Personal Statements to be Scrapped

[Xenia]

Might be of interest - Ucas scraps personal statements for university admissions
"Instead of a 4000-character statement, from next year applicants will be asked to answer three questions on why they want to study their chosen course and how they are prepared for it."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cger11kjk1jo

@Xenia I think this has already been discussed. Helps dc who cannot write well. I think it would be good if better unis demanded more then this basic level few paras.

To be fair, those three questions are what most universities say they are looking for in a personal statement, and the overall character count is the same, so it's really not a big difference. It might help people stay on target rather than including all sorts of unnecessary material!

Going by the 3 questions it looks worse for the disadvantaged to me. My son has very good extenuating circumstances and was able to write a good personal statement explaining the impact it had had.I see nowhere in the new format for him to do that now?

People will still hire help to polish the answers so I'm not sure what difference it means other than leaving out your DofE award and grade 8 piano....

I only just saw it in the news today so thought some people might be interested. It is quite an interesting change. I have my 1978/79 application (UCCA not UCAS in those days) ( a draft of it ) and I see there are personal interests to go on there and my headmistress wrote - "this must be neater" on the draft......

Here it is..

I'm glad this happened after ds applied, the questions are so few, so basic and so obvious that I don't see how it helps anyone. I mean if your school isn't even telling you that these are the things to think about then you've got bigger problems than writing a PS. I guess at least it makes it clear you have to be relevant - but I think the structure should be optional.

I actually think that a PS is better .
One is able to get a better overall picture of the applicant than with structured questions

I think this will further inhibit disadvantaged students, whose parents have less time and money and confidence to help them do extra curricular stuff that is needed to answer well.

Extenuating circumstances should be mentioned by whoever is writing the reference as there is a section specifically for this.

It better for those students though - it makes it clear it needs non-academic stuff to be relevant so applicants don't waffle on a bit grade 8 oboe. Applicants from poorer backgrounds can talk about time management from juggling their studies and their part time job, or gaining caring skills looking after a disabled sibling etc. None of them would feel a perceived disadvantage from not having music lessons etc.

My understanding of the third question is that it is about relevant stuff...so reading, engaging in the subject, relevant work experience, competitione etc. Not being a prefect, playing the cello ( unless relevant!) or going on a fancy world tour

@titchy yes I see your point. As long as those things are taken into account equally.

Did you become a solicitor op?
I'm so impressed you still have your paperwork!

Extenuating circumstances are covered in the new style references so he need someone speak to whoever is writing his reference if applying after autumn 2025.

veritus, yes, still a solicitor and 4 of my 5 children are solicitors (the twins qualified earlier this year)...

This has been in consultation for some time but the announcement does at least clarify the 'what' and 'when'. I am not sure it makes much difference. You can still up to 4000 characters to say what you want to say, with the proviso that you need to have addressed the three subheadings (you choose in what ratio). It might help some students who need to articulate their thoughts in a more structured way.

The elephant in the room is that personal statements can be critical for some highly competitive courses (particularly those lacking other tests to differentiate the legion of Astar applicants) but, for many courses, the personal statement is not relevant at all. Some research by HEPI (education think tank) shone a light on the fact that, even for personal statements that are reviewed, the time spent on them is very brief.

www.hepi.ac.uk/2023/06/15/how-do-admissions-professionals-use-the-ucas-personal-statement-2/

@TizerorFizz "well. I think it would be good if better unis demanded more then this basic level few paras."

Define "better"...

"better unis" @TizerorFizz ??

Oxford and Cambridge can circumvent this a little.

However we all know what 'better unis' are. Don't be disingenuous, Warwick is better than London Met...

Warwick is better than London Met...

Absolutely not if you're intending to study Architecture...

OK, maybe for one subject. But realistically, they are not the same for almost everything else.

Lots of places have pockets of excellence. But for a lot of mainstream degrees, they are just not the same

But all extra curricular activities can be made to be relevant if you use them to show what skills or personality traits they have helped you gain.
Achieving grade 8 in any musical instrument demonstrates any number of positive and useful traits and experiences. Perseverance, resilience and discipline. Performance skills. All relevant to many, many areas of further education or careers.

@Smartiepants79 Possibly. It could also mean that, like my children, you come from a family where everybody plays musical instruments, there's room to practice and your parents can afford lessons from when you were 4.