Although your personal statement is a chance to sell yourself to the university, you should avoid putting things in just because they sound good.
For example, having relevant work experience is fantastic, but simply listing all of these top architecture firms you had placements at won’t cut it. You need to be more in depth and reflect on those experiences and what you learnt about the industry whilst you were there.
Try to answer key questions
Your personal statement should flow and be clear and concise. However, keep some key questions in mind when you’re writing it and try to answer those questions as you go along.
Questions to aim to answer include:
- What prompted your interest in architecture?
- Are there any buildings and / or places that you particularly like? Explain why - don't just list where you've been.
- What architects have you heard of and do you know / like any of their work? What stands out and why?
- What do you like doing and / or what have you done well in academically that you think is relevant to studying architecture?
This is your chance to talk about your skills, personal attributes, relevant achievements or experiences, and the qualities that you’ll bring to the Architecture course.
You can also use this as an opportunity to talk about your career plans and how you might use the knowledge, skills, and experience you’ll gain at the university in the future.
Make sure you show your enthusiasm
When you’re discussing your work experience and any extracurricular things you’ve done in preparation for studying Architecture at university, make sure you sound enthusiastic about the course.
There will be hundreds of other students applying for just a few places, so if you sound like you’re not that bothered about the subject, you probably won’t be offered a place.
Get the basics right
It’s not just what you say in your personal statement, it’s also how you say it and how the finished version looks to the admissions team.
It goes without saying that spelling and grammar mistakes are a big no no. You’ve had months to write your personal statement so basic mistakes will look like you’ve left it until the last minute and couldn’t be bothered to proofread.
Here are some other top tips to get the basics right:
- Don’t name drop famous architects or reel off the countries you’ve been to where you were impressed by XYZ building
- Don’t send in a statement written by the college careers department/your teacher/your mum - put it in your own words
- Try to show that you already know a bit about the industry
- Avoid slang, informal or text language
- Don't have an offensive or inappropriate email address – “bigboy2000@gmail.com” is not an appropriate email address for a university student!
