Does anyone ACTUALLY read the personal statement?

[llareggub]

Genuinely, I’ve always wondered. If someone does read them, what importance is given to them? Can an amazing personal statement result in a lower offer? Surely there is a point where they are all really quite similar?

Honestly, I think those unis where interviews are offered do, sort of. Other places - including some top Russell Gtoup places - leave everything to the ‘admissions team’. I’m guessing this means they do, because how else can they choose between n number of students with the prediction of several Astars 🤷‍♀️

Definitely needed for LSE.

It can also be useful as a way of getting something on record. DD had a very serious accident in the summer after Yr12 and mentioned it in her PS, in the context of wanting to be a doctor.

When she finally got an offer the following March, she realised she was completely drained and wanted a gap year. At the time the course specifically said they would not allow deferrals, but did allow her to have one. Lots of others asked but the only other person she knew who was successful had a mother who had passed away whilst she was in Yr 13.

@sailingsunshine I think you need to read the selection criteria Bristol publish for this course. They do weight GCSE and A levels but when they need to choose between candidates who are equal on such measures, they read the PS and use the attached criteria. I see this all the time that X at a university has said something that is not wholly true. Yes, DC might get in without it being read but Economics attracts lots of applicants with the grades required, so what then? The best advice is to write a good one along the lines they want. With the new guidance, it’s streamlining thoughts.

@TizerorFizz , there was a slide at the economics talk yesterday that said the dept does not read personal statements.

I think what this thread shows is that different programmes adopt different practices - either within the same universities, or at different universities. We read UCAS forms and statements as we interview and I always ask about things in the PS. But I know another department in my university which looks at predicted grades and references, and then balances those with the PS.

Varies. If you submit a poor one, sods’ law they’ll pick yours to read.