how do you end a personal statement for university

Home › University › How To Write A Personal Statement? 10 Tips + Student Questions Answered › How To End A Personal Statement So The Admissions Committee Remembers You

How To End A Personal Statement So The Admissions Committee Remembers You

• Published January 20, 2023

Table of Contents

Students are often unsure of  how to end a personal statement.  A strong conclusion makes all the difference in whether your application gets noticed by admissions officers or not.

If you’ve just finished writing your personal statement and you’re stuck on your ending, then don’t worry! This article will walk you through the essentials of personal statement conclusions.

Avoid writing a tedious and forgettable ending for your personal statement by following these rules.

Talk About Your Main Points

Don’t end your final paragraph by stating what you’ve never mentioned in the body of your personal statement. Remember, the purpose of your conclusion is to  wrap up  the package.

You shouldn’t say, “My experiences kindled my passion for engineering,” if you didn’t mention these “experiences” in the first place!

So actually summarising your key main body points is a great conclusion in many cases.

Summarise Your Key Points In A Simple Way

After reading thousands of personal statements, the admissions committee will be happy to see you concluding your personal statement with a clear summarisation of the vital points. 

Go over your personal statement and jot down the main takeaway of each paragraph. Once you have that list, find a way to integrate them into your conclusion.

You can dedicate a sentence to each key point, tie them all together, and you now have a conclusion that does what it’s supposed to do!

Use Your Key Points To Restate Your Passion For Your Course

If you’re wondering how to end your personal statement using your key points, use them to restate your passion for the course you’re applying for.

Say your key points including your skills and experiences, and wrap them up by saying, “With the [your specific skills] and [your specific experiences] I’ve gained over the years, I’m committed to [mention your course].”

By doing so, you’re hitting two birds with one stone. One, you’re reminding the admissions committee that you have the skill set necessary to succeed in your course. Two, you’re demonstrating your dedication to your desired course.

Double Down On Your “Why”

Another powerful ending is to remind the reader of your “why.” Many students pursue their chosen course because they’re not sure what else to take.

So being clear on your purpose immediately sets you apart from the rest. 

To do this, take the most heart-moving story from the body of your personal statement on what inspired you to apply for your course. Mention the main idea of it in a sentence or two, then end with a “for this reason, I believe pursuing [mention course] is the best way to achieve my [state your why].”

If your course is related to education, perhaps your “why” is to help children learn by allowing them to show how they learn best.

Say you’re writing a medical personal statement . Maybe your “why” is to forward technology that helps safeguard the elderly from falling accidents because you witnessed your grandparent suffer injuries from a fall when you were young.

Doubling down on your “why” shows your conviction and direction on why you’re applying for your course.

Mention The Next Step Of Your Application Process

What’s the next step after the admissions committee accepts your personal statement? For many courses, they’ll call you up for an interview . Go ahead and mention this in your conclusion!

Write along the lines of “I’m looking forward to dedicating myself to this course, and I would love to receive an invitation for the interview.”

The reader will right away recognise that you’ve done your research. You know what the next step should be. You  are  serious about this application!

Make The Universities Excited To Have You As Their Student

Studying at a university is not merely a means to an end. It’s a profound journey in and of itself! You’ll meet new colleagues, form lifelong communities, and discover mentors who will guide you along with your future career.

Think of them when you’re pondering on how to end a personal statement. What can you contribute as a student to make the university a better place? Demonstrate your excitement in meeting them, building relationships with them, and serving them!

A statement as straightforward as “I am eager to establish new, lifelong relationships and use my [mention your skills] to help make the university a better place for learning and community-building.”

Demonstrate Your Willingness To Learn

Universities exist to train and mould students, not the other way around! A little humility goes a long way. Show yours by demonstrating your willingness to learn. Nothing excites teachers more than willing students.

To pull this off, make sure you know what values your course upholds. It could be service, excellence, inclusivity, and so on. State in your conclusion that “I’m looking forward to learning how to embody [write down the course’s values you resonate with], to grow and succeed in [mention your field of study].”

There’s so much value packed in this simple personal statement ending. Tweak it and make it yours!

Avoid Famous Quotes

Many students insert famous quotes from well-known persons when ending their personal statements. Avoid this tactic as much as possible because you’re driving attention  away  from YOU as the applicant.

If you want to include famous quotes, put them at the beginning of your personal statement to grab attention. To keep your reader’s attention focused on you in the end, why not come up with a memorable, relevant quote of your own?

Use The Bookend Strategy

Bookends are sturdy objects placed at either end of upright books to keep them standing. When you translate that into writing, the bookend strategy is when the introduction and conclusion statements connect to support the body between them.

You may start your personal statement with a heart-wrenching story about how you watched your beloved pet die of the wrong diagnosis. Then, for your conclusion, you can call back on this story and state how this event fuels you to pursue veterinary practice.

The bookend strategy is a clean and efficient way how to end your personal statement.

Ask Help From Your Family And Friends

If you’re still stuck on how to end a personal statement, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Approach your family and friends because they know you more than anyone. Read to them the introduction and body of your personal statement.

Ask them what particular line struck them the most. Maybe they know something about you that you missed including in your personal statement. What characteristics do they see in you that will help you succeed in your course?

Gather their answers in one place, and after reading them in one go, you now have a decent idea of what to emphasise in your conclusion statement.

Never State That It’s The “Conclusion” Or “Summary”

The most boring, generic way to end a personal statement is to write “In conclusion” or “In summary.” It’s actually one of the topics we cover in  what not to put in a personal statement .

Avoid this writing style at all costs. A good conclusion statement doesn’t require explicit announcements.

By its style and structure alone, the reader knows immediately they’re about to read a lasting statement. So don’t hesitate to proceed straight to the major points. As long as the conclusion connects seamlessly with the previous paragraph, you’re good to go!

Stay Authentic

Universities hold honesty in high esteem. Show authenticity and honesty in your personal statement beginning with an attention-grabbing introduction to a strong conclusion.

The best way to radiate honesty in your personal statement is to write from the right mindset. When you work on your personal statement, your objective is to show  who you are and demonstrate why you are a worthy candidate for the course .

Don’t try to impress. If you come from that standpoint, you’re more likely to add embellishments. The experienced admissions committee can smell insincere personal statements from a mile away. So stick with who you are and let your personality shine through.

Give Yourself A Break, Then Come Back To It

When working on how to conclude a personal statement, you need to give yourself time. After writing a rough draft of your conclusion statement, take a break and return to it after a few days. 

When you return to it, you’ll be surprised to notice details you haven’t seen before. Edit as you like, and make it better. Keep the old versions of your conclusion at hand so you can readily compare them with your newest, edited text. Compare and choose which one sounds better.

5 Bad Examples For A Personal Statement Conclusion

These are 5 personal statement examples for conclusions that don’t meet the criteria outlined above.

• In this application essay, I have made it clear I am an outstanding candidate for a degree because I think everyone will love my positive attitude and I deserve it.
• In summary, you can see my highlighted qualifications and experience, I know they’re not the best, but I want to stress that my passion for this field is what sets me apart as a candidate. It shouldn’t matter if the others are more qualified or experienced than me.
• Remember the skills I have, that’s really what sets me apart from other students, they don’t have what it takes to break the rules creatively and not follow the book.
• Finally, I would like to thank you for considering me for this opportunity and I hope you will make the right decision by choosing me, otherwise, I may cry and be disappointed.
• As a final note, it’s easy to see how qualified I am for this degree and how I will excel in it – but you should accept me because I’m cool and will get along with everyone else.

5 Amazing Examples Of A Personal Statement Ending

• In conclusion, I am excited about the opportunity to study computer science at this university. My passion for technology, combined with my programming skills and experience, make me an ideal candidate for the program. I am eager to learn from the esteemed faculty and contribute to the research community. I am confident that this program will enable me to achieve my career goals and make a meaningful impact in the field of technology.
• In summary, I have always been fascinated by the human body and its functions. My experience in volunteering in hospitals, combined with my academic record, makes me confident in my ability to handle the rigours of a medical degree. I am excited about the opportunity to study at this esteemed university and to contribute to the field of medicine through research and patient care.
• To wrap things up, I am excited to pursue a degree in Mechanical Engineering at this university. My passion for designing and building, combined with my experience in physics and mathematics, make me confident that I have the knowledge and skills to excel in this program. I am eager to learn from the esteemed faculty and contribute to the field of mechanical engineering through research and innovation.
• Finally, I am honoured to be considered for a law degree at this university. My passion for justice, combined with my research skills and experience, make me an ideal candidate for the program. I am excited about the opportunity to learn from the esteemed faculty and to contribute to the legal field through research and practice.
• As a final note, I am excited to pursue a degree in Environmental Science at this university. My passion for the environment, combined with my experience in environmental research, makes me confident that I have the knowledge and skills to make a meaningful impact in this field. I am eager to learn from the esteemed faculty and contribute to the field through research and conservation efforts.

How Long Should the Conclusion To A Personal Statement Be?

A personal statement conclusion should be 150-200 words long and leave a positive lasting impression on the reader. A UCAS personal statement should be 4000 characters long, making the conclusion 705-940 characters long – this is just a rough estimation based on the average number of characters per word (4.7).

Do You Feel More Confident Writing A Personal Statement Conclusion?

To  end your personal statement  in the best possible way, you need to know the body’s key points. Use them as pillars when deciding which direction your conclusion takes. 

Will you highlight your future goals? Maybe you want to focus on your why? Take the time to decide. And if you’re stuck, don’t hesitate to ask for help from your family and friends so you can leave a lasting impression on the applications committee.

How much did this article help you out? Don’t forget to bookmark this page for future reference!

Related Content

10 reasons to study abroad in switzerland, zurich.

Real Alumni Stories

Learn more about our alumni through their success stories.

• Real stories about our Alumni
• Students share their programme experiences
• Case studies from Alumni heading to Oxbridge
• Alumni insights and stats

Empower Your Child's Future: Book Your Complimentary Consultation Now

• Receive tailored advice to match your child's interests and goals.
• Gain insights from our experienced programme consultants.
• Get answers in real-time, making your decision-making process smoother and more informed.

* Terms and Conditions may apply

Download Our Prospectus

Let us know a little about yourself and we’ll send you a prospectus with full details of the Immerse Education Summer School offerings

• I'm a Parent
• I'm a Student
• Hidden Name * First Last
• Full Name *
• School SF ID
• Which subjects interest you? (Optional) Architecture Artificial Intelligence Banking and Finance Biology Biotechnology Business and Economics Business Management Chemistry Coding Computer Science Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Creative Writing Creative Writing and Film Criminology Data Science and Analytics Earth Science Economics Encryption and Cybersecurity Engineering English Literature Entrepreneurship Fashion and Design Female Future Leaders Film Studies Fine Arts Global Society and Sustainability Health and Biotechnology History International Relations Law Marketing and Entertainment Mathematics Medicine Medicine and Health Sciences Nanotechnology Natural Sciences Philosophy Philosophy Politics and Economics Physics Psychology Software Development and AI Software Development and Gaming Veterinary Studies

Secure priority enrolment for our new summer school location with a small refundable deposit.

" * " indicates required fields

Receive priority enrolment for new summer school locations by registering your interest below.

Our programme consultant will contact you to talk about your options.

• Family Name *
• Phone Number
• Yes. See Privacy Policy.
• First Name *

Would you like to receive anything else?

• Prospectuses
• Residential Syllabus Overviews (ages 13-15)
• Residential Syllabus Overviews (ages 15-18)
• Residential Syllabus Overviews (ages 16-18)
• Online Syllabus Overviews (ages 13-18)
• Immerse Education Prospectus 2024
• Career Insights - London Course Guide
• Career Insights New York
• Career Insights San Francisco
• Online Insights Prospectus
• Online Research Programme Prospectus
• Academic Insights - Cambridge & Oxford Prospectus
• Academic Insights Sydney
• Academic Insights Toronto
• Female Future Leaders
• Dates & Fees
• Architecture
• Artificial Intelligence
• Business Management
• Business Management (Sydney)
• Business Management (Career Insights)
• Computer Science
• Creative Writing
• Creative Writing (Sydney)
• Creative Writing & Film (Career Insights)
• Earth Sciences
• Engineering
• Engineering (Career Insights)
• Engineering (Sydney)
• Film Studies
• International Relations
• International Relations (Sydney)
• Medicine (Career Insights)
• Medicine (Sydney)
• Natural Sciences
• Psychology (Sydney)
• Veterinary Studies (Sydney)
• Banking & Finance (New York)
• Business Management (London)
• Data Science & Analytics (San Francisco)
• Creative Writing & Film (London)
• Entrepreneurship (San Francisco)
• Engineering (London)
• Fashion & Design (New York)
• Health Tech & Biotechnology (San Francisco)
• Marketing & Entertainment (New York)
• Medicine (London)
• Law (New York)
• Software Development & AI (San Francisco)
• Architecture & Design (Career Insights)
• Biotechnology
• Business Management (Toronto)
• Computer Science & AI (Toronto)
• Criminology
• Engineering (Toronto)
• English Literature
• Fine Art (Career Insights)
• Game Design (Career Insights)
• Law (Career Insights)
• Mathematics
• Medicine (Toronto)
• Nanotechnology
• Computer Science & AI
• Sustainability

Complete Your Request

Subject is unavailable at location.

You have selected a subject that is not available at the location that you have previously chosen.

The location filter has been reset, and you are now able to search for all the courses where we offer the subject.

How To End A Personal Statement: Great Final Paragraphs

Second only to the opening paragraph , the closing paragraph of a personal statement is the part that people often struggle with the most.

From repeating key points to underselling achievements and ambitions, a personal statement conclusion can be the least effective aspect of the document.

That’s frustrating, as a personal statement closing paragraph is often the part that leaves the greatest impression in the mind of the reader.

So how should you end a personal statement and create a great final paragraph?

When considering how to end a personal statement, don’t summarize existing content in a repetitive conclusion. Instead, clarify your suitability with a new example and evidence your value to the institution. Lastly, outline your ambitions in relation to the opportunities presented by the course.

I’ve broken down each of these elements in detail so that you can craft a successful personal statement final paragraph…

The Final Paragraph Must Evidence Your Suitability

Instead of detailing all the key areas in which you are a suitable candidate for the course or role early on in your personal statement, it is valuable to hold back at least one example in order to add credibility and weight to your final paragraph.

This could outline an additional course you have completed or a qualification that you have achieved, but it could equally be a volunteering opportunity or work placement that reinforces your suitability for the higher study of a particular subject.

Admissions teams really want to see that applicants are clearly suitable for the courses they’re applying for, but also that they are suitably prepared for academic success.

Essentially, they want to know that you understand what you’ll be doing on the course and that you’re qualified to do it well . That’s why driving this point home in the last paragraph is so important.

For more of my powerful personal statement strategies, just click here .

The table below gives some examples of ways in which you might evidence your suitability in your final paragraph . They won’t all apply to you, but the chances are that you will recognise some of these aspects from your own preparation for higher education, and be able to include them:

Here’s how a sentence might look in a personal statement example…

If you’d like a detailed post on the skills you need to include in your personal statement, then why not check this out?

Outline Your Value to the University or Employer

It’s important that the final paragraph of your personal statement clearly outlines your potential value to the organisation. To understand exactly the kind of content that admissions tutors are looking for, ask yourself this question:

How will the university I am applying for, the faculty in which I will study and the community in which I will live, be better for having me be a part of it? David Hallen

As Whitney Soule, Dean of Admissions at Bowdoin puts it:

If a university can see evidence that you will make a positive contribution to their organisation clearly in the final paragraph of your personal statement, then you will have left them with an excellent impression of your potential.

But how exactly might you add value, and how do you write about it concisely?

Adding Value to your Personal Statement

• Experience of diversity when contextualised in terms of social, cultural, gender, ethnicity, sexuality or ability. Your experiences will add to the wisdom and education of your cohort at a time when identity and empathy is paramount.
• Knowledge of more than your subject . The life experiences, travel, background and passions that make you an individual and that you can share in a positive context are vital.
• Sports skills or related team and community experiences . From playing soccer to white-water rafting, acapella singing or ultimate frisbee, the skills you bring to share with others are an important way to add value.
• Experience of or intention to mentor . If you can show that you intend to mentor and support other students with a particular level of expertise, you’ll be a tremendous asset.
• Proven commitment and dedication . Explain how you have the tenacity and resilience to overcome challenges by equating that with a specific example from your own life, and give the reader the confidence that you will successfully complete the course regardless of the hardships you face.
• If you have experiences of leadership , make these clear and indicate how these are of value to the organisation. From captaining a team to leading on a research project, your ability to motivate and facilitate those around you make you a genuine asset.

A couple of sentences in your final paragraph that meets this goal might look something like this:

For some excellent advice on developing some outstanding personal statement examples, check out my post here . Alternatively, using a free software package like Grammarly can really help applicants convey the depth of their academic value. Check it out here or hit the banner below…

Finish Your Personal Statement by Showing Ambition

The last essential element of a great final paragraph is proof of ambition relating to the content and outcome of the course you are applying for .

If you can show that you have an informed understanding of where the course can take you and a good idea of the demands of the industry you might want to enter, your final paragraph will be far more convincing.

You’ll need to make sure you’ve achieved 3 important tasks before you type a single word…

• You’ve fully researched the course(s) you are applying for and can reference the academic content, employment opportunities and outcomes
• You’ve got some practical and theoretical understanding of the industries related to the course, prior to application
• You’ve given some contextualised thought to your potential role within those industries, and how the course will help you reach that goal

For more specific content on how original a personal statement should be, and just how to include your ambitions and experiences in a way that readers will find compelling, check this post out .

Once you’ve got some notes on these three points, you can put a sentence together that evidences your ambition, promotes your application and demonstrates your understanding of your sector. An effective couple of sentences might look like this:

You can watch a great tutorial on showing ambition in your personal statement below, or check out some helpful UCAS resouces .

Whatever order you decide to tackle them in, if you ensure you include the three elements detailed in this post, you’ll be sure to write a relevant and compelling final paragraph, leaving the reader confident about making you an offer.

Good luck with your personal statement, and don’t forget to contact me if you’d like some 1-1 support. You’ve got this! D

Research and content verified by Personal Statement Planet.

David Hallen

I've worked in the Further Education and University Admissions sector for nearly 20 years as a teacher, department head, Head of Sixth Form, UCAS Admissions Advisor, UK Centre Lead and freelance personal statement advisor, editor and writer. And now I'm here for you...

Recent Posts

Postgraduate Personal Statement Example: Environmental Policy

Studying examples of personal statements can be a valuable strategy when applying to a university or college.  That’s because personal statement examples can teach you how to write and...

Postgraduate Personal Statement Example: Technology Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Examples of personal statements can be valuable to reference when applying to a university or college course.  That’s because personal statement examples can teach you how to write and...

25 Ways to Effectively Conclude a Personal Statement

In General by Think Student Editor June 3, 2021 Leave a Comment

Writing your personal statement can be a tedious task, as it essentially is an essay you have to write about yourself, which is something most people struggle with. This essay will provide you with ways in which you can conclude your personal statement effectively, as well as things that you shouldn’t do and what would be more effective instead.  

Disclaimer: The ideas expressed in this article are from one student writer. Not all of the ideas may be effective, however the aim of this article is to provide you with some ideas you could include in your personal statement.

Read on for 25 great tips on how to conclude your personal statement.  

1. Structure  

For writing most personal statements you must ensure that there is a good ratio of academic work as well as extra-curriculars and other things about you. The ratio that works for most people is 70:30, with the 70 being academic. However, prospective students for the most competitive courses and universities, will tend to write less about extra curriculars and instead they will have the ratio 80:20, the 80 being academic work.   

Collectively, students write more about their academic work and therefore they tend to leave their extra-curriculars and more personal notes to the end. This means that  most students conclude with extra-curriculars, particularly Oxbridge applicants  as those students want the majority of their personal statement to be academic.   

This ratio is something you should keep in mind when writing a personal statement as it is crucial you have the structure that suits you with the course and university that you are applying to.  

  This  article from UCAS will support you in structuring the best possible personal statement.  

2. Personal experiences  

When writing a personal statement, you want to ensure that your writing is palpable and provides any reader with authenticity regarding who you are and about what you want to achieve. A common technique that is used is  referencing a personal experience you have had, which has led to you wanting to pursue a particular course.  

For instance, a prospective medicine applicant may write – “since, volunteering at my local GP, it has sparked my interest in medicine as I have enjoyed discussing health with patients and practitioners – this then led me to apply for this course as I seek to pursue medicine in order to support communities and to promote having a good health.”  

This personal experience illustrates passion for this course and highlights the types of things that this student would want to achieve in pursing this course. It is vital that when using this technique that you specific exactly what you have done and then what this has led to want to do. This will allow you to give an insight about who you are and what you would like to do.    

This is effective as it conveys why you want to do the course, which is crucial to include, if you haven’t already included this in your personal statement.  

3. Rhetorical questions

Another technique you can use as a rhetorical question . It is crucial that if you do use a rhetorical question to end your personal statement, that you don’t just use it for the sake of using it and that it is actually something that is of interest to you.  

A rhetorical-question, can be ineffective if it is something that doesn’t genuinely interest you. If you use this technique and have an interview at a university, this question is likely to come up, so it must be something that you are willing to talk about.  

For instance, if you are wanting to study English literature at university and are writing about ambiguity within texts throughout, you may end with “How is the element of ambiguity presented in modern literature?”  

This is effective as it demonstrates your curiosity for the subjects and therefore it highlights your fascination and your desire to learn and further your understanding .  

4. Quote 

Another technique that can be used when concluding your personal statement is by using a quote. This tends to be used by students who want to study essay-based subjects like English or history; however, it can be used by anyone, applying to study any subject.  

When using this it is important that you use a quote from a book/text that you properly understand and that you are genuinely curious abou t. As there is a limited amount, of characters that you can use, you must ensure the length of your quote is suitable. Obviously, you shouldn’t cut out parts of the quote that are most meaningful, but you should be wary of the limited word count, as when you are concluding your personal statement, students tend to run out of characters   

For instance, if you want to study biology and you are interested in evolution you may use Charles Darwin’s quote “it is not the strongest of the species that survive, but the ones that are responsive to change”. Now, whilst students can use this quote and quotes likes this, it is important that it is contextualised, and it is clear what the student is trying to convey.  

5. Refer back to a common theme  

Some students end with an explanation of a common theme used throughout. For instance, a student may use the theme knowledge is power and how it links to the activities they have done and their courses and then may end with a textual reference/experience, which links to how knowledge is power.  

  It is important that certain themes are uncovered in your personal statement –  by referring back to a common theme in the end, it ensures that your personal statement is coherent and thus is an effective concluding point.  

6. Cyclical structure 

A cyclical-structure, is a structure in which you link back to the initial point you made in your personal statement . This can be effective if the initial point you made is something worth coming back to. Using, this structure will ensure that your essay is clear; however, you may not want to reinforce the point made at the beginning – you should be careful with your implementation of this structure, as only then will this be effective.  

For instance, you may begin your personal statement writing about your interest in communication and wanting to study Spanish. When concluding you can again make mention of a different experience that you have encountered with communication. In this scenario, it would be effective to use a cyclical structure as communication links to Spanish and making mention of it twice reinforces passion for the subject.  

7. Plans for the future

Writing about plans for the future at some point in your personal statement is fundamental in displaying why you want to study the course that you have selected  – if you haven’t mentioned this before (you don’t want to repeat yourself!), mentioning plans for the future in your concluding lines is important.  

For instance, you can write about wanting to become a paediatrician and wanting to improve the health of children etc. This will illustrate your suitability for certain courses, as you have mentioned your career prospects, confirming that the course you want to study is the right course for you.  

8. What the course will allow you to do

When concluding your personal statement, you can make mention of what the course will allow you to do.  For instance, you could write about how your degree in politics will allow you to have a career in consultancy/civil service.  Writing about what the course will allow you to do will evince your passion to study the course at university .  

9. Anecdote

To conclude,  you may decide to end with an anecdote conveying why you want to study a particular course or what has inspired you . Conveying inspiration is important as it reveals when you started to become Intrigued by your course.  

For instance, you could state that a specific topic in a geography lesson sparked your enthusiasm for geography and thus it is something you wish to pursue.  

When including an anecdote, it is important that you show integrity, as otherwise it won’t resonate with you and demonstrate the type of person you are.  

10. Conclude what’s been stated

Whilst you don’t want to repeat yourself in your personal statement, you may want to leave the end to summarise all of the points you have made. For instance,  you may state the key points to enforce the message you are trying to present.  

You must be careful when doing this as you don’t want to repeat yourself, as when using this you only want to reinforce your point .  

As stated previously, students tend to put their non-academic work towards the end, usually in their concluding lines. Students tend to do this using a list as they aren’t using up as many characters.  Obviously, even when using a list stating activities that you have done, you must still explain why you have done them, so it shouldn’t appear clustered.  

For instance, you could say “Through doing Duke of Edinburgh, being netball captain and chair of the music committee, I have been able to develop my team working and leadership skills”  

12. Skills you will gain  

You can conclude by stating the skills that this course will enable you to develop. For instance, if you wanted to study Religious Education, you could state that the course will enable you to further your critical analysis of contemporary religious contexts.  

This is an effective technique as you are displaying what you believe the course will enable you to do, in terms of practical skills you will gain.  

13. Hobbies 

  You may want to conclude your personal statement with hobbies and activities you like to do outside of your academic work –  you could talk about how your hobbies indirectly link to the course you want to study, which will ensure you have a clear line of argument.  

For instance, you can write about how you participate with film club and drama society and then how it progresses your interests of the interpretation and varied forms of literature.  

14. What you’re looking forward to  

You can also conclude by stating what you are looking forward to by progressing with further education . For instance, you can talk about how you’re looking forward to learning at university.  

This is important as if you can explain what you are looking forward to when going to university and studying a course, you can palpably express your desire you’re learning.  

15. Don’t repeat yourself  

Repeating what you have stated previously, in your concluding points is ineffective. When writing your personal statement, you want to ensure that everything that you have stated isn’t repeated in any way as you don’t want to repeat any messages.  

For instance, if you have stated your work experience and what it has taught you, don’t continue to bring up this same work experience.  Instead, you can bring up other work experience you have done or would like to do as this would be more effective, especially when concluding.  

16. Don’t be too specific

When writing your personal statement, especially if you have applied for a joint-honours and a single honours degree at different universities – ensure that when you are talking about studying you are not too specific so that it is conveyed that you have wider interests.  

For instance, if you have applied to study politics at some universities and politics and history at other universities – be sure to talk about both politics and history but don’t use separate sections when you are only discussing one topic as it may indicate to a university you don’t want to do their course or are confused.  

As politics and history are heavily linked, you should be able to bring both of them up without separating them too much and revealing that you have applied for two types of degrees. Particularly, when ending you should write about both, whilst not making it apparent that you have applied for different types of degrees.  

17. Make mention of university values

If you haven’t made mention of university values anywhere else in your personal statement, be sure to include this in your concluding points.  You may make mention of independent work, maturity, curiosity etc. which directly links to university.  

This is important as it conveys that you acknowledge and understand university values and you are prepared to work in the university environment. You don’t need to be particularly specific with these values as university values are shared. However, if you are a prospective Oxbridge student you may want to emphasise your commitment to excel academically.  

18. University fitting your life plan

Your personal statement in a sense should convey your educational journey. Obviously, not in such detail, but it should convey how your passions have unravelled. This should continue when making mention of university as you should convey how it will fit in with what you want to do.  

If you have done you A-Levels, the usual pathway is taking a degree; however, in your personal statement, you can make this more specific to your life experience and how university fits in with what you want to achieve in life.  This is an effective concluding point as it will mean your educational journey is translated.  

19. Show your yearning for a challenge  

To study at university, you will be faced with difficult and demanding work. Therefore, in your personal statement, you should show that you are ready, prepared and even excited for this challenge.  

If you want to study a particular course, you can write about how your A-Levels don’t allow you to access the complexities of the course and your interests, which has led you to undertake further reading.  Conveying your yearning for a challenge, especially at the end is effective as it leaves the reader with the impression that you are prepared for your university course.  

20. Don’t copy  

When concluding, it can be difficult so some student, decide to copy or rephrase things that have been said by other student or things that they have found online. Whilst, it is understandable to feel pressure when coming to the end copying others doesn’t work in your favour as it doesn’t provide authenticity.  

Instead, convey through your own personal experience what you want to achieve, as this will allow you to properly represent yourself . 

21. Use evidence  

In your personal statement throughout should be a plethora of evidence as to why the course is suitable for you and why you want to study it . Although, we must make sure that we explain the evidence we have used and to select the evidence meticulously.  

Particularly when concluding evidence is vital as the last message you leave is what you have done and through that your passion is expressed. For instance, you can say through volunteering at an animal shelter you know you want to pursue veterinary science.  

22. Relate to the topic 

Ensure that when you are writing your personal statement, everything you write links back to the topic you are talking about . This is especially relevant in the ending, as some students forget to ensure that everything links together and relates to what they are trying to convey.  

For instance, if you are discussing your passion for engineering and structures it must be clear throughout your essay as it will mean you have a coherent essay.  

Students struggle with rambling throughout their personal statements as it is often an essay that students struggle with. However, particularly towards the end students ramble as they don’t know how to end.  To ensure that the ending of your personal statement is effective and to prevent rambling ensure that your essay is progressive and that it conveys your educational journey.  

23. Why are you motivated?  

In the end you want to ensure that it is clear why you are motivated to study the course you want to do. To ensure that this is apparent when writing your personal statement,  you should ask yourself why it is that you are motivated to study the course you want to do as this will allow you to express yourself convincingly .  

24. Take a break 

If you have written everything in your personal statement apart from your conclusion, you should take a break as usually when looking back at the essay after a while, you will be able to detect mistakes that you have made.  

You can reflect on everything you have written thus far, which will then prepare you to write your final points in your personal statement.  

25. Don’t be afraid to ask for help

Writing a personal statement is daunting as it can have a huge impact on your university prospects, making it a nerve-wracking essay to write.  If you feel like you are struggling to write your final lines, asking someone to read over it will be helpful as they will be able to identify things you have missed or not explained in enough detail etc.  

Personal statements certainly take a while to get right, so be sure to ask for people to read it and give you feedback as it will direct you in completing the best possible version of your personal statement.  

You may find this Think Student article , helpful when writing a personal statement.

Get university advice on The Student Room app

• Teacher training
• Bangor University
• Birmingham City University
• Sheffield Hallam University
• University of Aberdeen
• University of East Anglia
• University of Hull
• University of Kent
• University of Reading
• A-level choices
• GCSE choices and university
• Choosing a course
• Making firm and insurance choices
• University open days
• Top questions to ask at a university open day
• Ucas Extra explained
• Understanding conditional offers
• University offers: what they mean and what to do next
• Getting the most from Ucas university fairs
• What do I need to get into Oxbridge?
• What to do if you don’t get an offer from your first choice university
• What you need to know about getting a university scholarship, grant or bursary
• AS and A-levels explained
• Is a higher or degree apprenticeship right for you?
• Universities

By Nik Taylor (Editor, The Uni Guide) | 18 August 2023 | 22 min read

How to write an excellent personal statement in 10 steps

Stand out from the crowd: here's how to write a good personal statement that will get you noticed

Share this page

Email & print.

Your personal statement forms a core part of your university application, and the sooner you get going, the better you can make it. You may think that your personal statement won’t matter as much to unis as your grades and experience but a great personal statement could make all the difference between you and a candidate with the same grades. Sure, your application might not reach that deal breaker stage. But is it something you want to leave to chance?  Here we’ll take you through the process of planning, writing and checking a good personal statement, so you end up with something you can submit with confidence. And to make sure the advice we're giving you is sound, we’ve spoken to admissions staff at loads of UK universities to get their view. Look out for video interviews and advice on applying for specific subjects throughout this piece or watch our personal statement playlist on YouTube .

• Are you looking for personal statement examples? Check our library of hundreds of real personal statements, on The Student Room

Personal statement deadlines

You'll need to make sure you've got your personal statement written well in advance of your application deadline. Below are the main university application deadline dates for 2024 entry.

2024 entry deadlines

16 October 2023: Deadline for applications to Oxford and Cambridge universities, along with most medicine, dentistry, and veterinary courses.   31 January 2024: Deadline for applications to the majority of undergraduate courses. After this date, universities will start allocating places on these courses –   but you can still apply after the 31 January deadline , as this article explains . 30 June 2024:  Students who apply after this date will be entered into Clearing .

• Read more: Ucas deadlines and key application dates

What is a personal statement?

A personal statement is a central part of your Ucas application, where you explain why you’ve chosen a particular course and why you’ll be good at it. It's your chance to stand out against other candidates and hopefully get that all-important offer. You only write one personal statement which is then read by each university you apply to, so if you are applying for more than one subject (or it's a combined course) it's crucial that you include common themes or reference the overall skills needed for all subjects. Personal statements are especially important if you’re trying to get on a very competitive course, where you need to do anything you can to stand out to admissions tutors. Courteney Sheppard, senior customer experience manager at Ucas, advises that your personal statement is "the only part of the application that you have direct control over. Do lots of research to demonstrate your passion, curiosity and drive to pursue your chosen subject." There’s a limit on how much you can write: your personal statement can be up to 4,000 characters (including spaces) or 47 lines of 95 characters (including spaces); whichever is shorter. This may appear generous (read: long) but once you've got going you may find yourself having to edit heavily.

• Read more: teacher secrets for writing a great personal statement

1. Plan what you want to cover

The first thing you need to do is make a plan. Writing a personal statement off the top of your head is difficult. Start by making some notes, answering the following questions:

• What do you want to study?
• Why do you want to study it?
• What is there about you that shows you’re suited to studying this subject at university? Think about your personality, as well as your experiences.
• What are your other interests and skills?

These few points are going to form the spine of your personal statement, so write them in a way that makes sense to you. You might want to make a simple bulleted list or you might want to get all arty and use a mindmap. Whatever you choose, your aim is the same. You want to get it clear in your own head why a university should offer you a place on its course. Getting those details down isn't always easy, and some people find it helpful to make notes over time. You might try carrying a notebook with you or set up a memo on your phone. Whenever you think of something useful for your personal statement, jot it down. Inspiration sometimes comes more easily when you’re thinking about something else entirely. It might help to take a look at The Student Room for some sample personal statements by university and sample personal statements by subjects , to give you an idea of the kind of thing you want to include. 

• Read more: personal statement FAQs

2. Show off your experience

Some things are worth adding to your personal statement, some things are not. Firmly in the second camp are your qualifications. You don’t need to mention these as there’s a whole other section of your personal statement where you get to detail them very precisely. Don’t waste a single character going on about how great your GCSE grades are – it’s not what the admissions tutor wants to read. What they do want to see is: what have you done? OK, so you’ve got some good grades, but so do a lot of other applicants. What have you done that’s different, that shows you off as someone who really loves the subject you’re applying for? Spend some time thinking about all the experience you have in that subject. If you’re lucky, this might be direct work experience. That’s going to be particularly appropriate if you’re applying for one of the more vocational subjects such as medicine or journalism . But uni staff realise getting plum work experience placements is easier for some people than others, so cast your net wider when you’re thinking about what you’ve done. How about after-school clubs? Debating societies? Are you running a blog or vlog? What key skills and experience have you picked up elsewhere (eg from hobbies) that could be tied in with your course choice? Remember, you’re looking for experience that shows why you want to study your chosen subject. You’re not just writing an essay about what you're doing in your A-level syllabus. Use this checklist as a guide for what to include:

• Your interest in the course. Why do you want to spend three years studying this subject at university?
• What have you done outside school or college that demonstrates this interest? Think about things like fairs/exhibitions, public lectures or voluntary work that is relevant to your subject.
• Relevant work experience (essential for the likes of medicine, not required for non-vocational courses such as English )
• Skills and qualities required for that career if appropriate (medicine, nursing and law as obvious examples)
• Interest in your current studies – what particular topics have made an impression on you?
• Any other interests/hobbies/experiences you wish to mention that are relevant either to the subject or 'going to uni'. Don't just list your hobbies, you need to be very selective and state clearly what difference doing these things has made to you.
• Plans for a gap year if you’re deferring entry.

Read more: 6 steps you need to take to apply to university

3. Be bold about your achievements

Don't be bashful about your achievements; that’s not going to help you get into uni. It's time to unleash your inner Muhammed Ali and get all “I am the greatest” with your writing. Do keep it focused and accurate. Do keep your language professional. But don’t hide your qualities beneath a layer of false modesty. Your personal statement is a sell – you are selling yourself as a brilliant student and you need to show the reader why that is true. This doesn’t come naturally to everyone, and if you’re finding it difficult to write about how great you are it’s time to enlist some help. Round up a friend or two, a family member, a teacher, whoever and get them to write down your qualities. Getting someone else’s view here can help you get some perspective. Don’t be shy. You are selling your skills, your experience and your enthusiasm – make sure they all leap off the screen with the way you have described them.

• Read more: the ten biggest mistakes when writing your personal statement  

4. How to start your personal statement

Type your personal statement in a cloud-based word processing program, such as Google Docs or Microsoft Word and don’t copy and paste it into Ucas Hub until it’s finished.  One of the benefits of doing it this way is that you can run spell check easily. (Please note, though, that Word adds "curly" quotation marks and other characters (like é or ü) that won't show up on your Ucas form, so do proofread it on Ucas Hub before submitting it to ensure it is how you typed it.)  Another big benefit is that you'll always have a backup of what you've written. If you're being super careful, you could always save your statement in another place as well. Bear in mind that extra spaces (eg adding spaces to the beginnings of paragraphs as indentation) are removed on Ucas. In your first sentence, cut to the chase. Why do you want to do the course? Don’t waste any time rambling on about the daydreams you had when you were five. Just be clear and concise – describe in one line why this course is so important to you. Then, in the rest of your intro, go into more detail in demonstrating your enthusiasm for the course and explaining how you decided this is what you want to do for the next three or more years. However you choose to start your statement, just avoid the following hoary old chestnuts. These have been some of the most used lines in personal statements over the years – they are beyond cliche, so don’t even think about it.

• From a young age I have (always) been [interested in/fascinated by]…
• For as long as I can remember, I have…
• I am applying for this course because… 
• I have always been interested in… 
• Throughout my life I have always enjoyed… 
• Reflecting on my educational experiences… 
• [Subject] is a very challenging and demanding [career/profession/course]… 
• Academically, I have always been… 
• I have always wanted to pursue a career in… 
• I have always been passionate about…   

5. Focus your writing on why you've chosen that subject

So you’ve got your intro done – time to nail the rest of it. Bear in mind that you’ve got to be a little bit careful when following a personal statement template. It’s easy to fall into the trap of copying someone else’s style, and in the process lose all of your own voice and personality from your writing. But there is a rough order that you can follow, which should help keep you in your flow. After your opening paragraph or two, get into any work experience (if you’ve got it). Talk about extracurriculars: anything you've done which is relevant to the subject can go here – hobbies, interests, volunteering. Touch on your career aspirations – where do you want this course to take you? Next, show your enthusiasm for your current studies. Cite some specific examples of current work that you enjoyed. Show off your relevant skills and qualities by explaining how you’ve used these in the past. Make sure you’re giving real-world examples here, not just vague assertions like “I’m really organised and motivated”. Try to use examples that are relevant.   Follow this up with something about you as a person. Talk about non-academic stuff that you like to do, but link it in some way with the course, or with how it shows your maturity for dealing with uni life. Round it all off by bringing your main points together, including a final emphasis of your commitment to studying this particular course.

• Read more: how to write your personal statement in an evening  

6. How long should a personal statement be?

You've got to work to a very specific limit when writing your personal statement. In theory you could use up to 4,000 characters – but you’re probably more likely to be limited by the line count. That's because it's a good idea to put line breaks in between your paragraphs (to make it more readable) and you only get a maximum of 47 lines. With this in mind, 3,500 characters is a more realistic limit. But when you’re getting started you should ignore these limits completely. At first, you just want to get down everything that you feel is important. You'll probably end up with something that is far too long, but that's fine. This is where you get to do some polishing and pruning. Keep the focus of your piece on the course you’re applying for, why you want to do it and why you’re perfectly suited to it. Look through what you’ve written so far – have you got the balance right? Chop out anything that goes on a bit, as you want each point to be snappy and succinct.

• Read more: universities reveal all about personal statements  

7. Keep it simple

8. Smart ways to end your personal statement

Writing a closing line that you’re happy with can feel as tricky as coming up with your opener. What you’re looking for here is a sign-off that is bold and memorable. The final couple of sentences in your statement give you the opportunity to emphasise all the good stuff you’ve already covered. Use this space to leave the reader in no doubt as to what an excellent addition you would be to their university. Pull together all your key points and – most importantly – address the central question that your personal statement should answer: why should you get a place on the course?

• Read more: universities explain how to end your personal statement with a bang  

9. Make sure your personal statement has no mistakes

Now you’ve got a personal statement you’re happy with, you need to make sure there are no mistakes. Check it, check it a second time, then check it again. Once you’ve done that, get someone else to check it, too. You will be doing yourself a massive disservice if you send through a personal statement with spelling and/or grammatical errors. You’ve got months to put this together so there really is no excuse for sending through something that looks like a rush job. Ask your teachers to look at it, and be prepared to accept their feedback without getting defensive. They will have seen many personal statements before; use what they tell you to make yours even better. You’ve also got another chance here to look through the content of your personal statement, so you can make sure the balance is right. Make sure your focus is very clearly on the subject you are applying for and why you want to study it. Don’t post your personal statement on the internet or social media where anyone can see it. You will get picked up by the Ucas plagiarism checker. Similarly, don't copy any that you find online. Instead, now is a good time to make your parents feel useful. Read your personal statement out to them and get them to give you feedback. Or try printing it out and mixing it up with a few others (you can find sample personal statements on The Student Room). Get them to read them all and then try to pick yours out. If they can't, perhaps there's not enough of your personality in there.  

10. Don't think about your personal statement for a whole week

If you followed the advice at the very start of this guide, you’ve started your personal statement early. Good job! There are months before you need to submit it. Use one of these weeks to forget about your personal statement completely. Get on with other things – anything you like. Just don’t go near your statement. Give it a whole week and then open up the document again and read through it with fresh eyes. You’ll gain a whole new perspective on what you’ve written and will be well placed to make more changes, if needed.

• Read more: how to write your personal statement when you have nothing interesting to say  

10 steps to your ideal personal statement

In summary, here are the ten steps you should follow to create the perfect personal statement.  

Personal statement dos and don'ts

• Remember that your personal statement is your personal statement, not an article written about your intended field of study. It should tell the reader about you, not about the subject.
• Only put in things that you’re prepared to talk about at the interviews.
• Give convincing reasons for why you want to study the course – more than just "enjoying the subject" (this should be a given).
• For very competitive courses, find out as much as you can about the nature of the course and try to make your personal statement relevant to this.
• Be reflective. If you make a point like 'I like reading', 'I travelled abroad', say what you got from it.
• Go through the whole thing checking your grammar and your spelling. Do this at least twice. It doesn’t matter if you’re not applying to an essay-based course – a personal statement riddled with spelling mistakes is just going to irritate the reader, which is the last thing you want to do. If this is something you find difficult then have someone look over it for you.
• Leave blank lines between your paragraphs. It’s easier for the reader to get through your personal statement when it’s broken into easily digestible chunks. Remember that they’re going to be reading a lot of these! Make yours easy to get through.
• Get someone else's opinion on your statement. Read it out to family or friends. Share it with your teacher. Look for feedback wherever you can find it, then act upon it.
• Don’t write it like a letter. Kicking off with a greeting such as "Dear Sir/Madam" not only looks weird, it also wastes precious space.
• Don’t make jokes. This is simply not the time – save them for your first night in the union.
• Don’t criticise your current school or college or try to blame teachers for any disappointing grades you might have got.
• Be afraid of details – if you want your PS to be personal to you that means explaining exactly which bits of work or topics or activities you've taken part in/enjoyed. It's much more compelling to read about one or two detailed examples than a paragraph that brushes over five or six.
• Just list what you're doing now. You should pull out the experiences that are relevant to the courses which you're applying to.
• Mention skills and activities without giving examples of when they have been demonstrated by you or what you learnt from them. Anyone can write "I have great leadership skills" in a PS, actually using a sentence to explain when you demonstrated good leadership skills is much rarer and more valuable.
• Refer to experiences that took place before your GCSEs (or equivalent).
• Give explanations about medical or mental health problems. These should be explained in your reference, not your PS.
• Apply for too many different courses, making it difficult to write a convincing personal statement which supports the application.
• Write a statement specific to just one institution, unless you're only applying to that one choice.
• Copy and paste the statement from somewhere else! This means do not plagiarise. All statements are automatically checked for plagiarism by Ucas. Those that are highlighted by the computer system are checked manually by Ucas staff. If you’re found to have plagiarised parts of your statement, the universities you apply to will be informed and it could jeopardise your applications.
• Use ChatGPT or another AI program to write your personal statement for you. Or, if you do, make sure you thoroughly edit and personalise the text so it's truly yours. Otherwise you're very much at risk of the plagiarism point above.

You may want to look at these...

How to write your university application.

Tips for writing your university application, including deadlines and personal statements

What to do if you miss the 25 January Ucas deadline and still want to apply to uni

How long does it take for universities to reply to your application?

It might feel like it's taking forever for your uni offers to come through. Find out what's going on, and when you should hear back

Where could your A-levels take you?

Enter your a-level choices below to find out.

• Enter A-level option 1 Accounting Afrikaans Anthropology Arabic Archaeology Art and Design Bahasa Basque Bengali Biology Business Studies Chemistry Chinese Classical Civilisation Communication Studies Computer Science Craft and Design Critical Thinking Czech Dance Danish Design Design and Technology Drama and Theatre Studies Dutch Economics Electronics Engineering English Language English Language and Literature English Literature Environmental Studies Fijian Film Studies Fine Art Finnish Food Technology French Further Mathematics Gaelic General Studies Geography Geology German Government and Politics Graphics Greek Gujurati Health and Social Care Hebrew Hindi History History of Art Hungarian ICT Irish Italian Japanese Latin Latvian Law Leisure and Recreation Malay Mathematics Media Studies Mongolian Music Nepali Norwegian Panjabi Performing Arts Persian Philosophy Photography Physical Education Physics Polish Portuguese Product Design Psychology Religious Studies Romanian Russian Sanskrit Science Slovak Sociology Spanish Statistics Syariah Tamil Textiles Travel and Tourism Turkish Urdu Welsh World Development
• Enter A-level option 2 Accounting Afrikaans Anthropology Arabic Archaeology Art and Design Bahasa Basque Bengali Biology Business Studies Chemistry Chinese Classical Civilisation Communication Studies Computer Science Craft and Design Critical Thinking Czech Dance Danish Design Design and Technology Drama and Theatre Studies Dutch Economics Electronics Engineering English Language English Language and Literature English Literature Environmental Studies Fijian Film Studies Fine Art Finnish Food Technology French Further Mathematics Gaelic General Studies Geography Geology German Government and Politics Graphics Greek Gujurati Health and Social Care Hebrew Hindi History History of Art Hungarian ICT Irish Italian Japanese Latin Latvian Law Leisure and Recreation Malay Mathematics Media Studies Mongolian Music Nepali Norwegian Panjabi Performing Arts Persian Philosophy Photography Physical Education Physics Polish Portuguese Product Design Psychology Religious Studies Romanian Russian Sanskrit Science Slovak Sociology Spanish Statistics Syariah Tamil Textiles Travel and Tourism Turkish Urdu Welsh World Development
• Enter A-level option 3 Accounting Afrikaans Anthropology Arabic Archaeology Art and Design Bahasa Basque Bengali Biology Business Studies Chemistry Chinese Classical Civilisation Communication Studies Computer Science Craft and Design Critical Thinking Czech Dance Danish Design Design and Technology Drama and Theatre Studies Dutch Economics Electronics Engineering English Language English Language and Literature English Literature Environmental Studies Fijian Film Studies Fine Art Finnish Food Technology French Further Mathematics Gaelic General Studies Geography Geology German Government and Politics Graphics Greek Gujurati Health and Social Care Hebrew Hindi History History of Art Hungarian ICT Irish Italian Japanese Latin Latvian Law Leisure and Recreation Malay Mathematics Media Studies Mongolian Music Nepali Norwegian Panjabi Performing Arts Persian Philosophy Photography Physical Education Physics Polish Portuguese Product Design Psychology Religious Studies Romanian Russian Sanskrit Science Slovak Sociology Spanish Statistics Syariah Tamil Textiles Travel and Tourism Turkish Urdu Welsh World Development
• Enter A-level option 4 Accounting Afrikaans Anthropology Arabic Archaeology Art and Design Bahasa Basque Bengali Biology Business Studies Chemistry Chinese Classical Civilisation Communication Studies Computer Science Craft and Design Critical Thinking Czech Dance Danish Design Design and Technology Drama and Theatre Studies Dutch Economics Electronics Engineering English Language English Language and Literature English Literature Environmental Studies Fijian Film Studies Fine Art Finnish Food Technology French Further Mathematics Gaelic General Studies Geography Geology German Government and Politics Graphics Greek Gujurati Health and Social Care Hebrew Hindi History History of Art Hungarian ICT Irish Italian Japanese Latin Latvian Law Leisure and Recreation Malay Mathematics Media Studies Mongolian Music Nepali Norwegian Panjabi Performing Arts Persian Philosophy Photography Physical Education Physics Polish Portuguese Product Design Psychology Religious Studies Romanian Russian Sanskrit Science Slovak Sociology Spanish Statistics Syariah Tamil Textiles Travel and Tourism Turkish Urdu Welsh World Development
• Get results

Related to this article

Search the uni guide, find further advice or search for information on a course or university.

• Search Advice
• Search courses &/or universities

The Uni Guide and The Student Room are both part of The Student Room Group.

Promoted universities

• Durham University
• Lancaster University
• University of Glasgow
• University of the Arts London
• University of Southampton
• Swansea University
• Aston University, Birmingham
• Ulster University
• Cardiff University

Browse expert advice

• Oxbridge applications
• Ucas application
• Personal statements
• Ucas deadline 2024 countdown
• Clearing and results day
• Preparing for university
• Student accommodation
• Student life
• Student finance
• Advice for parents

About this site

• Cookie policy
• List of universities and colleges
• Privacy notice
• Terms and conditions
• Where we get our info

Who we work with

• Your account settings

Ad privacy settings

Popular tools and features

• A-level Explorer
• Course search

Connect with us

• How to End a Personal Statement
• Tips on How to End a Personal Statement Successfully

How to Format Your Personal Statement Correctly

5 successful ways how to end a personal statement, 5 worst ways how to end a personal statement, general tips on making a personal statement application, 5 great examples of a personal statement ending, personal statement for a medical school, personal statement for mathematics, personal statement for a law school, personal statement for a biology, personal statement for economics.

It is important to write this paper according to all requirements. With this document, you must prove that you suit the chosen position and show the admission committee or a recruiter that you are much better than all other candidates. Reading this you will learn how to end a personal statement properly.

You can create a personal statement for graduate school , a university, or any other place you want to apply to. When people create this document, they often make a big mistake when they try to write those things they think the admission committee or recruiters want to see in the ideal candidate for the position. To avoid this you can look at college application essays samples prepared by an admission essay writing service to be sure you do everything right.

You should understand there is a huge difference between this essay and an honestly written one. You need to be sincere and mention only true things about yourself. Don't try to look better than you are, just try to describe yourself brightly to be selected from tons of other applicants.

Needless to say, you have to grab the officers' or recruiters' attention, otherwise, you won't get chances to apply for a position of your dream. We suggest writing this document very carefully and thoroughly because your future depends on it. In our guide, we will give some general hints on writing and paying attention to the conclusion - it is the last part of this important paper. Go ahead and keep reading to find great tips and successful examples!

How to write personal statement ? Students need to format a personal statement just like any other kind of essay. If you want to make a strong and well-structured work, follow a three-paragraph structure:

• Introduction — in this part you have to make a catchy beginning to grab the reader's attention. You have to mention the name of the company or the course and the position or degree you are applying for.
• The body part — feel free to make several paragraphs here to support your candidacy. You have to provide readers with information about your personal experiences, characteristics, skills, goals, knowledge, achievements, etc. Don't forget to write the brightest examples from your experience to prove all the qualifications you mentioned.
• Conclusion — it is a short closing paragraph where you have to thank your audience for reading. A good idea is to put a phrase you hope to hear from them soon. You need to summarize ideas shortly and wrap up your paper properly.

When you are making the conclusion for personal statement , your goal is to concentrate on the main idea of your document. Remember you should write in the laconic style to make this part short but effective. Summarize your skills and interests shortly, include your plans for the future years, and provide information about why you fit the chosen course. Be careful with the length: your personal statement conclusion should be around ⅓ of the entire paper (150-200 words). We have one more blog that has an answer on how long is a personal statement . 

The conclusion of your personal statement makes the second first impression on your audience. Use these effective hints to create a bright ending that will attract your reader:

• Include key points about the qualities you expect of yourself when you graduate from the school. Explain why you want to study. Demonstrate your interest, why you have the inspiration to learn, and why you have the enthusiasm.
• You can write a short concluding story related to your experience. Don't just describe your skills the chosen course needs, but tell how you have developed them.
• Give your readers a better understanding of how you are going to use your life experience in achieving your goals. Tell about your transferable skills — this can be leadership, good organizational skills, ability to work both independently and in a team.
• Mention that you are not afraid to use your opportunity, take new challenges and solve difficult problems. Give an explanation why you fit this course. Prove that you not only fit the selection requirements, but you have made a research to realize what this course will involve.
• Restate the main idea of your personal statement to tie all parts of your personal statement together.

These are the things you should never write in your personal statement:

• End up with a question and leave your readers in a suspense.
• Writing a number of things that are not related to the main goal.
• Providing no plans for the future and no point of view.
• Choosing courses that are not related to the particular school.
• Copyright infringement (if you are using personal statement examples from other people, make sure you do not copypaste words - their rights are reserved).

If you have no idea how to create a personal statement for college , we are ready to share some useful ideas that will help you to complete this task. Read them carefully to understand what information you need to put in this paper:

• First of all, read maximum information about the course you want to choose. Make sure you started making your personal statement beforehand so that you have enough time for writing.
• Take a sheet of paper and write down your skills, achievements, experience, activities outside of school, etc.
• Compare the list with the course description, and highlight the most relevant points.
• Make a clear plan what points you're going to include in your paper. Here you need to answer two questions: "Why did you decide to choose this course?" and "Why are you suitable to study the chosen subject?".
• Try to explain why you chose a certain school among many others. For example, if you are making a personal statement for a medical school, you have to explain to the admission committee why you are interested in medicine and why you want to choose it as your future profession.
• Don't just list your personal experiences and activities, but describe them - include in your personal statement bright examples to prove them.
• Make sure your work is structured properly. Remember the entire paper should not be too long: 500 words is enough. It's not a good idea to overdo this number, because the committee doesn't read papers that don't fit requirements.
• Try to be honest and sincere, never try to write false things because it will eventually come out. Just be yourself and don't panic.
• Don't bring any unimportant information. Never include in this paper your negative experience.
• Your audience has to feel excited from the first sentence of the personal statement. Keep in mind that boring & uninteresting papers have no chances to win.
• When your paper is finished, check every page thoroughly & correct all grammar and logical mistakes .

We want to share four successful examples that can be helpful if you feel insecure concerning how to end a personal statement correctly. Read the most successful examples to help you in writing a personal statement of your own!

I am a self-motivated & responsible person & I am looking forward to challenges. I am totally ready to solve difficult problems. I know a medical career has a lot of demands & I am sure that my desire to become a good doctor & my volunteering experience in the hospital will be very helpful.

I decided to start my career in the mathematics field because I always love my mathematics studies, so I was never in a doubt about choosing it as my future degree. I hope that my experience & my willingness to learn math will help me to make a successful career of a mathematician.

I am interested in many subject areas but lately, I turned my attention to a career in the law sphere. I can pay attention to the tiniest details; I hope this will help me to become a good lawyer. I was always good at analyzing information; I am able to find strong evidence & present persuasive arguments.

Keep in mind that there is one more blog on law school personal statement . It has a useful guide and necessary tips to help with this kind of writing.

Biology is a subject that always drew my attention. I am interested in living things & evolution, & I always work hard to find explanations of everything. I am ready for the most difficult challenges & I hope that my experience in biomedical research & my ability to gather & analyze information will help me to become a successful biologist.

Economics is a challenging subject that always attracts my attention. I understand the importance of this discipline for the entire world & I have chosen it as my future degree. I believe that my ability to achieve goals & attention to details will help me to become a good economist.

We hope you have found a lot of useful information on how to end a personal statement in our article. Good luck in writing your own document on the high level & making your own bright future! You may always refer to a professional writing agency and save your time!

If you are applying for a nursing degree at university, then you should attach a personal statement to your application and take care of its stellar content. Being one of the most important selling points in your bachelor degree application, your nursing personal statement should demonstrate that yo...

So, you have reached the stage in your life where you need to decide on your occupation. What steps do you need to take to move forward confidently? First of all, decide on the educational establishment you want to connect the next four or five years of your life with. After that, the fun part comes...

If you dream of serving your community as a dentist, you’ll need to enroll into a respective higher education program and provide certain documents to the committee. One of them is your dental school personal statement, which helps grab the interest of the admissions committee.A personal statement i...

How to Write a UCAS Personal Statement [With Examples]

James is senior content marketing manager at BridgeU. He writes and directs content for BridgeU's university partners and our community of international schools

What are the big challenges students should be aware of before writing their UCAS Personal Statement?

• The essential ingredients for writing a great Personal Statement
• How to write the UCAS Personal Statement [with examples]

Final hints & tips to help your students

Join 10,000 other counsellors & educators & get exclusive resources delivered straight to your inbox.

The UCAS Personal Statement can sometimes be a student’s only chance to impress a UK university. Read our in-depth guide to helping your students plan & write a winning application.

There are hundreds of articles out there on how to write a UCAS Personal Statement that will grab the attention of a UK university admissions officer.  

But if you’re working with students to help them perfect their Personal Statement in time for the  relevant UCAS deadlines , we can sum up the secret to success in three words.

Planning, structure and story. 

The UCAS Personal Statement is a student’s chance to talk about why they want to study for a particular degree, course or subject discipline at a UK university. 

As they set about writing a personal statement, students need to demonstrate the drive, ambition, relevant skills and notable achievements that make them a  suitable candidate for the universities they have chosen to apply to . 

But the UCAS Personal Statement requires students to write a lot about themselves in a relatively short space of time. That’s why lots of planning, a tight structure and a compelling story are essential if a student’s Personal Statement is to truly excel. 

As important deadlines for UK university applications grow closer, we at BridgeU have put together a guide, outlining some of the strategies and techniques to help your students to write a personal statement which is both engaging and truly individual.

Handpicked Related Content

Discover the simple steps that will boost the confidence of your native English speaking & ESL students alike in  University Application Essays: The 5 Secrets of Successful Writing .

As they begin to plan their Personal Statement, students may feel intimidated. It’s not easy to summarise your academic interests and personal ambitions, especially when you’re competing for a place on a course which is popular or has demanding entry requirements. In particular, students will likely come up against the following challenges.

Time pressure

Unfortunately, the Personal Statement (and other aspects of university preparation) comes during the busiest year of the student’s academic life so far.

Students, and indeed teachers and counsellors, must undertake the planning and writing of the personal statement whilst juggling other commitments, classes and deadlines, not to mention revision and open day visits!

Because there is already a lot of academic pressure on students in their final year of secondary school, finding the time and headspace for the personal statement can be hard, and can mean it gets pushed to the last minute. The risks of leaving it to the last minute are fairly obvious – the application will seem rushed and the necessary thought and planning won’t go into  making the personal statement the best it can be . 

Sticking closely to the Personal Statement format

The character limit which UCAS sets for the personal statement is very strict – up to 4,000 characters of text. This means that students have to express themselves in a clear and concise way; it’s also important that they don’t feel the need to fill the available space needlessly.  Planning and redrafting of a personal statement is essential .

Making it stand out

This is arguably the greatest challenge facing students – making sure that their statement sets them apart from everyone else who is competing for a place on any given course; in 2022 alone, UCAS received applications from 683,650 applicants (+1.6k on 2021) students. In addition, UCAS uses its own dedicated team and purpose built software to check every application for plagiarism, so it’s crucial that students craft a truly  original personal statement which is entirely their own work .

The essential ingredients for writing a great UCAS Personal Statement 

We’ve already mentioned our three watch words for writing a high quality Personal Statement.

Planning. Structure. Story. 

Let’s dig deeper into these three essential components in more detail.

Watch: How to Write a UCAS Personal Statement with University of Essex

Planning a ucas personal statement.

It might sound like a no-brainer, but it’s vital that students plan their Personal Statement before they start writing it. Specifically, the planning phase could include: 

• Students thoroughly researching the UK university courses they plan on applying to. 
• Deciding on what relevant material to include in their Personal Statement (we’ll cover this in more detail later on). 
• Writing an unedited first draft where they just get their thoughts and ideas down on paper. 

Structuring a UCAS Personal Statement

As we’ve discussed, the UCAS Personal Statement requires students to be extremely disciplined – they will be required to condense a lot of information into a relatively short written statement. This means that, after they’ve written a rough first draft, they need to think carefully about how they structure the final statement. 

A stand out Personal Statement will need a tight structure, with an introduction and a conclusion that make an impact and really help to tell a story about who your student is, and why they are drawn to studying this particular degree. 

This brings us nicely to our third and final ingredient…

Telling a story with a Personal Statement

The UCAS Personal Statement is a student’s opportunity to show a university who they are and how their life experiences have shaped their academic interests and goals. 

So a good Personal Statement needs to offer a compelling narrative, and that means making sure that a student’s writing is well-structured, and that every sentence and paragraph is serving the statement’s ultimate purpose –  to convince a university that your student deserves a place on their subject of choice. 

How to help your students start their UCAS Personal Statement

In order to ensure that a personal statement is delivered on time and to an appropriate standard, it’s essential to plan thoroughly before writing it. Here are some questions you can ask your students before they start writing:

How can you demonstrate a formative interest in your subject?

It may sound obvious but, in order for any UCAS personal statement to have the necessary structure and clarity, students need to think hard about why they want to study their chosen subject. Ask them to think about their responses to the following questions:

What inspired you to study your chosen subject?

Example answer:  My desire to understand the nature of reality has inspired me to apply for Physics and Philosophy

Was there a formative moment when your perspective on this subject changed, or when you decided you wanted to study this subject in more detail?

Example answer:  My interest in philosophy was awakened when I questioned my childhood religious beliefs; reading Blackburn’s “Think”, convinced me to scrutinise my assumptions about the world, and to ensure I could justify my beliefs.

Can you point to any role models, leading thinkers, or notable literature which has in turn affected your thinking and/or inspired you?

Example answer :  The search for a theory of everything currently being conducted by physicists is of particular interest to me and in “The Grand Design” Hawking proposes a collection of string theories, dubbed M-theory, as the explanation of why the universe is the way it is.

Asking your students to think about the “why” behind their chosen subject discipline is a useful first step in helping them to organise their overall statement. Next, they need to be able to demonstrate evidence of their suitability for a course or degree. 

How have you demonstrated the skills and aptitudes necessary for your chosen course?

Encourage students to think about times where they have demonstrated the necessary skills to really stand out. It’s helpful to think about times when they have utilised these skills both inside and outside the classroom. Ask students to consider their responses to the following questions. 

Can you demonstrate critical and independent thinking around your chosen subject discipline?

Example answer :  Currently I am studying Maths and Economics in addition to Geography. Economics has been a valuable tool, providing the nuts and bolts to economic processes, and my geography has provided a spatial and temporal element.

Are you able to demonstrate skills and competencies which will be necessary for university study?

These include qualities such as teamwork, time management and the ability to organise workload responsibly.

Example answer:  This year I was selected to be captain of the 1st XV rugby team and Captain of Swimming which will allow me to further develop my leadership, teamwork and organisational skills.

How have your extracurricular activities helped prepare you for university?

Students may believe that their interests outside the classroom aren’t relevant to their university application. So encourage them to think about how their other interests can demonstrate the subject-related skills that universities are looking for in an application. Ask students to think about any of the following activities, and how they might be related back to the subject they are applying for.

• Clubs/societies, or volunteering work which they can use to illustrate attributes such as teamwork, an interest in community service and the ability to manage their time proactively.
• Have they been elected/nominated as a team captain, or the head of a particular club or society, which highlights leadership skills and an ability to project manage?
• Can they point to any awards or prizes they may have won, whether it’s taking up a musical instrument, playing a sport, or participating in theatre/performing arts?
• Have they achieved grades or qualifications as part of their extracurricular activities? These can only help to demonstrate aptitude and hard work. 

How to write the UCAS Personal Statement [with examples] 

If sufficient planning has gone into the personal statement, then your students should be ready to go!

In this next section, we’ll break down the individual components of the UCAS Personal Statement and share some useful examples.

These examples come from a Personal Statement in support of an application to study Environmental Science at a UK university. 

Watch: King’s College London explain what they’re looking for in a UCAS Personal Statement

Introduction.

This is the chance for an applying student to really grab an admission tutor’s attention. Students need to demonstrate both a personal passion for their subject, and explain why they have an aptitude for it .  This section is where students should begin to discuss any major influences or inspirations that have led them to this subject choice. 

Example :  My passion for the environment has perhaps come from the fact that I have lived in five different countries: France, England, Spain, Sweden and Costa Rica. Moving at the age of 15 from Sweden, a calm and organized country, to Costa Rica, a more diverse and slightly chaotic country, was a shock for me at first and took me out of my comfort zone […] Also, living in Costa Rica, one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, definitely helped me realize how vulnerable the world is and how we need to take care of it in a sustainable manner. 

This opening paragraph immediately grabs the reader’s attention by giving the reader an insight into this student’s background and links their academic interests with something specific from the student’s personal backstory. 

Discussing Academic Achievements 

The next paragraph in this Personal Statement discusses the student’s academic achievements. Because this student has had an international education, they frame their academic achievements in the context of their personal background. They also cite useful examples of other curricula they have studied and the grades they have achieved. 

Example : 

Throughout my academic life I have shown myself to be a responsible student as well as a hard working one, despite the fact that I have had to move around a lot. I have achieved several other accomplishments such as a high A (286/300) in AS Spanish at age 15, and also completed a Spanish course of secondary studies for ‘MEP’(Ministerio de Educacion Publica), which is a system from Costa Rica.   

You’ll notice that this student doesn’t just list their achievements – their strong academic performance is always linked back to a wider discussion of their personal experiences. 

Showcasing Extracurricular Activities

As well as discussing academic achievements, a good Personal Statement should also discuss the student’s extracurricular activities, and how they relate back to the student’s overall university aspirations. 

By the third/fourth paragraph of the Personal Statement, students should think about incorporating their extracurricular experiences, 

Another valuable experience was when my class spent a week at a beach called ‘Pacuare’ in order to help prevent the eggs of the endangered leatherback turtle from being stolen by poachers who go on to sell them like chicken eggs. We all gained teamwork experience, which was needed in order to hide the eggs silently without scaring the mother turtles, as well as making it more difficult for the poachers to find them. 

When the poachers set fire to one of the sustainable huts where we were staying, not only did I gain self-awareness about the critical situation of the world and its ecosystems, I also matured and became even more motivated to study environmental sciences at university.

This is a particularly striking example of using extracurricular activities to showcase a student’s wider passion for the degree subject they want to study. 

Not only does this Personal Statement have a story about volunteering to save an endangered species, it also illustrates this applicants’ wider worldview, and helps to explain their motivation for wanting to study Environmental Science. 

Concluding the UCAS Personal Statement

The conclusion to a UCAS Personal Statement will have to be concise, and will need to tie all of a student’s academic and extracurricular achievements. After all, a compelling story will need a great ending. 

Remember that students need to be mindful of the character limit of a Personal Statement, so a conclusion need only be the length of a small paragraph, or even a couple of sentences. 

“ After having many varied experiences, I truly think I can contribute to university in a positive way, and would love to study in England where I believe I would gain more skills and education doing a first degree than in any other country.  “

A good Personal Statement conclusion will end with an affirmation of how the student thinks they can contribute to university life, and why they believe the institution in question should accept them. Because the student in this example has a such a rich and varied international background, they also discuss the appeal of studying at university in England. 

It’s worth taking a quick look at a few other examples of how other students have chosen to conclude their Personal Statement. 

Medicine (Imperial College, London) 

Interest in Medicine aside, other enthusiasms of mine include languages, philosophy, and mythology. It is curiously fitting that in ancient Greek lore, healing was but one of the many arts Apollo presided over, alongside archery and music.   I firmly believe that a doctor should explore the world outside the field of  Medicine, and it is with such experiences that I hope to better empathise and connect with the patients I will care for in my medical career. 

You’ll notice that this example very specifically ties the students’ academic and extracurricular activities together, and ties the Personal Statement back to their values and beliefs. 

Economic History with Economics (London School of Economics)

The highlight of my extra-curricular activities has been my visit to Shanghai with the Lord Mayor’s trade delegation in September 2012. I was selected to give a speech at this world trade conference due to my interest in economic and social history. […] I particularly enjoyed the seminar format, and look forward to experiencing more of this at university. My keen interest and desire to further my knowledge of history and economics, I believe, would make the course ideal for me.

By contrast, this conclusion ties a memorable experience back to the specifics of how the student will be taught at the London School of Economics – specifically, the appeal of learning in seminar format! 

There’s no magic formula for concluding a Personal Statement. But you’ll see that what all of these examples have in common is that they tie a student’s personal and academic experiences together – and tell a university something about their aspirations for the future.

Watch: Bournemouth University explain how to structure a UCAS Personal Statement

Know the audience

It can be easy for students to forget that the person reading a personal statement is invariably an expert in their field. This is why an ability to convey passion and think critically about their chosen subject is essential for a personal statement to stand out. Admissions tutors will also look for students who can structure their writing (more on this below). 

Students should be themselves

Remember that many students are competing for places on a university degree against fierce competition. And don’t forget that UCAS has the means to spot plagiarism. So students need to create a truly honest and individual account of who they are, what they have achieved and, perhaps most importantly, why they are driven to study this particular subject.

Proof-read (then proof-read again!)

Time pressures mean that students can easily make mistakes with their Personal Statements. As the deadline grows closer, it’s vital that they are constantly checking and rechecking their writing and to ensure that shows them in the best possible light. 

Meanwhile, when it comes to giving feedback to students writing their Personal Statements, make sure you’re as honest and positive as possible in the days and weeks leading up to submission day. 

And make sure they remember the three key ingredients of writing a successful Personal Statement. 

Planning, structure and story! 

Book a free demo

Learn how BridgeU can help deliver better outcomes for your students and improved results for your school

Clearing Universities & Courses

Clearing advice.

Recommended Clearing Universities

Popular Course Categories

Course Search & Discover

Start the search for your uni. Filter from hundreds of universities based on your preferences.

Search by Type

Search by region.

Recommended Universities

Swansea University

Wales · 100% Recommended

University of Surrey

South East England · 98% Recommended

University of Portsmouth

Search open days.

What's new at Uni Compare

University of Sussex

Choose Sussex for cutting-edge degrees in Finance, Banking, and Digital Finance.

Bangor University

Find the perfect Criminology degree which allows you to specialise in your interests

Ranking Categories

Regional rankings.

More Rankings

Top 100 Universities

Taken from 65,000+ data points from students attending university to help future generations

About our Rankings

Discover university rankings devised from data collected from current students.

Guide Categories

Advice categories, recommended articles, popular statement examples, not sure what to search for, take our quick degree quiz.

Find the ideal uni course for you with our Course Degree Quiz. Get answers in minutes!

Take our full degree quiz

Get more tailored course suggestions with our full Course Degree Quiz and apply with confidence.

How to write an undergraduate personal statement

Writing your personal statement can feel like a big task. Let’s break it down into some simple steps so you can tackle it section by section!

What is an undergraduate personal statement?

Your personal statement is your chance to tell the universities you're applying to who you are and why you'll be a great addition to the university. Alongside your predicted grades, this is your chance to share your academic achievements and motivations for applying to the course.

In the UK, it is required that you submit one of these with your UCAS application for any undergraduate courses. The personal statement has a 4000-character limit so you'll want to make sure you use every word wisely!

So where do you start? Use this article as your guide, going through each step to write an outstanding personal statement that stands out from the rest!

1. Plan your personal statement

With a limit of 4000 characters, you'll want to make sure you know exactly what you want to say. When thinking about what to include in your personal statement , use these pointers to get you started:

• What interests you about the course?
• What existing experience do you have of the subject or specific topics it covers?
• What excites you about the course?
• Do you have any key academic or personal achievements?
• Are there any life experiences that have taught you valuable lessons or skills that can be used in your studies?

Think about your answers to the questions and jot them down as you go. You'll now have the ingredients to write your undergraduate personal statement. Next, let's bring it all together in an essay that the university will enjoy reading. In need of some inspiration? Our personal statement examples from past students can help!

2. Start with a strong introduction

Knowing how to start your personal statement can be tricky if you don't know who's reading it. There are thousands of students submitting their personal statements each year and it's the uni admissions office who will read these, and it's long work!

Your introduction is how you grab their attention and keep them interested in you and your application. To do this, show your enthusiasm for applying and that you understand the subject you're applying to. But don't overthink it or do anything too out of the ordinary. Be sure to avoid clichés or quotes from other people - the admissions team wants to hear from you and only you!

3. Share your motivations for applying

It's now time to build out the points you mentioned in your intro. Dig deeper into why you're applying and call out specific areas of the subject you enjoy. It's great to also link it back to the subjects you're already studying - are there similarities between the current topics you study and modules the course covers?

If you aren't studying something directly related to the degree you're applying to, you can bring in your hobbies or any experiences that relate to the skills and your understanding of the subject. For example, if you're looking to study sports science, do you play football outside of school?

4. Show your personal skills and achievements

Universities are looking for students who have the skills needed for success in the course and beyond. Write about key academic skills you have that you see the university is looking for in students on their course e.g. critical thinking, research methods, source analysis as well as any key personal skills that will come in handy e.g. organisation, written communication, teamwork. With each skill, provide evidence of where you've shown this and any achievements you hold that demonstrate this too.

This is a good time to share any positions you may hold in and out of school such as captain of the football team or head girl. Remember, link this back to key skills and how this achievement helped you improve those skills.

5. Do you have any relevant work experience?

If you have a part-time job or have done some work experience or voluntary work, write about this in your personal statement and link it back to the skills you have developed or how this supports your course decision. Are you looking to study veterinary medicine and did your work experience at a vets? Are you applying for a psychology course and previously volunteered in a care home?

When including volunteer or work experience, make sure it's relevant to the subject you're applying to.

6. Tell them about your future plans

Universities want to understand what you want to do after university. They'll be looking for students who show ambition and have a clear understanding of what they want to do. If you already have a clear idea, great! Explain why you need the degree to get you to where you want to be and any specific skills or experiences that will help launch your career.

If you're unsure where you want to go, this is the perfect time to have a think. Understand why it is you want to go to university and what exactly this course will give you to help with that. Talk to your teachers, research different careers and subjects and take our degree course quiz .

7. How to end your personal statement with an impact

Your conclusion is there to round off your personal statement and drive home the main messages. Summarise the main reasons you want to study the subject and why you are the perfect student for their university!

7. Time to proofread!

Once you've finished your first draft, take some time to review what you've written. Check that your points are clear and you're not waffling too much (we all do it!). Remember that every sentence should offer something unique - if you think you're repeating an earlier point, don't be afraid to remove it.

If you have a teacher or a family member who can check over your personal statement, great! They'll likely catch things you missed. If you're worried about grammar, run it through spellcheck to pick up any errors.

Don't leave it too late to start your personal statement. The quicker you start to write, the more time you have to tweak and make sure it's perfect before the UCAS deadline . It's always good to write your personal statement and leave it to one side so you can come back with fresh eyes and make any changes later!

Don't forget that your personal statement is your chance to shine and demonstrate why you're the perfect fit for your chosen course. Be authentic, showcase your unique qualities, and let your passion shine through. Good luck!

undergraduate Universities

Undergraduate uni's.

Swansea Uni

1324 courses

Uni of Surrey

736 courses

Uni of Portsmouth

753 courses

723 courses

Goldsmiths, UOL

319 courses

West London IoT

ARU Writtle

Escape Studios

Uni of Chester

629 courses

Uni of Sunderland

328 courses

Uni of East London

569 courses

Uni of Winchester

257 courses

467 courses

Uni for Creative Arts

614 courses

Northeastern Uni

Middlesex Uni

656 courses

114 courses

Cardiff Met Uni

501 courses

Coventry Uni

729 courses

Leeds Beckett Uni

454 courses

Uni of Roehampton

469 courses

Uni of Bradford

385 courses

884 courses

Uni of Leicester

435 courses

Highlands & Islands

Uni of Bedfordshire

654 courses

Uni of Hertfordshire

584 courses

Heriot-Watt Uni

334 courses

Staffordshire Uni

472 courses

Queen's Uni

634 courses

Uni of Westminster

496 courses

Uni of Suffolk

216 courses

UWE, Bristol

497 courses

Uni of Huddersfield

642 courses

Uni of Kent

583 courses

Leeds Arts University

Uni of Reading

683 courses

709 courses

Ravensbourne

103 courses

Kingston Uni

616 courses

Uni of Essex

1398 courses

Uni of C.Lancashire

793 courses

Wrexham Uni

287 courses

Anglia Ruskin Uni

823 courses

Uni of Hull

Edge Hill Uni

Uni of Brighton

510 courses

Bath Spa Uni

513 courses

Nottingham Trent

911 courses

Want to learn more about a university?

Get your questions answered by sending them an enquiry now.

Writing Your Personal Statements

Your personal statement must demonstrate to the admissions committee that you have considered graduate school and their specific program seriously. It’s your opportunity to summarize your academic and research experiences. You must also communicate how your experiences are relevant to preparing you for the graduate degree that you will be pursuing and explain why a given program is the right one for you.

The personal statement is where you highlight your strengths. Make your strengths absolutely clear to the reviewers, because they will often be reading many other statements. Your self-assessments and honest conversations with peers and advisors should have also revealed your strengths. But you must also address (not blame others for) weaknesses or unusual aspects of your application or academic background.

Your personal statement should focus on two main aspects: your competence and commitment.

1. Identify your strengths in terms of competence that indicate that you will succeed in the grad program and provide examples to support your claims. Start your statement by describing your strengths immediately. Because faculty will be reading many statements, it’s important to start off with your strengths and not “bury your lede.” Consider traits of successful graduate students from your informational interviews, and identify which of these traits you have. These traits could involve research skills and experiences, expertise in working with techniques or instruments, familiarity with professional networks and resources in your field, etc.

• Check your responses from the exercises in the self-assessment section. You may wish to consult notes from your informational interviews and your Seven Stories . Write concise summaries and stories that demonstrate your strengths, e.g. how your strengths helped you to achieve certain goals or overcome obstacles.
• Summarize your research experience(s). What were the main project goals and the “big picture” questions? What was your role in this project? What did you accomplish? What did you learn, and how did you grow as a result of the experience(s)?

My research examines the interplay between U.S. domestic politics and foreign policy during the Cold War. As a native New Yorker, I saw firsthand how dramatically my city changed after 9/11, which prompted my early interest in U.S. policy at home and abroad. As an undergraduate at the City College of New York, I planned to study international relations with a focus on U.S. foreign affairs. I also quickly became involved in student activist groups that focused on raising awareness about a wide range of human rights issues, from the Syrian refugee crisis to asylum seekers from Central America.

The more I learned about the crises in the present, the more I realized that I needed a deeper understanding of the past to fully grasp them. I decided to pursue a PhD in history in order to gain a clearer understanding of human rights issues in the present and to empower young student-activists like myself.

— Vannessa Velez, PhD candidate in History

Addressing weaknesses or unusual aspects

• Identify weaknesses or unusual aspects in your application—e.g., a significant drop in your GPA during a term; weak GRE scores; changes in your academic trajectory, etc. Don’t ignore them, because ignoring them might be interpreted as blind spots for you. If you’re unsure if a particular issue is significant enough to address, seek advice from faculty mentors.
• Explain how you’ll improve and strengthen those areas or work around your weakness. Determine how you will address them in a positive light, e.g., by discussing how you overcame obstacles through persistence, what you learned from challenges, and how you grew from failures. Focusing on a growth mindset  or grit  and this blog on weaknesses might also help.
• Deal with any significant unusual aspects later in the statement to allow a positive impression to develop first.
• Explain, rather than provide excuses—i.e., address the issue directly and don’t blame others (even if you believe someone else is responsible). Draft it and get feedback from others to see if the explanation is working as you want it to.
• Provide supporting empirical evidence if possible. For example, “Adjusting to college was a major step for me, coming from a small high school and as a first-generation college student. My freshman GPA was not up to par with my typical achievements, as demonstrated by my improved  GPA of 3.8 during my second and third years in college."
• Be concise (don’t dwell on the issues), but also be complete (don’t lead to other potentially unanswered questions). For example, if a drop in grades during a term was due to a health issue, explain whether the health issue is recurring, managed now with medication, resolved, etc.

2. Explain your commitment to research and their graduate program, including your motivation for why you are applying to this graduate program at this university. Be as specific as possible. Identify several faculty members with whom you are interested in working, and explain why their research interests you.

• Descriptions of your commitment should explain why you’re passionate about this particular academic field and provide demonstrations of your commitment with stories (e.g., working long hours to solve a problem, overcoming challenges in research, resilience in pursuing problems). Don’t merely assert your commitment.
• Explain why you are applying to graduate school, as opposed to seeking a professional degree or a job. Discuss your interest and motivation for grad school, along with your future career aspirations.

I am definitely not your traditional graduate student. As a biracial (Native American and white), first-generation PhD student from a military family, I had very limited guidance on how best to pursue my education, especially when I decided that graduate school was a good idea. I ended up coming to this PhD in a very circuitous manner, stopping first to get a JD and, later, an MFA in Young Adult Literature. With each degree, I took time to work and apply what I’d learned, as a lawyer and as an educator. Each time, I realized that I was circling around questions that I couldn’t let go of—not just because I found them to be fascinating, but because I did (and still do!) feel that my research could help to bridge a gap that desperately needs bridging. Because my work is quite interdisciplinary, I strongly feel that I wouldn’t have been able to pursue this line of research without the degrees and life experience I gained before coming to this program.

— Jamie Fine, PhD candidate in Modern Thought and Literature

Statement of Purpose: subtle aspects

• Think in terms of engaging faculty in a conversation rather than pleading with them that you should be admitted. Ask reviewers to read drafts with this concern in mind.
• With later drafts, try developing an overall narrative theme. See if one emerges as you work.
• Write at least 10 drafts and expect your thinking and the essay to change quite a bit over time.
• Read drafts out loud to help you catch errors.
• Expect the "you' that emerges in your essay to be incomplete. . . that’s OK.
• You’re sharing a professional/scholarly slice of "you."
• Avoid humor (do you really know what senior academics find funny?) and flashy openings and closings. Think of pitching the essay to an educated person in the field, but not necessarily in your specialty. Avoid emotionally laden words (such as "love" or "passion"). Remember, your audience is a group of professors! Overly emotional appeals might make them uncomfortable. They are looking for scholarly colleagues.

© Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305

• Admission Essay
• Statement of Purpose Editing
• Personal Statement Editing
• Recommendation Letter
• Motivation Letter
• Cover Letter
• Supplemental Essay
• Letter of Continued Interest
• Scholarship Essay
• Role Model Essay
• Our Editors
• College Admission Essay Examples
• College Cover Letter Examples
• College Personal Statement Examples
• Graduate Personal Statement Examples
• Graduate Statement of Purpose Examples
• MBA Essay Examples
• MBA Personal Statement Examples
• MBA Resume Examples
• MBA Recommendation Letter Examples
• Medical School Personal Statement Examples
• Medical School Recommendation Letter Examples
• Pricing Plans
• Public Health
• Dissertation
• Research Paper
• Thesis Editing
• Academic Editing
• Motivation letter
• Letter of Recommendation
• Personal Statement
• Statement of Purpose

How to End a Personal Statement: Strong Tips And Examples

EssayEdge > Blog > How to End a Personal Statement: Strong Tips And Examples

When everything is written down, thoughts are made up together and you see the whole picture of your essay right in front of your eyes, you may think of how to end a personal statement . It may seem to be the easiest part of writing, but, to some extent, it is not. The destiny of the conclusion is to formulate the last impression of you as a personality. 

Table of Contents:

How to close a personal statement

Concluding the results of a completed job is always the most pleasing step in doing anything. Moreover, you can see with your own eyes the way you have passed to achieve your aim. The same regards personal statement conclusions. The key point of writing the conclusion is to accentuate the willingness of the applicant to receive a studying offer and get admitted to the educational institution. You have to think closely about the last paragraph in your essay. It must be the last bullet point to persuade the reader to do next-step actions further.

It may be difficult to decide what exact point you want to add at the end of the essay to complete the writing. First of all, take a break, read your essay several times, and summarize in your mind everything you have written. It is necessary to write standout sentences in your personal statement conclusion to assure the admission tutor that you are the one who is worth getting a place in the educational institution.

While writing, remember that you should concentrate on your essay’s main idea, whether it is the given topic or your personal opinion. The summary should be short and terse, but expedient. Moreover, keep in mind that you are supposed to fit into the given requirements. Your conclusion should be about ⅓ of the entire paper.

And remember to check, check, and check everything a few times.

How to end personal statement and not to fail it

While thinking about how to end personal statement, you may come up with a bunch of questions. The main one may be about what to write and not screw everything up. Here are a few examples of what you shouldn’t write in your conclusion paragraph.

• Rhetoric questions Forget about writing the statements you don’t know how to answer. This may only confuse the reader and leave them in suspense. In this way, you may only underline the point of not knowing something.
• Writing a list of your skills without proofs Even if you want to demonstrate all your skills, don’t do it without proof. Don’t waste the words for just designating the things you are able to do or the knowledge you have. It is wonderful that you have all these aspects, but the admission tutor may not understand the destiny of just naming. Try to involve them all in your main paragraph of the essay.
• Not expressing your future intensions Don’t just tell about your former personal background. It would be good to add to your personal statement conclusion some ideas on your future perspectives. Describe what you want to get out of the studying process and how you would embed it into your life and career.
• Plagiarism from successful essays It is not prohibited to use samples of successful essays just like a pattern. However, you must not copy paste as all the rights of the writer are reserved. It may only spoil your reputation and will not bring any advantages to your essay. If you feel that you need help, it is better to refer to personal statement editing rather than plagiarize.
• Writing the statements that are not related to the topic It is very good if you have a lot of stories to share. Though, you must be careful and think closely about whether the story you write about related to the main topic of your essay or not.

Need help? Check out EssayEdge editing services:

Personal statement conclusion: tips on doing such a thing

So, how to conclude a personal statement? Your conclusion should be comprehensive and impressible. Below you can find a few tips on how to write everything well.

• Take a break Really! It is worth it so to start in advance to have time to leave your writing for some time. After a break, you will read it with a new sight. Maybe you will remove something or, vice versa, add some more information. While having a break, you can think about the conclusion, you may recollect something in your mind that is worth to be written down.
• Read everything many times Yes, you may feel aversion from your essay, but remember that it is a step to your future success and that is why you have to be attentive to the details. Try to figure out the main storyline of your essay and hold it till the conclusion. Peruse everything that is already written many times and you may feel what is missing.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help If you feel confused and don’t know how to close a personal statement, you don’t have to be scared. Everything can be resolved, remember about that. Ask your friends or parents to read your personal statement as they don’t know you. They may share with you some ideas and tell the general impression. According to that knowledge, you can easily make up your thoughts. If you are still not sure about your text, you can use personal statement editing services. Professionals will touch you up to the thought that is in need.
• Summarize everything you mentioned above Yes, it is a very useful skill if you can do a summary, no matter if it is your essay or review of achievements that you have been doing through the years. Placing the accents and underlining your best sides would be a good idea.

Personal statement conclusion examples

As it is mentioned previously, there is nothing wrong with using personal statement conclusion examples. In this way, you can find inspiration and feel more confident and secure that you move in the right way. You shouldn’t neglect using successful examples to see how it works, but in no way, you mustn’t copy paste such samples into your essay.

Here is an example of a successful personal statement ending.

To summarize everything mentioned above, I reckon that I am that one person who is worthy of getting the allowance to enter the university. The main reason for that is my strong motivation to implicate the knowledge I’m supposed to get while studying, into the life of people around the world. As I mentioned before, I have such goals and a number of gained skills. Being admitted to the university may support my intentions and help me to develop the abilities I’ve already had. Moreover, I feel that this is a place where I must improve myself. I have a lot of familiar students and their stories about studying and university life impress me every time I hear them. My plans are global and I can make them real while studying and after graduating as I will have resources and experience. 

It is an example of a successful conclusion as the applicant highlighted their motivation, made an accent on the plans, and summarized the story that was told in the main paragraph. Also, this person mentioned that they have a kind of connection to the community of this university that gives an understanding that it will be easy for him to become a part of the university society.

Ending the personal statement is difficult, but the most pleasing part of the whole essay. With patience and efforts, everything can become possible. You can use examples to get inspiration. Moreover, using tips can really help you to cope with the given tasks. Remember that everything will be fine.  More details on how to write personal statement you can find in the EssayEdge blog. 

Popular Posts

June 2, 2022 How To Start a Scholarship Essay: Catch Reader’s Attention Fast

May 16, 2022 My Role Model Essay: A Few Ways to Elaborate on The Subject

May 3, 2022 How To Start a Personal Statement? | Writing Tips and Samples

Related Posts

June 6, 2024 How to Conclude a College Essay?

May 28, 2024 Why AI Can’t Write Your Personal Statement (And Who Can Help)

May 23, 2024 Will Your Admission Essay Pass College’s AI Detection Software? Part 2

©2024 Student Media LLC. All rights reserved.

EssayEdge: Essay Editing & Proofreading Service.

Our mission is to prepare you for academic and career success.

•   Log In  
•   Sign Up  
• Forgot password

Unable to log in? Please clear your browser's cache and then refresh this page and try again

Reset password Please enter your email address to request a password reset.

Check your email We’ve just sent a password reset link to your email.

This information is used to create your account

Stack Exchange Network

Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow , the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.

Q&A for work

Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search.

Saying thanks in the personal statement?

Should I include a small thank at the beginning of my personal statement? The thank can long for one line to three lines depends on the specifics it included. In the short version, it can be like this:

I want to thank my mom, my friend XYZ and the SE community for supporting me all the time.

In the long version, it can be:

I want to thank my mom for understanding my passion, my friend XYZ for his alacrity to make my works flows better in English, and the SE community as well as other person who I have never met has spent time advising and criticizing every time I come up a new idea.

I should make clear that the school I intend to apply requires me to write a personal statement, separate to the SOP.

The personal statement should give concrete evidence of your promise as a member of the academic community, giving the committee an image of you as a person .

As a person, not a researcher.

• graduate-admissions
• statement-of-purpose

No, a statement of thanks in the form you have described has no place in a statement of purpose.

The statement of purpose should be a concise, focused document. Everything in there should be there for a specific purpose: to convince the readers that you would be a strong addition to their department. Anything that doesn't serve that purpose distracts from that purpose and doesn't belong in there.

The personal statement should give concrete evidence of your promise as a member of the academic community, giving the committee an image of you as a person.

None of the things you have written in your thanks "give concrete evidence of your promise as a member of the academic community" so they do not belong there.

Besides for being ineffective as part of your application for graduate admissions, it's also somewhat ineffective as an expression of gratitude. Private thanks expressed to the person you are thanking are nice; public thanks (like in a thesis, or a Nobel prize acceptance speech) are also nice. What's the point of thanking someone in a private document, that they're not the intended audience of? If you want to thank your mom, send her a letter, or call her on the phone and thank her.

• I have update my question. In short, the personal statement is not the SOP in this school. Do you still think so? –  Ooker Commented Nov 6, 2015 at 5:40
• @Ooker I certainly do. –  ff524 Commented Nov 6, 2015 at 5:41
• 1 +1 for What's the point of thanking someone in a private document, that they're not the intended audience of? –  Nobody Commented Nov 6, 2015 at 5:50
• @ff524 I see. The "giving the committee..." part is only an addition bit for the previous part. It's not a parallel structure. I'll accept for this. For the last paragraph, isn't mom not the intended audience for a thesis? –  Ooker Commented Nov 6, 2015 at 6:15
• @Ooker a thesis is a public document. I specifically gave it as an example in my answer. –  ff524 Commented Nov 6, 2015 at 6:17

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for browse other questions tagged graduate-admissions etiquette statement-of-purpose ..

• Featured on Meta
• Upcoming sign-up experiments related to tags

Hot Network Questions

• Academic Interview Question: "What is the title of your second book?"
• Advice for beginning cyclist
• *Friendly* coloring of a digraph
• Preparing lumber by splitting verses cutting
• Why does Ethiopian Airlines have flights between Tokyo and Seoul?
• King-and-pawn endgames: Is it usually best to move your king first?
• Could a kickback have caused my mitre saw fence to bend?
• Syntax highlighting with lua
• Is it possible to avoid ending Time Stop by making attacks from inside an Antimagic Field?
• What was God's original plan for humanity prior to the fall?
• Origin of "That tracks" to mean "That makes sense."
• Can You Put a Cardboard Pizza Box in the Oven?
• Roadmap for self study in philosophy
• How do I efficiently update myself on what's expected of me as a postdoc?
• Why is MSS important? Why can't we just rely on the MTU?
• May a minor light one of the havdalah wicks
• Psychology Today Culture Fair IQ test question
• Can we use 3rd person singular for "Come Find"?
• What would happen to 'politicians' in this world?
• What's funny about "He leveraged his @#% deep into soy beans and cocoa futures" in The Jerk (1979)?
• Fourth species counterpoint treating fourth
• how to make the beamer contents align to center
• Schengen visa issued by Germany - Is a layover in Vienna okay before heading to Berlin?
• What is the time-travel story where "ugly chickens" are trapped in the past and brought to the present to become ingredients for a soup?

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Welcome to the Purdue Online Writing Lab

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

The Online Writing Lab (the Purdue OWL) at Purdue University houses writing resources and instructional material, and we provide these as a free service at Purdue. Students, members of the community, and users worldwide will find information to assist with many writing projects. Teachers and trainers may use this material for in-class and out-of-class instruction.

The On-Campus and Online versions of Purdue OWL assist clients in their development as writers—no matter what their skill level—with on-campus consultations, online participation, and community engagement. The Purdue OWL serves the Purdue West Lafayette and Indianapolis campuses and coordinates with local literacy initiatives. The Purdue OWL offers global support through online reference materials and services.

Social Media

Facebook twitter.

The power of a personal mission statement, and other lessons from a recent graduate

By Joel Burt-Miller, MPH ’23

June 3, 2024 — I am about to begin an exciting new chapter of my career as one of 10 new residents in the U.S. pursuing dual training in family medicine and psychiatry. Reflecting on how I got to this point, I have learned some important lessons. I’ve laid them out here in the hopes they might resonate with others seeking to define their paths.

Define your life’s mission

My introduction to the field of public health came as a freshman at Brandeis University, in a course on inequities in health care and health outcomes. It ignited a flame in me and led me to define a clear mission for my life: I would advocate for the inequitably resourced, both locally and globally. I would serve and heal both individuals and communities. I would focus not just on treating disease, but on supporting a holistically healthy life.

My journey from that point took many twists and turns, but throughout, I held tight to that mission statement. It helped me evaluate each opportunity with clarity and purpose.

Be open to new interests

When I entered medical school at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, I planned to go into primary care. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic, which also exposed an ongoing mental health crisis. I became invested in finding a solution. I designed a research study based on the South African philosophy of Ubuntu that used small groups, called Ubuntu groups , to effectively address the social isolation and burnout experienced within my learning community while promoting a sense of belonging. That project sparked my interest in psychiatry. Yet, I remained committed to preventive medicine as well.

Was it possible to accommodate my interest in both fields of medicine? Through a quick Google search, sure enough, I found five residency programs combining family medicine and psychiatry.

Seek mentors (even when it’s daunting!)

The existence of these programs was promising — but I wanted to know more. With piqued curiosity, I entered the same search terms, “family medicine and psychiatry,” on LinkedIn. To my delight, someone popped up: Rohit Abraham. His bio described him as a ‘Combined Psychiatry & Family Medicine Resident at Boston Medical Center.’

I decided to take a leap of faith. Though I’d never met Rohit, I sent him a message. I hoped he would be kind enough to respond but was also prepared for a reality where he would not. A few hours later, he replied, and we scheduled a time to speak over Zoom.

In our conversation, I gained much more than knowledge of his career path in medicine. Though I didn’t know it at the time, I gained a lifelong mentor.

Don’t be afraid to take detours

In our initial conversation, Rohit explained why he saw his combined residency as an ideal pathway: He was training to provide comprehensive primary care that would let him address both the physical and the mental health needs of urban underserved populations, with an intersectional focus on substance use disorders.

Reviewing his bio on LinkedIn, I noticed that during medical school, Rohit had pursued an MPH in health policy at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health as a Zuckerman Fellow. When I asked him about the program, he explained that he wanted to address health disparities at both the clinical and policy levels. He expected the dual MD and MPH degrees would help him do that. His goal sounded so much like my own life’s mission. I was inspired.

In just one conversation, my new mentor had opened the door to a possibility I had not dreamed of before.

I applied to the Zuckerman Fellowship program and gained acceptance, prompting me to take a year away from medical school to pursue an MPH.

The degree program exposed me to many new experiences. In my practicum, I worked with MassHealth to disseminate state funding to local communities to expand mental health services. A Harvard case study also introduced me to Boston Medical Center’s model of care, which aims to provide consistently excellent and accessible health services to all in need, regardless of status or ability to pay.

With each new experience, I was able to better articulate how I could achieve my life’s mission.

Keep looking for new lessons

I returned to medical school for my final year shortly after receiving my MPH. And just a few months ago, I learned that I matched at my first-choice residency program at Boston Medical Center — following in Rohit’s footsteps.

As I reflect on my path, I can see how much it helped me to define my life’s mission clearly — and then to keep myself open to considering different ways to achieve it. I can also see how important it was to take a few leaps of faith along the way, including reaching out to a stranger I hoped might be able to give me some guidance.

I’m thrilled to launch into this new stage of my career. I know I’ll learn many new life lessons along the way, so long as I keep myself open to the power of possibilities.

Joel F. Burt-Miller is a resident in the combined family medicine and psychiatry program at Boston Medical Center. He holds an MPH in health policy from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, an MD from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, an MS in biomedical sciences from Duke University, and was a 2022-2023 Zuckerman Fellow at Harvard.

Photo: Kent Dayton

• How To Write Your Postgraduate Personal Statement

Postgraduate study

• What are the differences between an undergraduate and postgraduate personal statement?
• Why study postgraduate?
• Modes of study

What's on this page?

What is a personal statement, preparing to write your personal statement, opening your personal statement, work experience and future plans, ending your personal statement.

Your postgraduate personal statement is your chance to get noticed for your expertise and experience you’ve gathered. It’s an important part of the application process as it allows you to talk about yourself and your passions and prove the value you can bring to your chosen university.

In this article, we’re going to talk you through how to write a postgraduate personal statement that stands out and gives you the best chance of being offered a place on the master’s programme you’re applying for. 

Shona Barrie – Director of Admissions, University of Stirling

You’ll have already written a personal statement for your undergraduate study, so you’ll know the importance of preparation. There are two things to think about when you’re planning:

• The practical and factual information you need to get across.
• Then, the more emotional, human parts of you that make you different to everyone else. 

Before you start writing, take some time to think about the key things you’d want your chosen university to know about you, and get them down on paper.

Questions to focus your mind

• Why have you chosen this master’s programme?
• Why are you passionate about this subject matter? 
• How has your undergraduate study influenced your decision to apply?
• Have you got any work experience that might help you?
• What life experiences have you had that you could talk about?
• What achievements can you talk about to support your application?
• Why do you want to study at this particular university?
• What plans and ambitions do you have for your future career?

Three top tips

Be specific.

Remember that a postgraduate personal statement needs you to talk specifically about the university you’ve chosen.

Demonstrate experience

Universities will be looking for postgraduate students who are able to demonstrate expertise in a particular subject – so include that.

Show what you've learnt

Tell the university about your university life as an undergraduate and include any clubs or societies you were involved in.

Admissions tutors will be reading a lot of personal statements so it’s important to grab their attention right from the start. 

You can find a full guide on How to start a personal statement: The attention grabber but here are the main things for you to think about. 

• Don’t overthink the opening . Just start by showing your enthusiasm for the subject, showcasing your knowledge and understanding, and sharing your ambitions of what you want to achieve.
• Avoid cliches . Remember, this opening part is simply about introducing yourself, so let the admissions tutor reading your personal statement get to know you. 
• Keep it relevant and simple . You’re limited on how much you can include so avoid long-winded explanations. Why use 50 words when ten can make your point?

Talking about the course

Now you’re ready to start talking about the course and subject you’re applying for.

There are four main areas you’ll need to cover in this section of your personal statement. 

• Why are you applying for this master’s?  Think about your undergraduate study and how this master’s will develop your expertise further. Do you have career aspirations this course will help you achieve?
• Why does the subject interest you? This is your chance to show your passion and really demonstrate who you are. If you have work or volunteering experiences related to the subject, include them here.
• Why do you think you’ll be an asset to the university?  Your personal and practical skills combined together create a unique picture of who you are and why you’ll be a successful postgraduate student, so include both. 
• How does your previous undergraduate study relate to the course? Showcase your enthusiasm for your current study and take the opportunity to demonstrate your skills and knowledge now, and how you want to build on that. 

Next, you’ll need to write about your personal skills and achievements.

Universities like to know the abilities you have that’ll help you on the course, or generally with life at university. Don’t forget to include evidence to back up why you’re so passionate about the programme you’ve chosen.

Your personal skills and achievements

Be bold and talk about the achievements you’re proud of., include positions of responsibility you hold, or have held, both in and out of school., what are the things that make you interesting, special, or unique .

Your work experience and future plans are important to include in your personal statement. You should share details of jobs, placements, work experience, or voluntary work, particularly if it's relevant to your course. 

• Try to link any experience to skills or qualities that’ll make you successful on your course.
• If you know what you’d like to do after as a career, explain how you plan to use the knowledge and experience you’ll gain.

It’s always good to connect the beginning of your statement to the end and a great way to reinforce what you said at the start. You want to see the ending as your chance to end in a way that’ll make the university remember you. 

This final part of your personal statement should emphasise the great points you’ve already made and answer the question of why you should be offered a place on the course. 

Read our full guide on How to finish your statement the right way .

Aakriti Labra – MSc Occupational and Organisational Psychology, University of Surrey

Now you’ve written your postgraduate personal statement, you’ll need to do a couple of final things before you submit it. 

• Have you proofread your personal statement? Don’t just rely on spellcheckers. We’d recommend reading it out loud as that’s a great way to spot any errors as well as checking it sounds like you. 
• Have you asked for feedback? Ask friends, family or your undergraduate university tutors to have a read through your personal statement and take their feedback on board.
• Check out our personal statement dos and don'ts Have a look at the common pitfalls against your final draft to make sure you haven't made any obvious errors!

Postgraduate

More advice.

Use the UCAS’ personal statement tool alongside this guide to help you structure your ideas.

Do you want to understand the differences between an undergraduate and postgraduate personal statement? Take a look at our guide here.

Why study a postgraduate course? Find out here.  

What funding is there for postgraduate courses?  

Sponsored articles UCAS Media Service

Five reasons to sign up to the ucas newsletter, student finance for postgraduate loans, how to find a job.