Writing the Perfect Personal Statement

Tips and Advice from Liverpool Hope University

If you’re thinking about applying to university, then you’re probably thinking about writing a Personal Statement. The chances are this may be a whole new experience for you and one that you might be excited or nervous to do. So to help you write yours, we'll be hosting a Personal Statement Takeover Day on our Instagram story this Friday 23rd October from 10am. Tune in to find out some helpful tips and have your questions answered.

Do your research

It’s really important to show that you know what course you’re applying for, and what the course is all about. Spend some time looking at the course pages on the university’s website/prospectus, and take a note of key phrases and focuses of the course. This will help to make your Personal Statement much more specific and relevant to your application. Don’t forget that you only have one Personal Statement for all 5 of your choices, so it’s vital that it’s relevant to all of them!

You, you, you

This is the time to think about you and only you, and it’s the time to really sell yourself. It may feel a bit awkward at first, but remember that it’ll only be you and the universities that will be reading it, so go wild! Think about your achievements, your hobbies, any work experience or volunteering, your aspirations and what you’re looking forward to most about university. If it’s easier, create a mind map and get everything down on paper before you add it to your Personal Statement.

Create a match made in heaven

You should’ve highlighted the key phrases from the course and should’ve identified your key skills and achievements. So now it’s time to match these up and create a link between your personal attributes and the key words of the course. You want the reader to think that you studying the course is fate!

Write without a word count

This may well be one of the first times that you’ve had to write a piece of work that is limited to a strict word count, and it’s no surprise that this can be a difficult task. So use your word document as a blank canvas and write your first draft without thinking of the word count. When you’re ready you can start to cut your work down to 4,000 characters and you’ll be left with a Personal Statement fit for UCAS!

Proofread

If you take anything away from this blog, it should be to proofread your Personal Statement before you submit it. Your Personal Statement is potentially your last opportunity to show that you are university material, and you wouldn’t want to risk that by having silly mistakes in your piece of work. So read it, read it again and read it once more and check for those annoying typos that crop up where you least expect it! It may also be worth asking your family and friends to read over it, because sometimes when you’re so involved in something it can be difficult to see something so obvious.

And finally, let your personality and enthusiasm shine through your Personal Statement and make yourself really stand out from the crowd. Because if you don’t believe in yourself, how can you expect others to? If you need any more information about Personal Statements or the UCAS application process in general, you can contact a member of our team on 0151 291 3111 or enquiry@hope.ac.uk.