No personal statement from 2024 (according to the Times)

[lieselotte]

Although you will have to fill in answers to a number of guided questions. And maybe submit a video message (maybe give students a choice so they can use their preferred communication style, I'd hate to have to put a video together).

A video message could soon replace the personal statement, the university admissions body said as it announced it was scrapping the written essay.
Candidates have a blank space on university application forms which they can fill with up to 4,000 characters. Ucas said that from 2024 they will instead respond to questions that will guide them to support their application in the right way.
Social mobility experts have campaigned for change and said personal statements were “barometers of middle-class privilege” because wealthier teenagers had tailored help. Numerous companies offer their services and private school sixth forms have specialists to help pupils.

Ucas is making the changes after a consultation with 1,200 students, 170 teachers and more than 100 universities and colleges. It said this paved the way for further change in future, such as moving from written text to multimedia submissions.
While students want the space to advocate for themselves on the form and demonstrate achievements beyond grades, most said the process of writing the personal statement was stressful and difficult to complete without support.

The questions the admissions service plans to introduce include asking about applicants’ motivation and preparedness for the course, their preparation through other experiences, any extenuating circumstances, how prepared they are to study and their preferred learning style.
Kim Eccleston, head of strategy and reform at Ucas, said in a blog for the Higher Education Policy Institute: “We believe this will create a more supportive framework, which in turn will help guide students through their responses by removing the guesswork, as well as capturing the information universities and colleges have told us they really need to know from applicants when it comes to offer-making.
“We are continually working to improve the admissions service to serve applicants better and broaden participation for all students, whether pursuing a traditional undergraduate degree or an apprenticeship.
“Through these upcoming reforms, we aim to introduce greater personalisation for students making post-secondary choices, give more structure to free text sections of the Ucas application, enhance visibility of the range of grade profiles and deliver new initiatives to support further widening access and participation.”

The change will affect those applying in 2024 to start university in 2025.
Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility at Exeter University, has campaigned for change. He said: “This is a significant breakthrough in our efforts to make university admissions fairer and fit for purpose for all students.
“Personal statements have become little more than barometers of middle-class privilege, disadvantaging applicants from poorer homes who do not benefit from the extra help provided by an army of advisers filling in the submissions.
“I’m afraid it is time to say goodbye to the university love letter that has been a key part of university applications for decades.

“No one should underestimate how important this reform will be in helping to level the playing field in university admissions. Statements currently add further advantage to middle-class applicants who are often given help in filling in their submissions.”
On its website, Charterhouse, a private school, says: “We offer guidance on choosing degree courses and universities as well as support on writing personal statements. We have dedicated specialists for Oxbridge, medical and law applications and applications for the USA.”
Cheltenham Ladies’ College, a private boarding school for girls, has a dedicated professional guidance centre which supports girls in their university applications.
Radley College, an independent boys’ boarding school, has a director of university entrance whose team provides “comprehensive guidance through the process of applying to UK universities through Ucas.”

I am a big fan of the contextual offers and think they should remain at an easier entry point to the rest of the state school applicants. I know it will never happen but one can dream of further equality!

@Bergamotandbay Of course private schools don’t get higher grades for dc! The state grammars seem to do better than private schools here! As around 19% of dc go to private 6th form, it seems ludicrous to say none of them are worth the grades they get yet the grammar dc are! Many very rich and advantaged people use the grammars here! State pupils are not disadvantaged.

https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/rich-resources-of-private-schools-give-pupils-advantage-at-a-level-new-research-shows/#:~:text=Pupils%20in%20private%20school%20sixth,according%20to%20a%20new%20study.

That’s research for pupils born 89/90!!! Hardly now!

Hit a nerve have I?

Edited to add: research takes time, it was only published a little over 4 years ago so not exactly out of date. Do you think schools have changed that much in that time? If anything state school provision has declined.

Oh well. I’m sure just as much time and effort will go into answering those questions when they introduce this new format. The ‘preparation through other experiences’ still gives the more advantaged students a chance to talk about extra/supra-curricular activities, work experience etc… that the state school kids might not get as much access to.

I don’t know whether this is going to make much difference other than potentially be a bit more concise. I guess it leaves a little less opportunity for the showboating and grandiosity that I’ve seen in some personal statements? Will still be agonised over I’m sure.

The idea of offering a lower grade for a child who went to state school is nonsensical. There is a vast difference between state schools so it would do nothing to address inequality, and my child has gone from school refuser due to SEN to state 6th form.

We have an imperfect system, a child without the disadvantages my eldest faced who lives next door to us has sailed through education with good grades. She has an offer from a RG university on a contextual basis 3 grades lower than normal offer because she has put down she lives at her dads (she spends one night a week there). He lives in a socially deprived postcode but in reality drives a Tesla and earns over £100k. My son has disabilities and couldn't attend high school due to his needs, he has an offer from a similar university but doesn't meet any flags for the point of view of admissions so he has to get the higher grades.

There is no way, other than making applications post A Level that a system can really be improved. Even then there should be some adjustments for context clearly, but a grade lower based solely on whether you went to state or private wouldn't solve inequalities.

I think solving inequalities is impossible but taking positive steps to help is no bad thing. The research proves it is an advantage receiving an independent school education. (I don't really understand your point on the rich family attending state school as I wasn't talking about rich vs poor I was talking solely about removing an educational advantage)
I am not naive enough to think an egalitarian society will exist but I do believe in fighting for a more egalitarian educational system.

Edited to add- your post seems to be arguing more with the contextual system, having an overall state vs independent system would actually have helped yout son. There will always be people that cheat the system. Your example is rather specific rather than general.

Perhaps my point wasn't clear.

Not all state schools are equal.

Not all independents are equal.

Some state schools are BETTER than some independents.

This is why lowering grades based on sector would be wrong. Top grades ARE achievable in states schools, even lower performing ones.

My example was to show that no system can be perfect, it can't.

Edited to add- your post seems to be arguing more with the contextual system, having an overall state vs independent system would actually have helped yout son. There will always be people that cheat the system. Your example is rather specific rather than general.

Yes it would benefit my son if state school grades were lowered for all but I still don't think it would be right.

My son is capable of getting into top universities without grades being lowered.

I think there is a danger of lowering expectations in state schools. That is very very undesirable especially when other contextual offers can be made.

Yes I totally agree regarding the point that some state schools are better than others- suppose that is what contextual offers are trying to help with a little.
It doesn't take away from the fact that the research has shown that independent vs state does give an advantage. Also if an independent school is performing badly the parents have the choice of moving schools (and i woupd imagine for those where results are important they would be careful choosing a well performing school regardless. Not really the case with state)

Edited to add: some state schools might get better results than some independent schools but that may well be because they are super selective so not really the same as having money to buy grades vs being capable of achieving those grades regardless)

Edited to add: some state schools might get better results than some independent schools but that may well be because they are super selective so not really the same as having money to buy grades vs being capable of achieving those grades regardless) Edited

But people buy houses to get in the right catchment area!

DS19 is applying through UCAS for 2024 entry. He delayed application for a number of reasons, but mainly because he was unable to focus on uni and higher education during year 12 due to DH and I having serious health problems.

2023 entry was a bit of a debacle. The day before results day the school SLT were in full panic mode, despite a record set of results many of the pupils had not achieved their offer grades and school were anticipating major fall out. This was due to the governments late announcement of grade boundary changes. Unis had based many offers on the previous years grades so there was disparity on results day.
In the end, a hand full of students had to go through clearing with many students being accepted onto their first choice course with significantly lower grades than their original offer.

DS will benefit from the new reference since it will include mitigating circumstances, which, despite his private education, have had a direct impact on his grades. He achieved his predicted grades but the predictions were based on his permanent in year 12. I was diagnosed with breast cancer just before he started in sixth form and was having treatment throughout his first term, then DH had a stroke during the second term. Life was not easy, to the outside world he appeared to be coping but he later admitted that he was all over the place and found it difficult to concentrate in school, and spent a lot of time in his own in one of the toilet blocks avoiding people because he was close to breaking down a lot of the time. Like most boys he tried to hide it but after his exams, and actually doing well, he admitted just how difficult things had been at times.

It seems to me that showing the ability to structure a short essay is highly relevant to being ready fir university.

How are students who cannot write a coherent essay going to get through their undergraduate degree?

But that won't necessarily mean the school can make a difference to their grades. They still won't have the benefit of the larger resources and smaller class sizes that independent schools have

Pupils in these state schools are often tutored on top and the schools fare much better than those in poor areas from parental donations, etc.

As I said uphread I don't think we should be sending a message to state school pupils that they are less capable, the existing contextualisation should bridge the gap. That's what it is intended for.

Why do you think at A level independent schools have smaller class sizes? Successful schools have quite big classes. MFL at some state schools will have tiny classes!

In addition, what makes the biggest difference is quality of teaching. Most teachers in independent schools are qualified. All are in state schools. There is no reason to punish dc who work hard in private schools. It’s vindictive and unpleasant. Around me the grammars are the ones with the advantages. Not the ones who didn’t get the 11 plus. You might want to look at that data!

The message would be the exact opposite of saying they are not as capable, it is recognising that they are as capable but don't have access to the same education. So their B grade is worth as much as an A grade from an independent school.
I understand your views are different and accept that and I am listening to your view point which i find very interesting. I won't be changing my views on this. There are many more children disadvantaged by a state education than those covered by contextual offers.

I will also state I am not familiar with the super selective grammar schooling system in England as I am in Scotland so perhaps this gives rise slightly more to our opposing views on this.

I'm not familiar with super selective grammar schools either, my son didn't go to one.

He didn't go to high school at all as I stated upthread.

I understand that I won't change your views, you are entitled to them but I am pointing out that contextualisation does what you are asking to be done as a 'blanket approach'. My child who didn't attend any school at high school goes to a non-selective 6th form he still achieved A stars in year 12 mocks. I find a suggestion that a child who doesn't go to private school can't achieve top grades astonishing, he has a friend who went to a poor performing comp as a refuge who arrived unable to speak English at 9 years old, she has just been accepted to Oxford to read classics. What do you make of the fact she achieves A stars ?

Ah, you are completely misunderstanding what I have been saying. Of course children who attend state schools can achieve top grades. However say a state school pupil achieves A star, A star, A (excellent grades) and they are up against an independent school pupil that has achieved 3 x A star. The independent school pupil has a grade advantage that has been unfair because they have had a better education. That is what I want to eliminate. They may well have achieved 3 x A star at state but they may well also have achieved lower grades and the research I linked to above proves that independent schooling does unfortunately give an advantage

What does your research say about the parents who have to scrape by to put their SEN children into private schools because mainstream schools aren't able to meet their needs?

Does it say that they should have to obtain a grade higher because they have had the 'luxury' of being forced into private schools?

I think your research is fundamentally flawed. A blanket approach will cause more inequality that it will solve.

Or do you think that the person in the state school with a B who gets an offer at the same university as the person in the state school who got an A is of the same intelligence because that is how a blanket reduction of grades for state school will treat them?

The independent school pupil has a grade advantage that has been unfair because they have had a better education.

Why race to the bottom?
How can better education be a bad thing?
I want the best educated populace possible in my country.
This is just evidence that state schools can and should be better.

Thank the lord!
That personal statement carry on was a nightmare

This. With centralised admissions, personal statements aren't even seen let alone read any more by staff in the department to which you are applying at many universities.