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can i use the same personal statement for different universities

April 29, 2024

Can You Use the Same Personal Statement for Different Schools?

There are some common questions we admissions consultants hear often from college and graduate school applicants: “I’m applying to six schools, and each one requires essays/personal statements . A lot of the content will be similar! Can I reuse the same essay for different schools? How can I keep the quality and not burn out while writing so many personal statements?”

We understand. We sympathize. Best of all, we have practical solutions for determining whether you can reuse any of your essays for more than one school. The good news is that what makes practical sense in terms of efficiency and not reinventing the wheel also makes sense in terms of quality – if you view the process not as “reusing” but as “adapting.” It is a very rare case indeed where reusing an essay almost verbatim would be advisable. On the other hand, the core content of a personal statement covers points that are important to your candidacy and would naturally be relevant to multiple applications. As you rework your personal statement for subsequent applications, sometimes the quality improves as you reflect further and discover new subtleties.

So, if various schools are asking similar questions, it’s logical to consider using – or really, adapting – some or perhaps even much of your previous essay response(s). However, the school’s essay lengths might be different, and your wording will vary based on the nuances of the question. Most important, many personal statements include some discussion of the specific program the candidate is applying to, and this part would certainly require fresh input for each school’s essay. Read each question out loud, so you can clearly hear exactly what the schools are asking. Many times, an essay prompt has more than one question within it. You don’t want to overlook any of the questions in a prompt. The key is to be guided first by the question and then, more broadly, by your understanding of the character of the school/program – and adapt your essay content (and tone/style) accordingly.

Additionally, we have this advice:

1. Make sure each essay has a distinct theme.

You can do this by developing different aspects of a single experience. For example, if you plan to write about your first summer as a counselor at a sleepaway camp, in one essay, you could describe how you worked to build a relationship with a lonely camper and helped them develop their self-confidence and participate in more activities. During the same summer, you might also have been in charge of the drama group. This could offer the substance for a very different essay about teaching and organizing a group of highly energized, sometimes rowdy young teens. Don’t waste an opportunity to write about multiple aspects of the same experience that opened different doors to personal growth. Most significant experiences in our lives are truly multifaceted and offer various “threads” that are interesting to explore in essays. Don’t just reuse content by rote copying and pasting; instead, probe it to discern its most valuable points for the essay at hand. You’ll likely find that you can stretch your available material to cover more bases.

2. Chart your list of essays and the qualities you associate with them.

With multiple essays/personal statements to manage, consider using a spreadsheet to list each question, the school asking it, and which experiences, accomplishments, and skills you can associate with those questions. This will help you avoid using the same experience, accomplishment, or skill for more than one question at a given school and will also help you see where you can adapt some previous material for a new application.

3. Portray your multidimensional self.

Make a list of what you feel are your ten most positive qualities . Your list might include such traits as intellectual curiosity, an eagerness for new experiences, a sense of humor, strong DIY skills, and leadership capabilities. That was fun! Now, make a much shorter list (two or three items at most) of what you would consider your weakest traits. These might include procrastination, too much binge watching, and impatience. As you draft your essays, keep these different layers and textures of your personality in mind. (Sometimes, schools will ask you to identify a weakness and explain how you have worked to overcome it, so being aware of your shortcomings isn’t necessarily detrimental to your application!) Having this list front and center will spark additional insights and angles for your essays. As a result, you will reward the adcoms with a rich, multidimensional portrait of you as a human being.

4. Name dropping? Better double check the names!

If you do reuse and adapt material for different applications, check carefully (and then check again ) to make sure you don’t forget to change, for example, “Michigan” to “Chicago” in the new application essay. Sending a “Why I want to go to UPenn” essay to the Yale adcom or a “Why I want to go to Columbia” paragraph to NYU wouldn’t bode well for you! Believe me, it happens.

5. No matter how similar the essay questions are, never simply cut and paste an entire essay.

As we noted earlier, no two questions will ever be exactly alike. As you write or edit from a different essay, keep the school you are writing for front and center in your mind. Individualize each essay as much as possible to accommodate each program’s unique culture, personality, and “flavor.” And by all means, reread the essay prompts when you feel you are nearly done to ensure that you really have answered every one of the adcom’s questions within the prompt.

Do you need help writing (or adapting) your application essays? Could you benefit from an expert’s assistance in identifying the strongest elements of your experience and profile? We can help! Work one-on-one with an experienced advisor who will help you get accepted !

After a successful career in business publishing, Cindy Tokumitsu has worked for more than 20 years with Accepted. Every year, Cindy’s clients have been accepted to top MBA, law, and med programs. She is a pioneer in the niche of EMBA application consulting. Want an admissions expert to help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related Resources:

Five Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your Grad School Statement of Purpose , a free guide
How to Project Professionalism, Positivity, and Confidence in Your Statement of Purpose
Statement of Purpose versus Personal Statement

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Statement of Purpose, Personal History, Diversity

Is it okay to use the same PS/SoP for applying at multiple universities ?

By ahmadka May 13, 2014 in Statement of Purpose, Personal History, Diversity

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There is no difference between Personal Statement and Statement of Purpose.

I'm sure that your SOPs will overlap at each school but they probably wont be exactly the same. You like each school that you are applying to for different reasons, would do potentially different projects at each school, and like different professors so your SOP should differ for each program. I am sure that you will have a couple paragraphs describing your background and interests and for that, I think that it is perfectly fine to use the exact same paragraphs for every school.

There is no difference between the two, unless your school asks for both. If you need to write both, the distinction is that a "statement of purpose" is generally a short essay (1-2 pages is common) describing your interest and qualifications in the field, what program you're applying for and why (including your interest in that specific school or department), and what you plan to do with the degree if you are successful. It's basically a description of you as a (future-) professional. A "personal statement" is generally shorter and more, well, personal. It's a description of you, your background, and may be integrated with a question about how you would foster diversity or add an important perspective to your cohort. If a school only asks you for one essay, what you need to send them is the statement of purpose, whatever they're calling it, unless their specific instructions are very different from the above.

For this reason, it's not a good idea to send the exact same SOP to every school. Large parts of your SOPs may be the same or similar because they describe your academic background and strengths. However, a good SOP should also demonstrate "fit" with the school and indicate that you know about and are interested in that specific program. Some people submit essentially the same SOP but rewrite a "fit paragraph" for each school that they insert, however I don't recommend it. Even in your description of yourself, there may be elements of projects or your background that you want to emphasize for specific schools once you learn about them. This was true for me, so much so that it affected the structure of my essays and which accomplishments I chose to share. Different schools may also have different length and content guidlines.

Researching schools well enough to write a strong SOP can also help you select programs. I ruled some schools out when I was looking for specific programs or projects to express enthusiasm for, and couldn't really find any or didn't like the way they were structured on closer analysis.

For me, I used basically the same SOP for every school. 75% of it is discussing why I am interested in the field, my research/career goals and my qualifications so that part remained the same. So, while the first SOP was hard to write, it only took an extra 30 minutes to 1 hour for each additional application because I just basically rewrote the 25% that is specifically about why I wanted to go to University X and what resources X had for me and what people X had that interested me etc. But even this part is very similar--I felt I had a pretty narrow range for the types of programs I wanted to go to so most of my programs have the same type of resources and researchers.

I also did minor edits throughout the SOP to change the school name as required (I tried to mention it only once at the beginning and then not again until the very end) and depending on the specific application, I might make minor edits to the main part of my SOP to frame my final argument better. But other than that, I basically tell the same story to everyone.

I agree with themmasses that to get the most powerful SOP, you should pretty much rewrite it with each school in mind because there are ways you can frame everything to make an even better argument. My experience with both Canadian grad schools (in 2010) and US grad schools (in 2012) is that your SOP doesn't really matter that much, at least in my field. To be clear, if you have a poorly written SOP that is incoherent and demonstrates no aptitude or fit for the department, you will definitely get rejected. But, if you have a good SOP that does show fit, that is probably good enough (from my opinion and limited experience). I don't think the effort required to go from good SOP to excellent/stellar SOP is worth it, because I don't think fit as demonstrated by the SOP is going to be the tie-breaker that determines which one of two good candidates get accepted. I think schools care a lot more about research experience/ability and while it's important your SOP delivers this message in a clear and concise manner, your SOP does not have to be a great piece of prose! But this is my opinion based on my experience, and pretty much everyone else's experiences will vary.

Anyways, I need some more advice specific to me ..

So for aiming for an admission in such schools, what should I try to put in my SoP .. ?

Also, does anyone know exactly what are the SoP requirements for each of the above mentioned universities ? That is, what is their prompt statement ? I can't really determine that right now as applications for Fall 2015 admissions still haven't opened ..

Can someone from the CS field (or something related) can help me out with the question stated directly in the above post ?

I'm not in CS but I am in a computational field. I get that it's hard while working but many people here are even current MS students and making time for it.

Instead of focussing on what the schools want to hear, focus on what you actually want from a school and write about that. If you write some standard statement that isn't authentic then you have no shot getting in. They want unique people with unique backgrounds. What about your unique background makes you want those particular schools? Write about that!

I don't think what universities look for with a SoP changes from year to year. I looked at Stanford's CS website and found their requirements.

Your Statement of Purpose should be concise, focused, and well written. It should describe succinctly your reasons for applying to the proposed program at Stanford, your preparation for this field of study, research interests, future career plans, and other aspects of your background and interests which may aid the admissions committee in evaluating your aptitude and motivation for graduate study. The Statement of Purpose must be no more than 8000 characters in length. This includes spaces in between words. it will be submitted as part of the online application.

I'm sure other universities have similar pages on their departments' websites. When I applied, which was admittedly not in CS, they all had it listed separately from their application form. The actual application typically just had a space for me to upload a document.

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Can You Use the Same Personal Statement for Different Schools?

By accepted.com - Mar 17 , 09:15 AM Comments [0]

One of the questions we are asked most often by applicants to college and graduate programs is this: “I’m applying to six different schools, and each one requires 2-7 essays/personal statements . That’s so much writing! Can I reuse the same essay for different schools? How can I keep up the quality and not burn out while writing so many personal statements?”

We understand. We even sympathize. Best of all, we have practical solutions about whether you can reuse some of your essays for different schools.

First, if more than one school is asking a nearly identical question, it’s logical to use some or perhaps even most of it. However, the essay lengths may be different, and the wording will vary to some extent. Read each question out loud , so you actually hear exactly what they are asking. Many times, an essay prompt has more than one question within it. You don’t want to overlook any of their questions within the main question.

Additionally, we have this advice:

You can do this by developing different aspects even from a single experience. For example, if you plan to write about your first summer as a camp counselor at a sleepaway camp, in one essay you could describe how you worked to build a relationship with a lonely camper and help him or her develop more confidence and participate in more activities. During the same summer, you might also have been in charge of the drama group. This could offer the substance for a very different essay about teaching and organizing a group of highly energized, sometimes rowdy young teens.

Don’t waste an opportunity to write about multiple aspects of the same experience that opened different doors to personal growth. You’ll be stretching your available material to cover more bases.

With multiple essays/personal statements to manage, consider using a spreadsheet to list each question, the school asking it, and which experiences, accomplishments , and skills you can associate with those questions. This will help you avoid using the same experience, accomplishment, or skill for more than one question at a given school.

Make a list of what you feel are your ten most positive qualities . Your list might include things such as: intellectually curious, eager for new experiences, sense of humor, strong DIY skills, and leadership. That was fun! Now, make a much shorter list (two or three at the most) of what you would consider your weakest traits. These might include: procrastination, too much binge-watching, and impatience.

As you draft your essays, keep these different layers and textures of your personality in mind. (Sometimes, schools will ask you to identify a weakness and how you have worked to overcome it, so awareness of weaknesses doesn’t necessarily weaken your application!) Having this list front and center will spark additional insights and angles for your essays. In the process, you will reward the adcoms with a rich, multidimensional portrait of you as a human being.

Check CAREFULLY (and then check again ) to make sure that you don’t forget to change a reference of “Michigan” to “Chicago” when you adapt or reuse your application essay. Sending a “Why I want to go to UPenn” essay to the Yale adcom, or sending a “Why I want to go to Columbia” to NYU doesn’t bode well for you!

Do you need help writing (or recycling) your application essays? Could you benefit from an expert helping you identify the strongest elements of your experience and profile? We can help! Check out our Admissions Consulting Services and work one-on-one with an expert advisor who will help you get ACCEPTED!

Related Resources:

5 Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your Application Essays , a free guide
9 Secrets to Telling an Attention-Grabbing Story
How to Project Professionalism, Positivity, and Confidence in Your Statement of Purpose

The post Can You Use the Same Personal Statement for Different Schools? appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog .

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Can You Submit Different Common App Essays to Different Schools?

By Eric Eng

student studying foreign language credits for college

Yes, you can submit different Common App essays to different schools. The Common App allows you to change your essay from year to year, which means you can customize your essay for each school, submit it, make changes, and then submit the revised version to another school. This might be particularly helpful if you need to share certain stories or narratives that are better fit for specific specialized schools, such as placing a greater emphasis on business for Wharton or tech and entrepreneurship for Stanford.

How to Edit Common App Essay?

To edit your Common App essay, go to the Common App tab and click on the Writing section . From there, click inside the text box where your essay is located and make any necessary changes. Be sure to save your changes by clicking ‘Continue’ when you’re finished. You are allowed unlimited edits to your essay even after your first application submission.

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What Exactly is the Common App?

The Common Application is a non-profit organization with over 900 distinct educational institution members. Its mission focuses on:

Removing logistical and institutional barriers that hinder access to higher education.
Assisting those dedicated to aiding students in various capacities.
Supporting a diverse array of students and organizations.
Informing member institutions through data and insights.

With the Common App, both first-time and transfer students can apply to multiple universities simultaneously. Students only need to enter common information, such as name, address, and extracurricular activities, once.

This streamlined college application process, used by many top schools, saves time and reduces the stress of creating different materials for each school. Even if your preferred college doesn’t accept the Common Application, most schools need similar documents, making it easy to transfer data like high school transcripts and test scores.

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Institutions Accepting the Common App

Over 950 schools and institutions endorse Common App, establishing it as a standard in college admissions, which includes public universities, some international institutions, and all Ivy League universities.

Some prestigious institutions that accept the Common Application include:

Arizona State University
Johns Hopkins University
Northwestern University
The Ohio State University
University of Chicago
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Pennsylvania

How to Use the Common App?

The Common App website offers five main tabs. Typically, students begin by adding schools through the “College Search” feature. Once added, these schools appear in the “Dashboard” tab, which summarizes application progress and lists tasks required for each institution.

To complete the application, students navigate to the “Common App” page, filling out details like family history, transcripts, and test scores.

Overcoming Indecision

Can you change your common app essay for different schools? Students sometimes find themselves torn between two versions of their Common App essays, debating whether to submit each version to different schools. Since the Common App allows for essay changes year to year, you can use this opportunity to refine your essay for each application. You can improve versions that will align with the unique preferences and requirements of each school, which can help ease your indecision and allow you to present the best possible version of yourself to each institution.

Can you submit different essays on the common app?

No, you cannot have multiple or different personal essays in the Common Application. The Common App allows you to modify any part of the application without restrictions, except for the personal essay.

For instance, you can make unlimited edits to your writing in the “Additional Information” section, which means you can customize content for a specific school and then adjust it for others. This can be particularly useful when handling additional information.

While it’s theoretically possible to write varied content in the “Additional Information” section for each school’s application, it’s generally not recommended. You will submit one main essay through the Common Application for all your schools. Some colleges may also ask you to answer a few supplemental questions.

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I Made a Mistake in My Common App Essay. Help!

Can you edit Common App after submitting your essay? Don’t panic; you still have the option to make some changes. The Common App allows unlimited edits to your personal essay before you submit it to any school. Once you have submitted the essay to at least one school, you can still make changes for subsequent submissions.

To revise your personal statement, navigate to the Common App tab, choose the Writing section, and click within the text box to make changes. Always make sure you save any modifications by selecting “Continue.”

It’s important to understand that after your Common Application essay or any part of your application has been submitted, subsequent edits won’t be reflected in the applications already sent. They will only be included in any future applications you send.

If you’re hoping to adjust an essay you’ve already forwarded to a school, it’s a good idea to contact that school’s admissions office to see if modifications are possible. However, consider this action only for significant errors. Editing minor mistakes post-submission can indicate a lack of thorough proofreading on your part.

In summary, while you can edit your Common App essay multiple times, edits after submission are only applicable to future applications, not past ones.

Advice on Editing Your Common App Essay

Backup First: Before making changes, double-check if you have saved your original version separately. You might decide it’s better than your edited version later on.
Address the Shortcomings: Reflect on any gaps or weaknesses in your original essay. Your revised edition should address these points.
Be Cautious with Edits: Remember, your initial draft had its merits. Avoid unnecessary revisions and focus only on major improvements.
Rethink Your Topic: If you feel the original topic wasn’t a true reflection of you, consider starting from scratch. Only do this if you’re wholly confident about the new direction.
Maintain Consistency: Your revised essay should seamlessly fit with the rest of your application and any supplemental information you’ve provided.
Avoid Repetition: Make sure your essay doesn’t replicate information you’ve shared in other sections, like school-specific supplements. It should showcase different aspects of who you are.
Review Before Resubmission: Before you resubmit, read through your essay multiple times. Reading it aloud can help you catch errors, and having someone else review it offers a fresh perspective.

While the Common Application does provide some flexibility, students must approach the essay submission process with caution and strategy . If considering multiple essays for different schools, it’s essential to understand the platform’s limitations and to ensure each version effectively communicates the student’s story. Ultimately, it’s about presenting oneself authentically and compellingly to each prospective institution.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the Common App essay limit?

Your Common App essay must be between 250 and 650 words . You can find the prompts and instructions by logging into your Common App account, navigating to the “Common App” tab, and clicking on “Writing.” You’ll choose one of seven prompts to respond to within the specified word limit.

2. Is it OK if my Common App essay is too long?

No, it is not recommended to exceed the 650-word limit set by the Common App . Admissions officers expect well-written essays that adhere to the specified word count, demonstrating your ability to follow directions.

3. How do you know if your Common App essay is good?

A strong Common App essay:

Directly answers the prompt question.
Clearly and compellingly communicate your point or story.
Reveals something meaningful about you that isn’t evident from the rest of your application.
Uses proper grammar and spelling.

4. How many times can you edit your Common App essay?

You can make unlimited changes to your Common App essay and any other part of your application, even after submitting it to colleges. This flexibility allows you to customize your essay to each institution’s preferences.

Want to assess your chances of admission? Take our FREE chances calculator today!

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Shona Barrie – Director of Admissions, University of Stirling

UCAS asked admissions tutors – the people who read and score your personal statement – for their advice on what you should and shouldn’t do when writing your personal statement.

The most common piece of advice was not to worry about it – and don’t be tempted to copy anyone else’s.

Read our step-by-step guide to writing your personal statement

Then follow our simple tips below.

Do talk about why you’re a good candidate – talk about you, your motivations and what brings you to this course.
Do be enthusiastic – if you show you’re interested in the course, it may help you get a place.
Do make it relevant . Connect what you’re saying with the course and with your experiences.
Do outline your ideas clearly .
Do avoid the negatives – highlight the positives about you, and show you know your strengths.
Do expect to produce several drafts of your personal statement before being totally happy with it.
Do ask people you trust for their feedback.
Don’t be modest or shy . You want your passions to come across.
Don’t exaggerate – if you do, you may get caught out in an interview when asked to elaborate on an interesting achievement.
Don’t use quotes from someone else, or cliches.
Don’t leave it to the last minute – your statement will seem rushed and important information could be left out.
Don’t let spelling and grammatical errors spoil your statement , but don't just rely on a spellchecker. Proofread as many times as possible.
Don’t copy and paste – make yours original.
Don’t post your personal statement on the internet or on social media or share your personal statement with anyone including your friends and family, unless asking for feedback from people you trust.
Don’t worry about it – we have all the advice you need to help you stand out in your personal statement.

The personal statement tool image

Don’t be tempted to copy or share your statement.

UCAS scans all personal statements through a similarity detection system to compare them with previous statements.

Any similarity greater than 30% will be flagged and we'll inform the universities and colleges to which you have applied.

Find out more

Ana ghaffari moghaddam – third year law student and careers coach, university of liverpool.

You’ve got this. Follow those simple steps and use your personal statement as your chance to shine .Use the below as a checklist to make sure you've avoided all common pitfalls.

Want more tips on what to include in your personal statement? Use the links below.

Get started with our personal statement builder .
Five things all students should include in their personal statement.
See how you can turn your personal statement into a CV, apprenticeship application or covering letter.
Read How to start a personal statement: The attention grabber .

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US Graduate School Personal Statements

Personal statement writing guide.

Comprehensive information and advice on writing a winning personal statement for grad school.

Find out more

Avoid common mistakes in your personal statement with our list of do’s and don’ts.

Browse our collection of grad school personal statements for inspiration when writing your own.

How do I write a grad school personal statement?

To write a successful grad school personal statement, we recommend you:

Start early (don't leave it until the last minute!)
Explain your reasons for choosing your chosen subject/career
Back everything up with examples and be specific
Tailor your statement to each school - all are sligtly different in terms of the program they offer and their research interests
Be open, honest and sincere
Talk about shared interests with the school's faculty (but keep it to just one or two areas, not everything!)
Describe your motivations and how you can contribute to the school's reputation and successes
Keep it succinct - grad school personal statements shouldn't be more than two A4 pages long at the most
Proofread and revise - this means asking for feedback from trusted family and friends
Stay calm and don't miss the deadline! Submit your application as soon as your statement is as perfect as you can make it, and you have completed the rest of the form.

For more tips and adivce, please see our Grad School Personal Statement Writing Guide and our Grad School Personal Statement Tips .

How long should my grad school personal statement be?

While every school will have its own guidelines, a grad school personal statement is normally between 250 and 750 words long.

Where can I see some grad school personal statement examples?

If you're struggling with your personal statement, you can see some grad school personal statement examples here at Studential.

Please only use these for inspiration and don't copy phrases or whole sections from them, as this is plagiarism and your application may be penalised if the school finds out.

Can I use the same personal statement for different grad schools?

You shouldn't submit the same personal statement to multiple different schools, just changing the school and program names.

Many applicants, especially at postgraduate level, show each school they've done their homework, mentioning particular researchers at the school that they would like to work alongside and have shared interests with.

How do I write a grad school personal statement for social work?

To write a successful personal statement for social work at grad school, you need to:

Stay on topic - keep to the specifics and don't drift off on a tangent. Remember, you are trying to convince admissions tutors why you are a great candidate for the course.
Write notes - this will help ensure you include everything that is relevant, and shows that you have put thought and effort into your statement.
Start early - give yourself plenty of time to put together the perfect statement, so allow at least a month to write (preferably longer)
Revise and proofread - it's important to go through several revisions of your statement before showing it to trusted family members and friends to get feedback on it. Once you've incorporated their comments, proofread it carefully (don't just rely on a Spellchecker for this!).

How do I write a psychology grad school personal statement?

To write a great grad school personal statement for psychology, you should:

Talk about why you are interested in psychology - pick one or two aspects that you enjoy and explain why
Sell yourself - you need to grab the tutor's attention with your opening paragraph, and make them want to read to the end, so try to portray yourself in the best possible light at all times
Highlight your strengths - describe your skills and experience and back everything up with examples. Be specific and tell the admissions tutors why you are an ideal candidate.
Research different programs - this is crucial if you are going to choose ones that are right for you. Look at the course content and the school's research interests - do they all match with yours? Will you learn more about the topics you are most enthusiastic about?
Ask for feedback - get your family involved and see what they think of your statement. Incorporate their comments and suggestions if you feel they improve your statement.
Proofread properly - once you have a final draft, check it carefully for spelling, grammar and sense. Again, don't just rely on a Spellchecker to do this for you.

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By Nik Taylor (Editor, The Uni Guide) | 12 October 2023 | 13 min read

Personal statement secrets – universities reveal all

Want to know how to craft an amazing personal statement? Take some advice from the experts...

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If you’re applying to uni this year, you’ll already know that one of the trickiest tasks is coming up with an original and interesting personal statement. That’s why we’ve gone straight to the experts – the university admissions staff themselves – to pick their brains on what makes a stand-out personal statement.

Read more: how to write an excellent personal statement in ten steps

The university application personal statement is changing in 2025
University admissions service Ucas has announced that a new style of personal statement will be launched in 2025. This will affect anyone making a university application from autumn 2025 onwards. .

Getting ready to write your personal statement

Understand what a personal statement is.

Your personal statement is a really important part of your application, and your chance to sell yourself to your chosen university. "Ultimately, a personal statement is a chance for you to convey why you would like to study a particular course, and how you hope this will benefit you in the future. We want to hear what skills and experience you possess which will help you at university, and your passion for your chosen subject," explains Annie Richardson, outreach assistant in the outreach and educational partnerships team at the University of Greenwich . "Admissions staff look for applicants with a strong interest in their course; good qualifications and relevant experience; and the resilience and motivation to complete their degree," Annie adds.

Read more: how to write your university application

Before you even start writing, you need to have your motives for applying clear in your mind. Don’t rush your research. "It's impossible to write a strong personal statement until you have explored your options and feel confident in your university course choices," says Annie. "Spend time planning what you intend to write and include in your personal statement," adds James Calcutt, schools and colleges liaison manager at Royal Holloway, University of London . "Students with the strongest and most detailed plans write the best statements. This is because they have something to refer to, ensuring they stay on topic, and it offers them the opportunity to order all their thoughts before writing their statement." Take the time to review uni websites, prospectuses and online student guides, as well as attending open days and checking out our university guides . You could also visit the forums for any unis you're interested in on our sister site The Student Room . Make sure you read the detail of each course and what it has to offer. Just because they have the same name , they will still have varying requirements. "Start early and take your time," says Anjli Shah, careers consultant at City, University of London . "Read the course summaries for every course you wish to apply for and where possible underline what they are looking for in candidates. Some universities will stipulate either in the course summary or clearly state what they look for in the personal statement. "Research the five courses that you want to apply for in detail. Every university publishes the course content and structure on their website. Understand what topics and modules you will be learning. Identify key themes across the courses and think about what you have done so far to develop your understanding and learning around the subject. As you do this, reflect on why this in interesting to you and why you want to study this. "Take a blank sheet of paper and jot down everything that comes to mind about why you want to study the course, the evidence (reading, experiences, project work etc) that you could include to show how you have developed your thinking about this subject. Always demonstrate what you learned rather than listing what you did. "Remember whilst it is a difficult exercise, it is also helping you to reflect on why you want to study this subject and the courses you are applying for, and so it is an important tool in your own decision making."

Read more: I want to go to uni but I don't know what to study

Keep your options open

Remember, it’s not wise to show a personal preference to one particular university, even if you have a favourite. "If you have paid to send five Ucas applications at once, the admissions tutors for each university all see the same personal statement. Do not make a specific reference to a specific university," says Annie at the University of Greenwich. "Remember that you can only have one personal statement no matter how many universities you’re applying to, so avoid mentioning any universities or modules by name," says Lisa Thomas, deputy director of admissions at the University of Chester . "Instead, it’s your task to show these universities why you’re well-suited to their courses, without mentioning specifics. "If you’re going for similar courses, you should notice likenesses in the skills, qualities and experience they’re looking for, making your life a bit easier. If you’re applying for courses that are very different, have a think about how your achievements, skill-set and experience can be applied more generally to fit with the varying course descriptions."

Read more: teacher secrets for writing a great personal statement

Getting started

Keep it personal.

When you're looking for inspiration on how to get started, remember: it's all about you. "The clue is in the word 'personal'," says Anjli at City, University of London. "All too often, students write what they think they ought to or will mention something in order to tick it off a checklist. This leads to disjointed personal statements that are too general and don’t tell us anything about why the student wants to study the subject they have chosen. So, make it personal! Spell out what motivates you to study the course; show us your academic engagement with the course." It can also be tempting to Google ‘personal statement’ and take your pick. But, be warned. Ucas has resources which will identify any plagiarised statements from the extensive library of archived statements.

Read more: Ucas deadlines and key application dates

Don’t be like the rest of them

Be sure your statement is a true reflection of you; this will give it a more authentic feel. "We really want to see applicants being themselves and using their own experiences to inform their personal statements," says Lisa at the University of Chester. "When you’re about to make the transition to higher education, it’s tempting to write in a stiff and formal way. It’s important to write clearly and appropriately but you should, ultimately, sound like yourself."

What to put in your personal statement

That first sentence….

For many of you this will be the hardest part, thanks to writer’s block, feeling pressured and desperation to create the perfect sentence. The solution? Get into your flow and scribble down all your thoughts in any old order first. "Students often struggle writing their personal statements because they think it needs to be perfect, or that they need to sound smart – so they end up not sounding like themselves," says Annie from the University of Greenwich. "Write multiple drafts of your application and start as early as possible. Even if you begin with a spider diagram or bullet points – that is still a draft." Then, when it comes to structuring your notes into your personal statement, focus on the things the universities will want to read. "Students can stand out by using their introduction to talk about what they are looking to study, why they have chosen this and where their interest comes from," says James at Royal Holloway, University of London . "This gives an excellent context to the statement and provides the admissions specialist with the important information early on." "Opening your statement with a unique line about yourself and how it relates to you wanting to study a particular course is a great way to get your personal statement to stand out straight away," adds Lisa at the University of Chester.

Be original

Avoid clichés (like the plague...), not least openers such as 'I have always wanted to be', 'From a young age' or 'I have always dreamed of' to justify your choice of subject. "Try to avoid phrases such as ‘I have been passionate about law from a young age’ - even if it’s true," says Lisa. "Admissions teams see them again and again. As an alternative, consider using your personal examples to demonstrate your passion for a subject. [For example], ‘I have been interested in law since shadowing a barrister as part of my work experience’."

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

Make the word count count

Your personal statement has a strict limit of 4,000 characters (including spaces) or 47 lines of 95 characters (including spaces); whichever is shorter. Exceed this and Ucas Hub will immediately cut you off and could leave your personal statement dangling in the middle of an unfinished sentence. Editing matters! "Make sure each word counts," says Anjli at City, University of London. "Anything that you choose to include in your personal statement must be relevant to answering the question 'Why I want to study this subject'. "Avoid generalisations. Be specific. If you read a book tell us about a specific school of thought or theory and your learning from it. Does it back your point up? Do you disagree with it? Why? Don’t simply state you read it. Avoid trying to include everything that you have done in your life – only relevant elements that back up your motivation for and understanding of the academic subject you wish to study."

Read more: personal statement FAQs

Ditch the quotes

Admissions teams aren't interested in what somebody else has said about your subject – they want to hear what you think. "We often recommend that students avoid including quotes," says James at Royal Holloway, University of London. "The statement is short, and students only have a small space to demonstrate their thoughts and experiences. "We’re interested in hearing the student's opinions, not those of whoever they are quoting. Instead of quotes, we suggest students paraphrase the ideas and critical arguments of what they’ve read and give their interpretation."

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

Don’t be a bluffer

Don’t write something in your personal statement that you won’t be able to talk about in an interview – keep it honest and resist the temptation to embellish the truth. "It’s important not to exaggerate or even make something up just because it sounds good," says Lisa at the University of Chester. "We get that you’re out to impress, but when it comes to your personal statement, it’s important to be honest and true to yourself."

Emphasise your student super powers

Universities need to be convinced that you have developed your study skills enough to be able to study independently. "Students who demonstrate they have critically engaged in their subject through wider reading, taster days and online courses stand out," says James at Royal Holloway, University of London. "It should become evident to the reader that the student knows why they wish to study the subject they have chosen as they demonstrate their learning so far and understanding of the subject," says Anjli at City, University of London. "This can come through their academic engagement with the subject in class but also through additional activities such as reading, listening to documentaries or podcasts or work experiences or project work that they have been doing."

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

Getting ready to send off your personal statement

Are extracurricular activities important.

This is always a very popular question on our sister site The Student Room . The key is relevance. "Admissions tutors are pleased to see extracurricular activities on a personal statement as it shows you have excellent time management and varying interests – traits that will serve you well during university," says Annie at the University of Greenwich. "There must be a balance between academic and extracurricular content," says James at Royal Holloway, University of London. "We often suggest a 75%-25% split between academic and non-academic content. With the extracurricular content, this can be anything that demonstrates crucial transferable skills that will be useful in the course the student is looking to study." Lisa at the University of Chester agrees that extracurriculars can give your application a boost. "You might think they’re not worth including, especially with the 4,000-character limit, but extracurricular activities can be where you really set yourself apart from other applicants. So, if you have any interests, hobbies or experiences that relate to your subject of choice or showcase your personal qualities, make room for them." Students "should highlight what skills they have developed by doing those activities and perhaps discuss how these will be useful on their course or at university," says Anjli at City, University of London. "If they are keen to continue certain activities at university then these can be referenced here. If they have had limited opportunity to pursue other activities, but have a part-time job or caring responsibilities, then these are equally important to talk about as they definitely give students a whole range of skills and show how the student is currently managing their academic studies with additional responsibilities." And Annie at the University of Greenwich has a tip for anyone puzzling over which extracurriculars to include. "If you are unsure how to make an extracurricular activity relevant to your application, you should remember your ABCs. "Think of an Action you have taken (a recent course/hobby/part time job); write about the transferable skills or Benefit this has helped you to develop; and how this experience will directly benefit you in your Course."

Read more: how long does it take unis to reply to your application?

Don’t keep the admissions team guessing

If you don’t know why the content of your statement is important, the admissions tutor won’t either. Whether you're writing about your interest in the subject or clarifying your skills, “make sure each point you are making is well developed and shows your motivation for the subject and builds on from the previous point – make it flow," says Anjli at City, University of London. "The most important aspect of any student's personal statement is demonstrating their passion for the subject. This should be their main factor for studying at university and should be front and centre in their statement," says James at Royal Holloway, University of London.

Show understanding of your future career

If you're applying for a vocational course, such as medicine or law, you'll need to show that you know what to expect. "If your course is vocational, you should show understanding of the career you are aiming for, any challenges you might face and your ability to cope with these," says Annie at the University of Greenwich.

Skip the jokes

Your personal statement isn't the place to try to be funny – save the jokes for meeting your roomates in halls. "A lot of people try to be funny in their application to stand out, but your sense of humour may not be the same as the admissions tutor," says Annie at the University of Greenwich.

Remember what you're writing

Stay laser-focused on what you're writing and why, and you'll end up with a much better personal statement. "What separates a good personal statement from a flawed one is often the tone or the structure," says Annie at the University of Greenwich. "Remember: it is not a letter – so do not structure it like one; it is not your life story – we do not need to know where you were born; it is not an academic essay – do not list all the books you have read; and, it is not a place to list your qualifications – you have already done that earlier in the application."

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

Review and redraft

"You will probably redraft at least five times before you are happy with your personal statement," says Anjli at City, University of London. When you're editing it down, "keep the language simple and avoid unnecessary words such as 'indeed' or 'I had the opportunity to'. Keep it to the point," Anjli adds. "Remember the personal statement is about one side of an A4 sheet so you can only write so much. Do not try to include everything! Select five or six key points that you can develop in detail to demonstrate your motivation for and understanding of the course you are applying for."

Read it out loud

"Read your personal statement aloud – this can make a big difference," says Lisa at the University of Chester. You could also "try reading your work from the bottom up, taking each paragraph at a time – reading it in a different order can help you spot mistakes," Lisa adds.

Read more: five practical tips to help with your personal statement

Dotting the Is and crossing the Ts

Check, check and check again. "Now is not the time to be lazy with your proofreading and spellchecking," says Lisa. "The extra time you spend checking your personal statement could make an important difference. Obviously, if you do send off your personal statement with a mistake in, it isn’t the end of the world! But don’t take away from the great things you’re saying with errors that could have been caught."

Don’t be shy about asking for feedback

This is really important – when you’ve been re-drafting your application a number of times it can be hard to spot mistakes. “Get someone else to check over it – a fresh pair of eyes can work wonders," says Lisa. Visit our personal statements hub for more tips to help you ace your uni application.

You may want to look at these...

Writing a history personal statement: expert advice from universities.

Here’s how to shine in your history personal statement

The Ucas personal statement is changing in 2025

A question-based personal statement will be required as part of university applications from autumn 2025 onwards

How to write an excellent personal statement in 10 steps

Help and advice on putting your application together

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What Is a Personal Statement? Everything You Need to Know About the College Essay

College Admissions , College Essays

In addition to standardized test scores and transcripts, a personal statement or essay is a required part of many college applications. The personal statement can be one of the most stressful parts of the application process because it's the most open ended.

In this guide, I'll answer the question, "What is a personal statement?" I'll talk through common college essay topics and what makes for an effective personal statement.

College Essay Glossary

Even the terminology can be confusing if you aren't familiar with it, so let's start by defining some terms:

Personal statement —an essay you write to show a college admissions committee who you are and why you deserve to be admitted to their school. It's worth noting that, unlike "college essay," this term is used for application essays for graduate school as well.

College essay —basically the same as a personal statement (I'll be using the terms interchangeably).

Essay prompt —a question or statement that your college essay is meant to respond to.

Supplemental essay —an extra school or program-specific essay beyond the basic personal statement.

Many colleges ask for only one essay. However, some schools do ask you to respond to multiple prompts or to provide supplemental essays in addition to a primary personal statement.

Either way, don't let it stress you out! This guide will cover everything you need to know about the different types of college essays and get you started thinking about how to write a great one:

Why colleges ask for an essay
What kinds of essay questions you'll see
What sets great essays apart
Tips for writing your own essay

Why Do Colleges Ask For an Essay?

There are a couple of reasons that colleges ask applicants to submit an essay, but the basic idea is that it gives them more information about you, especially who you are beyond grades and test scores.

#1: Insight Into Your Personality

The most important role of the essay is to give admissions committees a sense of your personality and what kind of addition you'd be to their school's community . Are you inquisitive? Ambitious? Caring? These kinds of qualities will have a profound impact on your college experience, but they're hard to determine based on a high school transcript.

Basically, the essay contextualizes your application and shows what kind of person you are outside of your grades and test scores . Imagine two students, Jane and Tim: they both have 3.5 GPAs and 1200s on the SAT. Jane lives in Colorado and is the captain of her track team; Tim lives in Vermont and regularly contributes to the school paper. They both want to be doctors, and they both volunteer at the local hospital.

As similar as Jane and Tim seem on paper, in reality, they're actually quite different, and their unique perspectives come through in their essays. Jane writes about how looking into her family history for a school project made her realize how the discovery of modern medical treatments like antibiotics and vaccines had changed the world and drove her to pursue a career as a medical researcher. Tim, meanwhile, recounts a story about how a kind doctor helped him overcome his fear of needles, an interaction that reminded him of the value of empathy and inspired him to become a family practitioner. These two students may seem outwardly similar but their motivations and personalities are very different.

Without an essay, your application is essentially a series of numbers: a GPA, SAT scores, the number of hours spent preparing for quiz bowl competitions. The personal statement is your chance to stand out as an individual.

#2: Evidence of Writing Skills

A secondary purpose of the essay is to serve as a writing sample and help colleges see that you have the skills needed to succeed in college classes. The personal statement is your best chance to show off your writing , so take the time to craft a piece you're really proud of.

That said, don't panic if you aren't a strong writer. Admissions officers aren't expecting you to write like Joan Didion; they just want to see that you can express your ideas clearly.

No matter what, your essay should absolutely not include any errors or typos .

#3: Explanation of Extenuating Circumstances

For some students, the essay is also a chance to explain factors affecting their high school record. Did your grades drop sophomore year because you were dealing with a family emergency? Did you miss out on extracurriculars junior year because of an extended medical absence? Colleges want to know if you struggled with a serious issue that affected your high school record , so make sure to indicate any relevant circumstances on your application.

Keep in mind that in some cases there will be a separate section for you to address these types of issues, as well as any black marks on your record like expulsions or criminal charges.

#4: Your Reasons for Applying to the School

Many colleges ask you to write an essay or paragraph about why you're applying to their school specifically . In asking these questions, admissions officers are trying to determine if you're genuinely excited about the school and whether you're likely to attend if accepted .

I'll talk more about this type of essay below.

Want to write the perfect college application essay? We can help. Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will help you craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. We learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk you through the essay drafting process, step-by-step. At the end, you'll have a unique essay to proudly submit to colleges. Don't leave your college application to chance. Find out more about PrepScholar Admissions now:

What Kind of Questions Do Colleges Ask?

Thankfully, applications don't simply say, "Please include an essay about yourself"; they include a question or prompt that you're asked to respond to . These prompts are generally pretty open-ended and can be approached in a lot of different ways .

Nonetheless, most questions fall into a few main categories. Let's go through each common type of prompt, with examples from the Common Application, the University of California application, and a few individual schools.

Prompt Type 1: Your Personal History

This sort of question asks you to write about a formative experience, important event, or key relationship from your life . Admissions officers want to understand what is important to you and how your background has shaped you as a person.

These questions are both common and tricky. The most common pit students fall into is trying to tell their entire life stories. It's better to focus in on a very specific point in time and explain why it was meaningful to you.

Common App 1

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

Common App 5

Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

University of California 2

Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side.

University of California 6

Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom.

Prompt Type 2: Facing a Problem

A lot of prompts deal with how you solve problems, how you cope with failure, and how you respond to conflict. College can be difficult, both personally and academically, and admissions committees want to see that you're equipped to face those challenges .

The key to these types of questions is to identify a real problem, failure, or conflict ( not a success in disguise) and show how you adapted and grew from addressing the issue.

Common App 2

The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

Harvard University 7

The Harvard College Honor Code declares that we “hold honesty as the foundation of our community.” As you consider entering this community that is committed to honesty, please reflect on a time when you or someone you observed had to make a choice about whether to act with integrity and honesty.

Prompt Type 3: Diversity

Most colleges are pretty diverse, with students from a wide range of backgrounds. Essay questions about diversity are designed to help admissions committees understand how you interact with people who are different from you .

In addressing these prompts, you want to show that you're capable of engaging with new ideas and relating to people who may have different beliefs than you.

Common App 3

Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

Johns Hopkins University

Tell us about an aspect of your identity (e.g., race, gender, sexuality, religion, community) or a life experience that has shaped you as an individual and how that influenced what you’d like to pursue in college at Hopkins.  This can be a future goal or experience that is either [sic] academic, extracurricular, or social.

Duke University Optional 1

We believe a wide range of personal perspectives, beliefs, and lived experiences are essential to making Duke a vibrant and meaningful living and learning community. Feel free to share with us anything in this context that might help us better understand you and what you might bring to our community.

Prompt Type 4: Your Future Goals

This type of prompt asks about what you want to do in the future: sometimes simply what you'd like to study, sometimes longer-term career goals. Colleges want to understand what you're interested in and how you plan to work towards your goals.

You'll mostly see these prompts if you're applying for a specialized program (like pre-med or engineering) or applying as a transfer student. Some schools also ask for supplementary essays along these lines.

University of Southern California (Architecture)

Princeton Supplement 1

Prompt Type 5: Why This School

The most common style of supplemental essay is the "why us?" essay, although a few schools with their own application use this type of question as their main prompt. In these essays, you're meant to address the specific reasons you want to go to the school you're applying to .

Whatever you do, don't ever recycle these essays for more than one school.

Chapman University

There are thousands of universities and colleges. Why are you interested in attending Chapman?

Columbia University

Why are you interested in attending Columbia University? We encourage you to consider the aspect(s) that you find unique and compelling about Columbia.

Rice University

Based upon your exploration of Rice University, what elements of the Rice experience appeal to you?

Princeton University

Princeton has a longstanding commitment to understanding our responsibility to society through service and civic engagement. How does your own story intersect with these ideals?

Prompt Type 6: Creative Prompts

More selective schools often have supplemental essays with stranger or more unique questions. University of Chicago is notorious for its weird prompts, but it's not the only school that will ask you to think outside the box in addressing its questions.

University of Chicago

“Vlog,” “Labradoodle,” and “Fauxmage.” Language is filled with portmanteaus. Create a new portmanteau and explain why those two things are a “patch” (perfect match).

University of Vermont

Established in Burlington, VT, Ben & Jerry’s is synonymous with both ice cream and social change. The “Save Our Swirled” flavor raises awareness of climate change, and “I Dough, I Dough” celebrates marriage equality. If you worked alongside Ben & Jerry, what charitable flavor would you develop and why?

What Makes a Strong Personal Statement?

OK , so you're clear on what a college essay is, but you're still not sure how to write a good one . To help you get started, I'm going to explain the main things admissions officers look for in students' essays: an engaging perspective, genuine moments, and lively writing .

I've touched on these ideas already, but here, I'll go into more depth about how the best essays stand out from the pack.

Showing Who You Are

A lot of students panic about finding a unique topic, and certainly writing about something unusual like a successful dating app you developed with your friends or your time working as a mall Santa can't hurt you. But what's really important isn't so much what you write about as how you write about it . You need to use your subject to show something deeper about yourself.

Look at the prompts above: you'll notice that they almost all ask you what you learned or how the experience affected you. Whatever topic you pick, you must be able to specifically address how or why it matters to you .

Say a student, Will, was writing about the mall Santa in response to Common App prompt number 2 (the one about failure): Will was a terrible mall Santa. He was way too skinny to be convincing and the kids would always step on his feet. He could easily write 600 very entertaining words describing this experience, but they wouldn't necessarily add up to an effective college essay.

To do that, he'll need to talk about his motivations and his feelings: why he took such a job in the first place and what he did (and didn't) get out of it. Maybe Will took the job because he needed to make some money to go on a school trip and it was the only one he could find. Despite his lack of enthusiasm for screaming children, he kept doing it because he knew if he persevered through the whole holiday season he would have enough money for his trip. Would you rather read "I failed at being a mall Santa" or "Failing as a mall Santa taught me how to persevere no matter what"? Admissions officers definitely prefer the latter.

Ultimately, the best topics are ones that allow you to explain something surprising about yourself .

Since the main point of the essay is to give schools a sense of who you are, you have to open up enough to let them see your personality . Writing a good college essay means being honest about your feelings and experiences even when they aren't entirely positive.

In this context, honesty doesn't mean going on at length about the time you broke into the local pool at night and nearly got arrested, but it does mean acknowledging when something was difficult or upsetting for you. Think about the mall Santa example above. The essay won't work unless the writer genuinely acknowledges that he was a bad Santa and explains why.

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Eloquent Writing

As I mentioned above, colleges want to know that you are a strong enough writer to survive in college classes . Can you express your ideas clearly and concisely? Can you employ specific details appropriately and avoid clichés and generalizations? These kinds of skills will serve you well in college (and in life!).

Nonetheless, admissions officers recognize that different students have different strengths. They aren't looking for a poetic magnum opus from someone who wants to be a math major. (Honestly, they aren't expecting a masterwork from anyone , but the basic point stands.) Focus on making sure that your thoughts and personality come through, and don't worry about using fancy vocabulary or complex rhetorical devices.

Above all, make sure that you have zero grammar or spelling errors . Typos indicate carelessness, which will hurt your cause with admissions officers.

Top Five Essay-Writing Tips

Now that you have a sense of what colleges are looking for, let's talk about how you can put this new knowledge into practice as you approach your own essay. Below, I've collected my five best tips from years as a college essay counselor.

#1: Start Early!

No matter how much you want to avoid writing your essay, don't leave it until the last minute . One of the most important parts of the essay writing process is editing, and editing takes a lot of time. You want to be able to put your draft in a drawer for a week and come back to it with fresh eyes. You don't want to be stuck with an essay you don't really like because you have to submit your application tomorrow.

You need plenty of time to experiment and rewrite, so I would recommend starting your essays at least two months before the application deadline . For most students, that means starting around Halloween, but if you're applying early, you'll need to get going closer to Labor Day.

Of course, it's even better to get a head start and begin your planning earlier. Many students like to work on their essays over the summer, when they have more free time, but you should keep in mind that each year's application isn't usually released until August or September. Essay questions often stay the same from year to year, however. If you are looking to get a jump on writing, you can try to confirm with the school (or the Common App) whether the essay questions will be the same as the previous year's.

#2: Pick a Topic You're Genuinely Excited About

One of the biggest mistakes students make is trying to write what they think the committee wants to hear. The truth is that there's no "right answer" when it comes to college essays . T he best topics aren't limited to specific categories like volunteer experiences or winning a tournament. Instead, they're topics that actually matter to the writer .

"OK," you're thinking, "but what does she mean by 'a topic that matters to you'? Because to be perfectly honest, right now, what really matters to me is that fall TV starts up this week, and I have a feeling I shouldn't write about that."

You're not wrong (although some great essays have been written about television ). A great topic isn't just something that you're excited about or that you talk to your friends about; it's something that has had a real, describable effect on your perspective .

This doesn't mean that you should overemphasize how something absolutely changed your life , especially if it really didn't. Instead, try to be as specific and honest as you can about how the experience affected you, what it taught you, or what you got out of it.

Let's go back to the TV idea. Sure, writing an essay about how excited you are for the new season of Stranger Things probably isn't the quickest way to get yourself into college, but you could write a solid essay (in response to the first type of prompt) about how SpongeBob SquarePants was an integral part of your childhood. However, it's not enough to just explain how much you loved SpongeBob—you must also explain why and how watching the show every day after school affected your life. For example, maybe it was a ritual you shared with your brother, which showed you how even seemingly silly pieces of pop culture can bring people together. Dig beneath the surface to show who you are and how you see the world.

When you write about something you don't really care about, your writing will come out clichéd and uninteresting, and you'll likely struggle to motivate yourself. When you instead write about something that is genuinely important to you, you can make even the most ordinary experiences—learning to swim, eating a meal, or watching TV—engaging .

#3: Focus on Specifics

But how do you write an interesting essay? Focus.

Don't try to tell your entire life story or even the story of an entire weekend; 500–650 words may seem like a lot, but you'll reach that limit quickly if you try to pack every single thing that has happened to you into your essay. If, however, you just touch on a wide range of topics, you'll end up with an essay that reads more like a résumé.

Instead, narrow in on one specific event or idea, and talk about it in more depth . The narrower your topic, the better. For example, writing about your role as Mercutio in your school's production of Romeo and Juliet is too general, but writing about opening night, when everything went wrong, could be a great topic.

Whatever your topic, use details to help draw the reader in and express your unique perspective. But keep in mind that you don't have to include every detail of what you did or thought; stick to the important and illustrative ones.

#4: Use Your Own Voice

College essays aren't academic assignments; you don't need to be super formal. Instead, try to be yourself. The best writing sounds like a more eloquent version of the way you talk .

Focus on using clear, simple language that effectively explains a point or evokes a feeling. To do so, avoid the urge to use fancy-sounding synonyms when you don't really know what they mean. Contractions are fine; slang, generally, is not. Don't hesitate to write in the first person.

A final note: you don't need to be relentlessly positive. It's OK to acknowledge that sometimes things don't go how you want—just show how you grew from that.

#5: Be Ruthless

Many students want to call it a day after writing a first draft, but editing is a key part of writing a truly great essay. To be clear, editing doesn't mean just making a few minor wording tweaks and cleaning up typos; it means reading your essay carefully and objectively and thinking about how you could improve it .

Ask yourself questions as you read: is the progression of the essay clear? Do you make a lot of vague, sweeping statements that could be replaced with more interesting specifics? Do your sentences flow together nicely? Do you show something about yourself beyond the surface level?

You will have to delete and rewrite (potentially large) parts of your essay, and no matter how attached you feel to something you wrote, you might have to let it go . If you've ever heard the phrase "kill your darlings," know that it is 100% applicable to college essay writing.

At some point, you might even need to rewrite the whole essay. Even though it's annoying, starting over is sometimes the best way to get an essay that you're really proud of.

What's Next?

Make sure to check out our other posts on college essays , including our step-by-step guide to how to write your college essay , our analysis of the Common App Prompts , and our collection of example essays .

If you're in need of guidance on other parts of the application process , take a look at our guides to choosing the right college for you , writing about extracurriculars , deciding to double major , and requesting teacher recommendations .

Last but not least, if you're planning on taking the SAT one last time , check out our ultimate guide to studying for the SAT and make sure you're as prepared as possible.

Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download them for free now:

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Alex is an experienced tutor and writer. Over the past five years, she has worked with almost a hundred students and written about pop culture for a wide range of publications. She graduated with honors from University of Chicago, receiving a BA in English and Anthropology, and then went on to earn an MA at NYU in Cultural Reporting and Criticism. In high school, she was a National Merit Scholar, took 12 AP tests and scored 99 percentile scores on the SAT and ACT.

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How to Write Your Personal Statement | Strategies & Examples

How to Write Your Personal Statement | Strategies & Examples

Published on February 12, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on July 3, 2023.

A personal statement is a short essay of around 500–1,000 words, in which you tell a compelling story about who you are, what drives you, and why you’re applying.

To write a successful personal statement for a graduate school application , don’t just summarize your experience; instead, craft a focused narrative in your own voice. Aim to demonstrate three things:

Your personality: what are your interests, values, and motivations?
Your talents: what can you bring to the program?
Your goals: what do you hope the program will do for you?

This article guides you through some winning strategies to build a strong, well-structured personal statement for a master’s or PhD application. You can download the full examples below.

Urban Planning Psychology History

Getting started with your personal statement, the introduction: start with an attention-grabbing opening, the main body: craft your narrative, the conclusion: look ahead, revising, editing, and proofreading your personal statement, frequently asked questions, other interesting articles.

Before you start writing, the first step is to understand exactly what’s expected of you. If the application gives you a question or prompt for your personal statement, the most important thing is to respond to it directly.

For example, you might be asked to focus on the development of your personal identity; challenges you have faced in your life; or your career motivations. This will shape your focus and emphasis—but you still need to find your own unique approach to answering it.

There’s no universal template for a personal statement; it’s your chance to be creative and let your own voice shine through. But there are strategies you can use to build a compelling, well-structured story.

The first paragraph of your personal statement should set the tone and lead smoothly into the story you want to tell.

Strategy 1: Open with a concrete scene

An effective way to catch the reader’s attention is to set up a scene that illustrates something about your character and interests. If you’re stuck, try thinking about:

A personal experience that changed your perspective
A story from your family’s history
A memorable teacher or learning experience
An unusual or unexpected encounter

To write an effective scene, try to go beyond straightforward description; start with an intriguing sentence that pulls the reader in, and give concrete details to create a convincing atmosphere.

Strategy 2: Open with your motivations

To emphasize your enthusiasm and commitment, you can start by explaining your interest in the subject you want to study or the career path you want to follow.

Just stating that it interests you isn’t enough: first, you need to figure out why you’re interested in this field:

Is it a longstanding passion or a recent discovery?
Does it come naturally or have you had to work hard at it?
How does it fit into the rest of your life?
What do you think it contributes to society?

Tips for the introduction

Don’t start on a cliche: avoid phrases like “Ever since I was a child…” or “For as long as I can remember…”
Do save the introduction for last. If you’re struggling to come up with a strong opening, leave it aside, and note down any interesting ideas that occur to you as you write the rest of the personal statement.

Once you’ve set up the main themes of your personal statement, you’ll delve into more detail about your experiences and motivations.

To structure the body of your personal statement, there are various strategies you can use.

Strategy 1: Describe your development over time

One of the simplest strategies is to give a chronological overview of key experiences that have led you to apply for graduate school.

What first sparked your interest in the field?
Which classes, assignments, classmates, internships, or other activities helped you develop your knowledge and skills?
Where do you want to go next? How does this program fit into your future plans?

Don’t try to include absolutely everything you’ve done—pick out highlights that are relevant to your application. Aim to craft a compelling narrative that shows how you’ve changed and actively developed yourself.

My interest in psychology was first sparked early in my high school career. Though somewhat scientifically inclined, I found that what interested me most was not the equations we learned about in physics and chemistry, but the motivations and perceptions of my fellow students, and the subtle social dynamics that I observed inside and outside the classroom. I wanted to learn how our identities, beliefs, and behaviours are shaped through our interactions with others, so I decided to major in Social Psychology. My undergraduate studies deepened my understanding of, and fascination with, the interplay between an individual mind and its social context.During my studies, I acquired a solid foundation of knowledge about concepts like social influence and group dynamics, but I also took classes on various topics not strictly related to my major. I was particularly interested in how other fields intersect with psychology—the classes I took on media studies, biology, and literature all enhanced my understanding of psychological concepts by providing different lenses through which to look at the issues involved.

Strategy 2: Own your challenges and obstacles

If your path to graduate school hasn’t been easy or straightforward, you can turn this into a strength, and structure your personal statement as a story of overcoming obstacles.

Is your social, cultural or economic background underrepresented in the field? Show how your experiences will contribute a unique perspective.
Do you have gaps in your resume or lower-than-ideal grades? Explain the challenges you faced and how you dealt with them.

Don’t focus too heavily on negatives, but use them to highlight your positive qualities. Resilience, resourcefulness and perseverance make you a promising graduate school candidate.

Growing up working class, urban decay becomes depressingly familiar. The sight of a row of abandoned houses does not surprise me, but it continues to bother me. Since high school, I have been determined to pursue a career in urban planning. While people of my background experience the consequences of urban planning decisions first-hand, we are underrepresented in the field itself. Ironically, given my motivation, my economic background has made my studies challenging. I was fortunate enough to be awarded a scholarship for my undergraduate studies, but after graduation I took jobs in unrelated fields to help support my parents. In the three years since, I have not lost my ambition. Now I am keen to resume my studies, and I believe I can bring an invaluable perspective to the table: that of the people most impacted by the decisions of urban planners.

Strategy 3: Demonstrate your knowledge of the field

Especially if you’re applying for a PhD or another research-focused program, it’s a good idea to show your familiarity with the subject and the department. Your personal statement can focus on the area you want to specialize in and reflect on why it matters to you.

Reflect on the topics or themes that you’ve focused on in your studies. What draws you to them?
Discuss any academic achievements, influential teachers, or other highlights of your education.
Talk about the questions you’d like to explore in your research and why you think they’re important.

The personal statement isn’t a research proposal , so don’t go overboard on detail—but it’s a great opportunity to show your enthusiasm for the field and your capacity for original thinking.

In applying for this research program, my intention is to build on the multidisciplinary approach I have taken in my studies so far, combining knowledge from disparate fields of study to better understand psychological concepts and issues. The Media Psychology program stands out to me as the perfect environment for this kind of research, given its researchers’ openness to collaboration across diverse fields. I am impressed by the department’s innovative interdisciplinary projects that focus on the shifting landscape of media and technology, and I hope that my own work can follow a similarly trailblazing approach. More specifically, I want to develop my understanding of the intersection of psychology and media studies, and explore how media psychology theories and methods might be applied to neurodivergent minds. I am interested not only in media psychology but also in psychological disorders, and how the two interact. This is something I touched on during my undergraduate studies and that I’m excited to delve into further.

Strategy 4: Discuss your professional ambitions

Especially if you’re applying for a more professionally-oriented program (such as an MBA), it’s a good idea to focus on concrete goals and how the program will help you achieve them.

If your career is just getting started, show how your character is suited to the field, and explain how graduate school will help you develop your talents.
If you have already worked in the profession, show what you’ve achieved so far, and explain how the program will allow you to take the next step.
If you are planning a career change, explain what has driven this decision and how your existing experience will help you succeed.

Don’t just state the position you want to achieve. You should demonstrate that you’ve put plenty of thought into your career plans and show why you’re well-suited to this profession.

One thing that fascinated me about the field during my undergraduate studies was the sheer number of different elements whose interactions constitute a person’s experience of an urban environment. Any number of factors could transform the scene I described at the beginning: What if there were no bus route? Better community outreach in the neighborhood? Worse law enforcement? More or fewer jobs available in the area? Some of these factors are out of the hands of an urban planner, but without taking them all into consideration, the planner has an incomplete picture of their task. Through further study I hope to develop my understanding of how these disparate elements combine and interact to create the urban environment. I am interested in the social, psychological and political effects our surroundings have on our lives. My studies will allow me to work on projects directly affecting the kinds of working-class urban communities I know well. I believe I can bring my own experiences, as well as my education, to bear upon the problem of improving infrastructure and quality of life in these communities.

Tips for the main body

Don’t rehash your resume by trying to summarize everything you’ve done so far; the personal statement isn’t about listing your academic or professional experience, but about reflecting, evaluating, and relating it to broader themes.
Do make your statements into stories: Instead of saying you’re hard-working and self-motivated, write about your internship where you took the initiative to start a new project. Instead of saying you’ve always loved reading, reflect on a novel or poem that changed your perspective.

Your conclusion should bring the focus back to the program and what you hope to get out of it, whether that’s developing practical skills, exploring intellectual questions, or both.

Emphasize the fit with your specific interests, showing why this program would be the best way to achieve your aims.

Strategy 1: What do you want to know?

If you’re applying for a more academic or research-focused program, end on a note of curiosity: what do you hope to learn, and why do you think this is the best place to learn it?

If there are specific classes or faculty members that you’re excited to learn from, this is the place to express your enthusiasm.

Strategy 2: What do you want to do?

If you’re applying for a program that focuses more on professional training, your conclusion can look to your career aspirations: what role do you want to play in society, and why is this program the best choice to help you get there?

Tips for the conclusion

Don’t summarize what you’ve already said. You have limited space in a personal statement, so use it wisely!
Do think bigger than yourself: try to express how your individual aspirations relate to your local community, your academic field, or society more broadly. It’s not just about what you’ll get out of graduate school, but about what you’ll be able to give back.

You’ll be expected to do a lot of writing in graduate school, so make a good first impression: leave yourself plenty of time to revise and polish the text.

Your style doesn’t have to be as formal as other kinds of academic writing, but it should be clear, direct and coherent. Make sure that each paragraph flows smoothly from the last, using topic sentences and transitions to create clear connections between each part.

Don’t be afraid to rewrite and restructure as much as necessary. Since you have a lot of freedom in the structure of a personal statement, you can experiment and move information around to see what works best.

Finally, it’s essential to carefully proofread your personal statement and fix any language errors. Before you submit your application, consider investing in professional personal statement editing . For $150, you have the peace of mind that your personal statement is grammatically correct, strong in term of your arguments, and free of awkward mistakes.

A statement of purpose is usually more formal, focusing on your academic or professional goals. It shouldn’t include anything that isn’t directly relevant to the application.

A personal statement can often be more creative. It might tell a story that isn’t directly related to the application, but that shows something about your personality, values, and motivations.

However, both types of document have the same overall goal: to demonstrate your potential as a graduate student and s how why you’re a great match for the program.

The typical length of a personal statement for graduate school applications is between 500 and 1,000 words.

Different programs have different requirements, so always check if there’s a minimum or maximum length and stick to the guidelines. If there is no recommended word count, aim for no more than 1-2 pages.

If you’re applying to multiple graduate school programs, you should tailor your personal statement to each application.

Some applications provide a prompt or question. In this case, you might have to write a new personal statement from scratch: the most important task is to respond to what you have been asked.

If there’s no prompt or guidelines, you can re-use the same idea for your personal statement – but change the details wherever relevant, making sure to emphasize why you’re applying to this specific program.

If the application also includes other essays, such as a statement of purpose , you might have to revise your personal statement to avoid repeating the same information.

If you want to know more about college essays , academic writing , and AI tools , make sure to check out some of our other language articles with explanations, examples, and quizzes.

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Can You Use the Same Essay for Different College Applications?

Personal statement or the primary essay, supplemental essays, additional information essay. I’m so confused! Can I use the same essay for all my college applications? You can use the same personal statement and additional information essays for all of your college applications. The supplemental essay is a bit different as it tends to be more specific school focused. Here is a breakdown of the types of application assays and whether or not using the same essay for different college applications is appropriate.

Personal Statement or Primary Essay Can Be Used for All College Applications

Your personal statement will probably be the longest essay you will write. Although there are general prompts you can follow to write this essay, in reality, this can be any topic you choose, as long as it is about you. Many times Signature College Counseling doesn’t begin with the prompts, but rather delves into who the student is, uncovering their unique story. But, we digress here. Can you use this essay for different applications? Yes, that is the point of this essay! When you write it and copy the personal statement essay into the Common App or Coalition Application (or the like), it will be sent to ALL of the schools that you apply to using that application, if that school requires and allows you to do so (which really are 99% of the colleges you apply to). So, this is good news – one, single essay getting sent to many schools!

Supplemental Essays Should Be Unique for Each School’s Application

Supplemental essays are responses to prompts asked by a specific school. They are typically shorter in length and more focused. Questions typically include “Why do you want to attend this school?” or “Why have you selected this major?”. Sometimes, the prompts can be more esoteric, like, “Select a person in history or who is currently living who you would like to have dinner with and tell us what you would like to discuss with them” or “Please tell us five interesting facts about you.” Here’s the thing, you may think that you can copy and paste “why this school” essay or “why this major” essay to another school that asks the identical question, but I will tell you that the exact opposite is the case. You want to be absolutely sure and do your research to express to that school why you have chosen them. Be specific and make sure you do your homework so the reader doesn’t feel that you have just copied this essay from one that you had written for another school. Trust me, they know when you do so. Do not speak in generalities, be specific and heartfelt.

That being said, when we have students that have to write a series of essays, inevitably there is a series of themes that transcend throughout. So, you may not be able to copy an essay word for word, but you absolutely will be able to take portions of an essay, or essays, that you have written and apply it to another college’s supplemental essay. This doesn’t happen all of the time, but it definitely does occur.

The Same Additional Information Essay Can Be Used for Different Schools

An additional essay is not required and is not used by every student. It should be used when you need to clarify or explain something in your high school career or personal life, or expand on an activity that is necessary to do so since the 150 characters in the activity section or your resume doesn’t do justice to. This just names a few reasons to use this section. And yes, this essay gets sent to ALL of your schools through the Common App or Coalition Application.

What Does This All Mean for You?

There are essays you will write that will go to all of your schools and there are essays you will write that you can take all or part of and apply them to another college’s supplemental essay prompts. The most important thing is that you put forth effort and give your all to writing your essays since this is a way for your application to come to life, for the readers to get to know you and who you are. Be thoughtful, make sure your essays are written to best reflect who you are, be sincere and genuine, and make sure they are grammatically correct. Everything speaks.

Looking for help with the college admissions process? We help students and families through the entire college planning journey from search, and essays to interview prep, financial aid consultation and final school selection.

Contact us at info@signaturecollegecounseling.com or by phone, 845.551.6946. We work with students through Zoom, over the phone and by email.

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Is it OK to use the same material on different applications?

You can use the same essay or personal statement on different applications as long as it answers the question on the application. Think about how you can make each essay the best it can be, and don’t try to force similar material to fit different essay questions.

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Can You Use the Same Essay for Different College Applications?

What’s covered:, can you reuse your common app or coalition application essay yes, can you reuse your supplemental essays maybe, the bottom line on reusing essays, where to get feedback on your college essays.

It’s no secret that the college process is grueling. It requires that you put an extensive amount of work into every aspect of every application. It’s natural to want to find ways to save time and energy. This is an especially tempting prospect when it comes to your college essays. Consequently, many high schoolers wonder if they can reuse their essays for different colleges.

The short answer is “It depends.” The long answer is a bit more complex. Below are some of the different scenarios for reusing college essays and best practices for each.

It’s perfectly okay to use the same essay for both the Common App and Coalition Application. In fact, you can use the same essay for any application that requires a lengthy personal statement—like ApplyTexas—since the prompts are broad.

Given the number of colleges that now accept the Common App and Coalition Application, this will greatly expedite your application process and lessen the burden of the essay-writing process.

There are some instances in which you can reuse supplemental essays for different schools, but you must do so carefully.

For example, you should not reuse a college-specific essay for things like the “Why This College?” prompt or related prompts. You also can’t reuse essays that you wrote in response to prompts about specific programs or majors . However, in both instances, it’s often possible to reuse parts of the essay, such as when you’re describing why you have a specific personal interest.

For example, take a look at this prompt from NYU :

We would like to know more about your interest in NYU. What motivated you to apply to NYU? Why have you applied or expressed interest in a particular campus, school, college, program, and or area of study? If you have applied to more than one, please also tell us why you are interested in these additional areas of study or campuses. We want to understand—Why NYU? (400 words)

Because this prompt is very specific to NYU and your interest in the school, you definitely can’t repurpose the essay for another application. However, you might be able to take aspects of the essay and reuse them, such as talking about specific contributions you hope to make to the community—after all, you probably want to make similar ones at other schools.

You’ll want to make sure you’re always framing these contributions as school-specifically as possible—mentioning particular clubs or opportunities at NYU. For example, if you’re interested in attending NYU’s Institute of Performing Arts, you may express an interest in joining their Hammerkatz sketch comedy group. If you were to reuse this section of the essay, you’d want to find the equivalent at the school you’re repurposing the essay for.

Keep in mind that if you can simply change the school name in a college-specific essay and it still works if you apply it to another school’s prompt, then your response isn’t specific enough. You will need to name opportunities specific to each school, and if you decide to repurpose parts of your essays, remember to change the corresponding details.

Another essay prompt you’ll likely encounter is the “Why This Major?” question, which asks why you’re choosing to pursue a particular discipline. Whether or not it’s included in the prompt, you do need to address why you’d like to study that program at that school. That means your essay, at least in part, needs to be specific to the school and can’t be reused for another.

Consider this prompt for Yale University :

Students at Yale have plenty of time to explore their academic interests before committing to one or more major fields of study. Many students either modify their original academic direction or change their minds entirely. As of this moment, what academic areas seem to fit your interests or goals most comfortably? Please indicate up to three from the list provided.

Tell us about a topic or idea that excites you and is related to one or more academic areas you selected above. Why are you drawn to it? (200 words or fewer)

Here, you’re being asked not only why you want to explore your intellectual and academic interests, but you’re also asked to tailor your answer specifically to Yale’s programming. This means you might be able to reuse some parts of the essay for another school, but some areas may be more challenging to repurpose or impossible to reuse altogether. For example, Yale’s Computer Science and Psychology program is relatively unique to the school.

On the other hand, some programs are essentially universal—like business, engineering, and communications, for example—and you may be able to reuse large portions of your essay. Just make sure to remove any mention of other colleges and their attributes and tweak your responses to be as specific as possible to the school you’re applying to.

One example of an essay you can reuse is one written in response to a prompt along the lines of “Describe one of your extracurriculars” , like this one from Harvard :

Briefly describe any of your extracurricular activities, employment experience, travel, or family responsibilities that have shaped who you are. (200 words)

Since this prompt asks you about your pursuits that aren’t tied to your interest in Harvard, it’s probably fine to reuse the essay if another college has a similar prompt. Just make sure you’re fully responding to the particular prompt, as even with these common prompts, sometimes schools like to add their own unique flair.

You should also pay attention to the word count, as you may have to expand or cut your essay when adapting it to another school’s prompt. If the second school has a very similar prompt but requires 250 words instead of 150, you should add more detail, as you don’t want to let 100 words go to waste—that’s almost half the word count!

An essay that’s too short will make it look like you don’t care about the school in question. Conversely, an essay that’s too long will get cut off in most application platforms, or it will make it look like you can’t follow instructions.

Time is precious in the college process, and you can certainly save yourself some by reusing your essays if you come across a similar prompt more than once. However, you should be careful not to do so at the expense of the essay’s specificity and quality.

Remember, your essay package at each school should present a comprehensive picture of who you are, without overlap from one essay to the next.

So, if you’re reusing an “Extracurricular” essay about golf, for example, and the school also has a question about your leadership skills, you don’t want to also write about what you’ve learned from being captain of your golf team. On the other hand, if you have another school on your list with a leadership prompt and no “Extracurricular” essay, you could definitely write about your golf captainship.

Ultimately, what matters most is that schools don’t feel like you’re two-timing them. So, make sure that each essay you write feels like its own singular piece of writing, and, if a school has multiple supplements, that each essay enhances, rather than repeats, the others.

Maybe you’re recycling an essay and wondering if you’ve done enough to reflect the new prompt, or you’ve written a brand new one and can’t decide whether it’s working. Situations like these inspired us to create our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

1. Writing a personal statement for a joint honours course

It’s notoriously tricky to write a personal statement for a joint honours course – that is, a course on which you study two different subjects. Those two subjects may be fairly similar – such as history and archaeology – in which case it should be fairly straightforward to talk about the two subjects and how they work effectively together. However, if the two subjects are very different – such as Birmingham’s Economics with Italian, or Oxford’s Computer Science and Philosophy – you face the challenge of trying to talk equally about your interests in both. It can be hard to know how to structure a personal statement that needs to cover two very different subjects, and it can also be difficult to explain your equal enthusiasm for both and how it came about. Many students writing joint honours personal statements end up talking too much about one and not enough about the other, or talking more naturally and enthusiastically about one than the other. The key points you need to get across when applying for a joint honours course are:

Your interest in both
Your aptitude for both, and what you’ve done to develop your interest in them
Why you want to study them together, and how the two might complement each other
How you see these two subjects fitting in with your longer-term aims

Rather than trying to talk about both at the same time, you might find it more straightforward to begin by talking about one subject, then the other, and then perhaps adding a line or two about why you think it would be beneficial to study them alongside each other. A slightly different way of doing it would be to talk about the first subject (what motivates you to study it, what aspects particularly interest you, and so on), and then discuss the second in relation to the first, immediately discussing why you think it complements the first and why you think a joint honours course is for you.

Image shows a laptop that someone is coding on.

To write an effective personal statement, you’ll need to make sure that you’re applying for the same combination of subjects at all your university choices. Your personal statement might sound great if you’re applying for Computer Science and Philosophy at University A, but it will make no sense to University B if you’re applying only for Philosophy. Alternatively, some students choose to write about just one of their joint honours subjects. This leaves them the flexibility to apply for different combinations of subjects, with one in common (such as English and French or English and Spanish). Approaching it this way has the advantage of allowing you to talk in more depth about the main subject; if you’re trying to talk about two subjects in a very limited amount of space, you may not be able to say everything you want to say. On the other hand, if you can show how keen you are on both subjects, and even talk about why you think it makes sense to study both, then your personal statement may come across stronger than that of a student who only talks about one subject, with no explanation as to why they have applied for the joint honours course rather than that one subject on its own.

2. Writing a personal statement for several subtly (or very) different courses

Image shows a scene from an Anglo-Saxon manuscript.

Unless you’re applying for a joint honours course, you’re not going to be able to choose two wildly different subjects, because your personal statement simply won’t work if you try to appeal to admissions tutors from different courses or departments. However, you can choose closely related subjects, and of course some courses are called different things at different universities and cover some different topics. The key here is to look for overlaps in the course content and talk about those. You’ll need to scrutinise the course content closely for each university and draw up a list of the topics that are covered by all of them. Don’t fall into the trap of stating your enthusiasm for studying a particular module if it’s not provided at all your university choices, because it will look odd to the universities who don’t cover it (and may be enough to lose you a potential offer). Avoid specifically naming any course in particular, as this is another dead giveaway to admissions tutors that another university may be your first choice. If you’re writing with your first choice university in mind, be careful that you don’t let slip any information that may reveal this; for example, if you know that the English course at your first-choice university places great emphasis on early English, but your other choices have less of a focus on this aspect, they may be able to tell that your heart lies elsewhere!

3. Explaining a bad grade (or many)

Whether it’s a below-par GCSE grade, or many, or a less-than-brilliant predicted A-level grade, or many, the ease with which you’ll be able to explain this shortfall on your personal statement depends very much on the circumstances surrounding it. Nevertheless, easy or not, it’s definitely worth acknowledging it in your personal statement, because the admissions tutor will have noticed – so it’s no use pretending it’s not the case and hoping they won’t notice. Let’s look at some of the possible reasons for low grades and consider each in turn.

Illness or family problems

Image shows a student asleep in a pile of cushions and duvets.

This may be a sensitive issue and it’s probably best not to dwell too much on in your personal statement; you don’t want to look as though you are angling for the ‘sympathy vote’. However, genuinely extenuating circumstances that explain a bad grade should be mentioned in passing, along with an explanation of what you’re doing to make up for it and, ideally, evidence to back up your claim that you’re trying to do better. For example, you might say something like: “Although my GCSE English grade was lower than I’d been aiming for due to my falling ill for several weeks during the term before exams, I’ve worked hard to make up for this at A-level, as you can see from my strong AS and predicted grades in this subject.” If you do have extenuating circumstances, your teachers will almost certainly mention them in your references , so you’ll have those to back up what you say. If you’re concerned about how your grades may look, talk to your teachers about it and remind them of the circumstances – this should jog their memory so that they remember to mention it in their references.

You didn’t work hard enough

This is clearly something you can’t admit to in your personal statement, as it will give a very poor impression to admissions tutors. It’s difficult to explain, though, and you may be at a disadvantage even if you’ve since got your act together and improved your grades; there will be many other candidates whose grades are just as good as yours – and better than yours. You certainly can’t feign illness or personal problems as an excuse, because your personal statement then wouldn’t corroborate what your teachers say in your references, and that would arouse suspicion. Your best bet is to try to show what you’re doing to improve, rather than focusing on the reasons.

Image shows two students studying in the library together.

Acknowledge – briefly – that your grade(s) aren’t as good as you’d like, but tell them what you’re going to improve your forthcoming grades, and prove to them with your intelligent remarks in your personal statement that you are academically gifted. Explain that you’re taking on extra classes to bring your grades up to scratch, or that you’re reading around the subject even more in an effort to improve. Evidence of original thinking in your personal statement – for example, in your comments about what you’ve been reading – may be enough to counter the detrimental effect of a poor grade or grades. If you can provide some evidence that you’ve improved, even better; for instance, if your GCSE grade in Physics wasn’t as good as you were hoping for, but you’re predicted an A in A-level Physics, this is evidence that you are capable of doing better. Without this kind of evidence, you may find that it’s more difficult to win them over; but if the rest of your application is strong, you may just be able to do it.

You’re not academically up to it

This is the hardest reason to account for poor grades, because there isn’t really much you can do about it. If your grades are generally lower than the typical offers of universities you’re applying to, you should be questioning whether or not these universities are actually right for you. There’s nothing wrong with aiming high, within reason; but if you’re going to struggle academically, you’re probably not going to have a particularly enjoyable university experience. This is an issue that you should talk to your teachers about; you need a frank and objective opinion from someone who knows your academic standard. It’s a hard thing to face up to, but you’ll thank yourself in the long run.

4. Not enough extra-curricular activities

Many students worry that they don’t have enough extra-curricular activities to talk about on their personal statements. This needn’t necessarily be a hindrance to you, as personal statements are there primarily to assess your academic interest in and suitability for the subject for which you are applying. In fact, students often make the mistake of devoting too much of their personal statement to talking about extra-curricular activities, which is worse than not having enough to talk about. Hobbies are useful for showing that you’re a well-rounded person, and they’re especially helpful if they have some relevance to your course (for instance, you play in an orchestra and you’re applying to read Music), but for universities in the UK, they’re not the be all and end all that you may have heard they are (American universities may place more importance on them, however). You certainly don’t need a huge long list of them. Here are some of the things you could do about this if you really feel it’s an issue:

Devote more of your personal statement to talking about aspects of your A-level courses you’ve enjoyed.
Discuss books you’ve read on the subject, and perhaps towards the end mention what kind of books you enjoy reading in your spare time (they don’t have to be relevant to the course in the context of general comments about your hobbies).
Spend more time highlighting aspects of the subject that you’re most looking forward to learning more about, and why.
Talk about the extra-curricular things you’re planning for the summer: you don’t necessarily have to be doing them now. For example, “I’m planning to spend the summer developing my French skills whilst touring France”.
Take up a new extra-curricular activity right now! They don’t need to know that you’ve only just started it. If you are going to do this, you could score extra brownie points by making it something that not only demonstrates key attributes such as teamwork, but that also has some relevance to the course you’re applying for. It could even be a blog dedicated to something related to your subject.

These are four of the most common issues students encounter when writing personal statements, but as we’ve seen, there is almost always a way around them. If you’re in need of extra advice, don’t be afraid to seek the help of a teacher who knows you and your work. Personal circumstances have a big part to play in university applications (that’s why they’re called ‘personal’ statements!); although it may not seem like it, universities aren’t looking for a generic ‘cookie cutter’ student, and your personal statement probably isn’t as bad as you fear.

Image credits: banner ; flag ; coding ; Anglo-Saxon ; asleep ; studying ; parachute .

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Writing an Undergraduate Personal Statement: UK vs US Universities

What is a personal statement?

A personal statement accompanies your application to study at a university or American college. For UK universities, it provides an opportunity for you to voice your reasons for studying a particular course or subject. It also serves to outline your skills and experience in order to demonstrate your passion for that area of study. In the US, it is often known as the personal essay and is about helping colleges understand who you are, your formative experiences, and how you view the world.

Personal statements for UK and US universities differ. If you’re applying for both UK and US universities, you should not be using the same personal statement in both cases! If applying for just UK or just US universities, make sure you aren’t writing a personal statement in the wrong style.

Main points of distinction between UK and US university applications:

In the UK, you apply through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), whereas in the US, you apply to each university separately (unless using the Common App, as explained later)
You can apply for up to 5 university courses (or 4 courses in any one of medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or veterinary science) in the UK. In the US, there is no limit on the number you can apply for. However, you’ll probably be spreading yourself too thinly if you opt for more than 8-10 universities, and you’re charged per application!)
In the UK, you are applying for the course primarily, whereas in the US, you are applying to the university
Different groups of people will be reading your application in the UK compared with the US admissions system. In the UK, your application will be assessed by admissions tutors alongside academic staff who specialise in the field you’ve applied for. Meanwhile, in the US, the admin staff in the admissions office for the university will make the decision. Therefore, in the UK, you need to impress experts in the subject you’re interested in, while US admissions teams want to know how you’d contribute to the university community
UK personal statements should focus on academics and the subject for which you’re applying, with extracurricular being the icing on the cake. US universities are interested in your personality and what has shaped you as a person

UK Personal Statements

UCAS is a UK undergraduate admissions service. For undergraduate courses, most universities require you to apply through UCAS, whether you’re a home or international student. An important part of the UCAS application is the personal statement.

When writing your UCAS personal statement, consider the following:

Your personal statement should be no more than 4,000 characters, or 47 lines, whichever comes first. Character limits include punctuation, spaces, and paragraph breaks. This will be about a page, or 500-550 words, in Times New Roman size 12 font
Why are you applying for that course? You should be telling the reader this by focusing on what interests you about the subject you’re applying to
Have there been any interesting developments in the subject? What have you read pertaining to the subject?
What are your ambitions and future plans?
What makes you suitable to study this course?
How have your studies prepared you for the course? Consider your academic strengths and achievements
How have you engaged with the subject outside the classroom? Think about your personal strengths. Try to include relevant experience, skills or achievements in employment, volunteering, internships or placements, and extracurricular activities, such as sport or music clubs of which you’re a member
Look at the course modules and descriptions – what skills, qualities and experiences are they looking for?
You can only submit one personal statement, so you need to cater for all 5 university courses you’re applying to. Avoid naming a particular university, as each of your chosen universities will receive the same personal statement from UCAS
Make your personal statement just that – personal . Don’t get someone else to write it for you! It will be much more convincing if the ideas are your own
Remember, the admissions teams want to know why you want to study the subject, and what makes you a good fit for that course
If you’re applying for similar courses, talk about the subject in general but try not to mention course titles. If you’ve picked a variety of subjects, write about common themes (remember, the same personal statement goes to all of your chosen universities!)
Proofread! If your work reads well, you’ll seem a more impressive candidate. Conversely, if your work contains lots of errors, you may come across as sloppy and unprofessional
Seek mentoring if you need help with the structure and content. At Bruton Lloyd, we have tutors who specialise in the university application process

Remember, the personal statement is only one aspect of your application. UK universities are most interested in your predicted grades, followed by the personal statement and references. Having said this, if universities are choosing between similar candidates, a well-written personal statement will help differentiate you from the competition.

Now, we will examine personal statements for American universities.

US Personal Essay

In the US, you apply to a university rather than a course because you won’t be specialising in a particular subject (or ‘major’) until a few years into your degree. Applications are submitted to individual universities, as there is no central regulatory body equivalent to the UK’s UCAS overseeing the university application process. Having said this, 900 schools are signed up to the Common Application, including all 8 Ivy League Schools. This streamlines an essential part of the admissions process for students. For these universities, you only need to fill out the Common Application once. You respond to one of seven Common App essay prompts for the personal statement and send it to the colleges you wish to apply for, if they are members of the Common App. However, many colleges have additional supplements which you must submit, with extra questions and sometimes further essays.

Common requirements for university applications in the US:

College admissions essay/personal essay – equivalent of the UK personal statement
References from at least two teachers
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) if English isn’t your native language
A written piece of work marked by a teacher
SAT/ACT test

Main points for a US personal essay:

Most universities will ask you to respond to a prompt, which are often very open-ended. These can be about anything from your personal history, a formative experience, an important event or key relationship in your life to how you’ve approached a problem or dealt with failure, your future goals. The prompt may even be related to how you interact with people different from yourself. Even more creative or unique prompts are designed to make you think outside the box
Some university applications may include multiple prompts, so check with the individual university you’re applying for
The personal statement is an important chance to stand out as an individual
Lots of universities/colleges ask for an essay or paragraph specifically about why you’re applying there. Here, you should show how you’ll contribute to university life, but don’t reuse your answer for multiple universities!
The personal essay is a chance to show off your writing skills and express your ideas clearly
Be self-reflective, focusing on insight gained from an experience, rather than just the experience itself, in order to convey your capacity to learn and grow as a person – explore your struggles as well as your strengths
Let the reader into your mind and give them an insight into the kind of person you are outside of your academic career – the admissions team want to understand your motivations, your history and your personality
Be authentic and honest – you can write about any topic for the personal essay, from personal stories to what you think of social issues to your goals (you don’t have to write about difficult personal topics though!)
Make sure to proofread! If you have typos or errors in your work, university admission teams won’t be impressed!

How can Bruton Lloyd help?

If you’re struggling with your personal statement, or if you just need it checked over, our team is experienced in assisting with both UK and US university applications. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us to perfect your essay.

Click here for our next blog post on sample openers to UK and US personal statements.

Best of luck!

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September 6, 2024

Common App Word Count Limit: How Long Should My Essay Be?

People gather outside the front steps of a columned building at Harvard University.

You should always use all the real estate they give you when writing your application essays. This means going to the maximum word limit , or as close as possible to it, on every written prompt. Just like the employee who shows up to the office late and leaves early appears lazy and uninterested in their job, the applicant who doesn’t take advantage of every last word seems to have better things to do than write their college application essays. And if you’re an academically ambitious high schooler intent on attending a highly selective college, you quite literally don’t have anything better to do than give your application your all. Your future is counting on it!

You might think those 100-character prompts often found in college supplements don’t apply to this rule, but think again. You want to max the word or character count wherever you see a blank space waiting for you to fill with words — with one notable exception.

What Is the Common App Essay Word Count Limit?

The Common Application’s Personal Statement has a word limit of 650; you should go up to that limit or risk coming across as noncommittal. But is that all there is to this story? Not quite.

How to Use the Common App Additional Information Section

There is an age-old expression in elite college admissions that many students in 2024 are blissfully unaware of: “The thicker the file, the thicker the student.” Are we at Ivy Coach contradicting ourselves? No. We’re referring to the Additional Information section of The Common App. We often get prospective clients who come to us for a PostMortem after rejection from their top school. They have no idea what they could have possibly done wrong, and yet when one of our former elite college admissions officers takes a look at their application, the Additional Information section is filled with redundancies and superfluous information!

The Additional Information section should only include courses taken outside of school (along with corresponding grades) or list genuinely impressive activities that didn’t make it onto the activities list but complement your singular admissions hook . It’s also okay to include a published abstract in this section (unless the school has a section for abstracts, like Columbia University . Don’t make admissions officers read the same thing twice — their time is valuable!). Each time you apply, The Common App. will save the current incarnation of your application. So, be sure to check for redundancies before each submission (e.g., delete the abstract in Additional Information for Columbia if you’re including it under the Abstract section).

In most cases, the Additional Information section should be left blank. Fill out those essays (including the optional ones!). Go up to the maximum word count wherever possible. But don’t include a link to a video of your violin performance if your singular hook is computer science. Don’t include a poem if your hook is environmental advocacy. Your singular hook should be the focus of your application, and the Additional Information section should only include information that supports or enhances this hook.

Respect the Time of Admissions Officers

Don’t waste admissions officers’ time — applicant pools to elite schools have swelled to the tens of thousands in recent years. They’ll probably only give your application a total of 8 minutes of consideration. This, of course, is more than enough time. The 8-minute rule is a guideline that suggests admissions officers spend about 8 minutes on each application, given the large number of applications they have to review. You don’t want to thrust them into a situation where they spend most of those precious 8 minutes deciphering some extraneous information that makes you a less competitive applicant.

If navigating these confusing and seemingly contradictory rules about applying to highly selective schools makes your head spin, take out the guesswork by relying on Ivy Coach ’s team of former elite college admissions officers to help your child earn admission to the school of their dreams. We will ensure their application communicates their singular hook as efficiently and effectively as possible.

If you’re interested in optimizing your child’s case for admission to a highly selective college, fill out our complimentary consultation form , and we’ll be in touch.

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Can You Use the Same Essay for Multiple College Apps?

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Bill Jack has over a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. Since 2008, he has worked at Colby College, Wesleyan University, University of Maine at Farmington, and Bates College.

Maria Geiger is Director of Content at Scholarships360. She is a former online educational technology instructor and adjunct writing instructor. In addition to education reform, Maria’s interests include viewpoint diversity, blended/flipped learning, digital communication, and integrating media/web tools into the curriculum to better facilitate student engagement. Maria earned both a B.A. and an M.A. in English Literature from Monmouth University, an M. Ed. in Education from Monmouth University, and a Virtual Online Teaching Certificate (VOLT) from the University of Pennsylvania.

Student wondering, "Can you use the same essay for multiple colleges?"

You might be asking yourself, “can you use the same essay for multiple colleges?” The short answer is yes, but that it sometimes depends on a few factors. It is important to ensure that the essay you are reusing is general enough to be used for multiple college apps. Read more in our guide about instances where it makes sense to use the same essay for multiple college applications.

Before we start, we should recognize that the college admission process often involves writing multiple responses, including personal statements, Common App essays, college specific essays, supplemental essays, and more.

Can you submit the same personal statement to different schools?

The good news is that you can submit the same personal statement to different schools.

The personal statement is usually attached to the Common Application and the Coalition Application . The personal statement aims to get to know the applicant as a unique person. Students can do this by writing about a unique aspect of their lives, an accomplishment they are most proud of, or ultimately anything that shows who they are. It would be unnecessary to write a different personal statement for every college since the personal statement is all about you.

Also see: How to write a successful college essay by showing, not telling

Can you submit the same college-specific supplemental essays for multiple college applications?

“why us” question.

The “Why us” essay questions typically will not be able to be reused. This is because they are specifically designed to elicit a response regarding the uniqueness of their college. “Why us?” questions are supposed to be answered by sharing specific aspects of the school the applicant enjoys such as the campus, a specific course, the alumni connection, etc. Therefore, since every college is unique in its own way, it is nearly impossible to write a “Why us?” response that would work for multiple college applications.

Supplemental essays

There is a chance you can reuse a supplemental essay for multiple college applications. Colleges ask supplemental questions on a variety of topics, and some questions are broader than others. This is a time to be very careful, as you don’t want any kind of a mix-up like praising the perpetually warm and sunny weather at the University of Minnesota!

Related: How to write about yourself

Tips for using the same essay for multiple college applications

Read the essay question carefully.

To begin, you must read the question carefully to ensure that any previous essay you have written will answer all parts of the question. It is critical that you are not ignoring parts of the question just because you have an essay that answers the other part of the question.

Make sure that your response is college specific

If the question asks specifically about the college it is important to put specific details into your essay. You should be as detailed as possible when responding to a college specific question to show that you care about attending that college!

Don’t miss : How to ask for letters of recommendation for college and scholarships

Proofread!!

It is so important to read over your essay to ensure that there is no mention of a different college in it. Proofreading your essay will also avoid any grammatical errors and typos.

Write a new essay if necessary

When in doubt, the best thing to do is completely write a new essay. This will result in the most specific and detail oriented essay possible that does not seem to be general or non-question specific. Reusing essays is an efficient way to fill out college applications, but it may not always be the one that results in the best essays. So, when in doubt, write a new essay!

Key Takeaways

Reusing your personal statement essay for multiple colleges is not only allowed, but sometimes encouraged
When in doubt, write a new essay and do not reuse!
Always proofread before submitting a supplemental essay to ensure you did not leave any “College A” specific details when submitting something to “College B”

Also see: How many colleges should I apply to? and 10 tips for successful college applications

Additional resources

Congratulations on starting your applications to college! Remember, Scholarships360 has resources that can help you pay for college too! High school seniors can take advantage of specific scholarship opportunities. Some scholarships require essays and applications, but others are no-essay or easy to apply for scholarships . Scholarships360 is here to provide valuable resources and access to scholarships for students. Try our handy dandy search platform and apply for all the scholarship you qualify for!

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Frequently asked questions about using the same essay for multiple college apps

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How do i write a personal statement for multiple courses, i wanted to apply for two different courses. how do i write a personal statement that covers two different subjects.

In the first place, we’d generally advise that where possible you choose courses in related subject areas. Many Admissions Tutors do use the personal statement as a key way of selecting applicants, so if part of your personal statement is about a completely unrelated subject area then you’re likely to be at a disadvantage compared to other applicants.

However, we recognise that many strong applicants may wish to apply for courses which are related but not exactly the same – and across different universities no two courses are completely identical anyway. In this case, we’d advise a topic-based approach, whereby you write about a topic/topics – maybe something in the news – which you can analyse from the perspective of the different disciplines of the courses you’re applying for. For example, there are many issues which can be viewed from both an economic and a political perspective, so you could write about e.g. Brexit, the Coronavirus pandemic, the US election, and many other topics from both these points of view.

In general we’d recommend avoiding dividing the personal statement into one half on subject A, the other half on subject B. Even for joint courses, we want to see how you can combine perspectives and apply your knowledge, so try to do this throughout the personal statement.

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How Universities Use Your Medicine Personal Statement

Check our table to see how every Medical School uses your Personal Statement - and find out which ones place a strong emphasis on this part of your application.

Med Schools And Personal Statements

Find out how Med Schools use Personal Statements
Learn why it’s important to understand this
See every Med School’s Personal Statement policy

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You need to understand how universities use your Medicine Personal Statement because you’ll need to know whether it can make – or break – your UCAS application .

How Do Med Schools Use Personal Statements?

In general, there are five main ways that your Personal Statement could be used by Medical Schools:

Not used in any part of the selection process at all
Read but not assessed
To shortlist candidates to invite to interview
To form the basis of questions at interview
To help decide between two candidates who are otherwise equally tied

For example, Brighton and Sussex say they will not use your Personal Statement in the selection process – whereas others, like King’s College London , will look at it when considering applicants to shortlist for interview.

Make Sure You Stand Out

Get The Best Personal Statement Advice

Why Do I Need to Know This?

It’s important that you know how your target Medical Schools will use your Personal Statement, so you can decide how much effort to put into it.

For example, if you’re applying to universities that won’t use the Personal Statement for shortlisting candidates at all, you may be wiser to dedicate more time to preparing for the UCAT or BMAT . Likewise, if you’re applying to universities that place a greater emphasis on your Personal Statement for Medicine, you’ll need to really scrutinise how you structure and how you write your Personal Statement to boost your chances.

How Every Med School Uses Personal Statements

This table sums up what Medical Schools are currently saying about how they will use your Personal Statement. For more detail, and for the most up-to-date information, make sure you check their websites directly.

University	How will they use your Personal Statement?
Aberdeen	Personal Statements will be reviewed prior to interview invites being sent out. If you are invited to interview, your PS will be assessed during the interview.
Anglia Ruskin	While your PS will not be directly used in the selection process, you should be prepared to discuss or use aspects of it at the MMIs.
Aston	They don’t score Personal Statements, but they do read them with the referee comments and take these into consideration.
Barts (Queen Mary University of London)	The PS doesn’t form part of the assessment to reach interview and doesn’t form part of the scoring at interview. However, in addition to your academic ability, your interviewers will consider your interests, talents and the contribution you can make to the university.
Birmingham	To ensure they are identifying applicants with the necessary skills and aptitude, they will consider all information in a candidate’s application, including your PS and reference both before and after interview.
Brighton and Sussex	They do not use Personal Statements at any point during the admissions process.
Bristol	They don’t use the PS as a weighted component of their selection criteria. If they need to differentiate between applicants who have identical scores at interview when making offers, the PS may be used to do so. UCAT scores will be used as the primary differentiator.
Brunel University	A selection panel will review Personal Statements and references when shortlisting candidates for interview.
Buckingham	As part of an Objective Structured Selection Examination, you will need to reflect on your own life events, which may include those described in your PS.
Cambridge	Information in your PS could be used as a basis for discussion at interview.
Cardiff	Applicants who have reached or exceeded the academic cut-off point for the year are considered on non-academic criteria according to the information in their PS and the academic referee’s statement.
Dundee	Their website doesn’t say how they’ll use your Personal Statement.
Edge Hill University	Although the PS and academic reference are not routinely used in selection for interview and offer of a place, they may be used to differentiate between candidates if there are ties in ranking at cut-off points for interview or selection.
Edinburgh	While it will not be formally assessed, your PS will be essential preparation for you if you’re successful in being invited to an Assessment Day.
Exeter	They advise you to keep a copy of your PS as it is likely to be referred to at interview.
Glasgow	They say that all aspects of the application form (academic attainment, PS and reference) are considered in the screening process.
Hull York	They don’t score your PS, but they do read them and reserve the right to take them into consideration in selection decisions. They examine information provided in the UCAS form when making decisions about candidates who are borderline at the selection for interview or offer stage. If you are invited for interview, they say your PS is likely to be useful preparation for interview questions.
Imperial	Your UCAS application will be reviewed during interview and this could include your Personal Statement.
Keele	They don’t use Personal Statements and references to rank applicants for interview or offer. However, one of the MMI stations will involve discussion of your relevant experiences and the interviewer will be able to question you on aspects of your PS.
Kent and Medway	Their website doesn’t say how they’ll use your Personal Statement.
King’s	When considering applicants to shortlist for interview, the selectors consider the following: GCSEs, predicted or achieved A-Levels, the Personal Statement, the reference and the UCAT score. These all contribute to the shortlisting of candidates.
Lancaster	The PS is not used to rank applicants.
Leeds	Not formally scored, but it is essential that applicants take this opportunity to demonstrate their motivation and enthusiasm to study. Some MMI stations will explore the information provided in your Personal Statement.
Leicester	Not routinely read although they can be used in a borderline or tiebreaker situation.
Liverpool	The PS and academic reference are not routinely screened as part of the decision to invite candidates to interview.
Manchester	The Non-Academic Information Form is a more structured version of the PS and it is designed to help you provide the information they need to know. They may read a small number of Personal Statements in certain circumstances.
Newcastle	Prior to and during an interview, selectors will not have access to the applicant’s Personal Statement or reference.
Norwich	Personal Statements are not scored. They are used in the interview process but are not used for screening to interview or in any subsequent assessment relating to admission.
Nottingham (Lincoln pathway too)	After your interview, they will review any additional information you provide, including your PS and school references, to make sure they are satisfactory. However they won’t be scored.
Oxford	An applicant’s Personal Statement is likely to be discussed by tutors during interview.
Plymouth	They don’t consider Personal Statements when selecting for interview.
Queen’s University Belfast	Personal Statements are not scored as part of the selection process. MMIs are used to test non-cognitive competence and the applicant’s PS is considered within this process.
Sheffield	They don’t normally read or score Personal Statements as part of the selection process. However, the activities, interests and values that candidates express in their Personal Statements are commonly explored during the MMIs.
Southampton	Personal Statements are used at the Selection Day.
St Andrews	The selection process includes an assessment of all information in the application form including. This includes academic performance, PS with reference, and UCAT score.
St George’s	While they take the time to read your PS, it is not formally assessed or used to determine whether you will be invited to interview.
Sunderland	They will not use your PS as a means of assessing your application.
Swansea	During the interview process, your Personal Statement will be considered and discussed.
UCL	For 2023 entry onwards, they will no longer be using the PS as part of the selection procedure, and will be using BMAT scores alone to select eligible candidates for interview.
UCLan	Your PS and academic reference will be evaluated and scored to determine if you will be offered an interview.
Warwick	Your PS will not form a central part of the entry selection process.

Once you understand how your Personal Statement for Medicine will be used, it’s time to start planning it to ensure your application is as strong as possible.

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How To Structure Your Medicine Personal Statement

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COMMENTS

Can You Use the Same Personal Statement for Different Schools?
2. Chart your list of essays and the qualities you associate with them. With multiple essays/personal statements to manage, consider using a spreadsheet to list each question, the school asking it, and which experiences, accomplishments, and skills you can associate with those questions. This will help you avoid using the same experience ...
Is it okay to use the same PS/SoP for applying at multiple universities
There is no difference between Personal Statement and Statement of Purpose. I'm sure that your SOPs will overlap at each school but they probably wont be exactly the same. You like each school that you are applying to for different reasons, would do potentially different projects at each school, and like different professors so your SOP should ...
Can You Use the Same Personal Statement for Different Schools?
With multiple essays/personal statements to manage, consider using a spreadsheet to list each question, the school asking it, and which experiences, accomplishments, and skills you can associate with those questions. This will help you avoid using the same experience, accomplishment, or skill for more than one question at a given school.
Can You Submit Different Common App Essays to Different Schools?
By Eric Eng. Yes, you can submit different Common App essays to different schools. The Common App allows you to change your essay from year to year, which means you can customize your essay for each school, submit it, make changes, and then submit the revised version to another school. This might be particularly helpful if you need to share ...
Can I submit the same personal statement with every application?
In the US, most graduate school applications require you to include:. Transcripts from previous educational institutions; Standardized test scores (such as the GRE or MCAT) A graduate resume; 2-3 letters of recommendation; A statement of purpose; Some programs may ask you to write a personal statement in addition to, or instead of, a statement of purpose. You may also be asked to an interview.
How to write a personal statement that works for multiple courses
How to write a personal statement that works for multiple ...
Personal statement dos and don'ts
Don'ts. Don't be modest or shy. You want your passions to come across. Don't exaggerate - if you do, you may get caught out in an interview when asked to elaborate on an interesting achievement. Don't use quotes from someone else, or cliches. Don't leave it to the last minute - your statement will seem rushed and important ...
Writing the Perfect Personal Statement for Your Master's or PhD
Don't use the same personal statement for 10 different Master's or PhD applications. A common mistake among applicants is applying to multiple study programmes using the same personal statement. I've personally heard advisors and tutors recommend 'writing one personal statement' and 'changing the name of the university' for each one.
US Grad School Personal Statements
Can I use the same personal statement for different grad schools? You shouldn't submit the same personal statement to multiple different schools, just changing the school and program names. Many applicants, especially at postgraduate level, show each school they've done their homework, mentioning particular researchers at the school that they ...
Sending the same SOP to all Universities. Right or Wrong?
There is nothing wrong with having a general template of an SOP that you tweak for each school. If you're explaining your experiences and interests there are only so many ways to do that and schools wont know/care if you do it the same way each time. The important part is, as you said, changing who you're interested in working with and why.
Personal statement secrets
Make the word count count. Your personal statement has a strict limit of 4,000 characters (including spaces) or 47 lines of 95 characters (including spaces); whichever is shorter. Exceed this and Ucas Hub will immediately cut you off and could leave your personal statement dangling in the middle of an unfinished sentence.
What's a Personal Statement? Everything You Need to Know About the
What Is a Personal Statement? Everything You Need to ...
How to Write Your Personal Statement
How to Write Your Personal Statement | Strategies & ...
Can You Use the Same Essay for Different College Applications?
Contact us at [email protected] or by phone, 845.551.6946. We work with students through Zoom, over the phone and by email. You can use the same personal statement and additional information essays for all of your college applications. Supplemental essays are unique for each school's application.
How to Write a Personal Statement That Wows Colleges
How to Write a Personal Statement That Wows Colleges
Is it OK to use the same material on different applications?
You can use the same essay or personal statement on different applications as long as it answers the question on the application. Think about how you can make each essay the best it can be, and don't try to force similar material to fit different essay questions. ... College Search; College Quiz; Connect With Colleges; Stand Out in High ...
Can You Use the Same Essay for Different College Applications?
Yes! It's perfectly okay to use the same essay for both the Common App and Coalition Application. In fact, you can use the same essay for any application that requires a lengthy personal statement—like ApplyTexas—since the prompts are broad. Given the number of colleges that now accept the Common App and Coalition Application, this will ...
4 Common UCAS Personal Statement Issues and How to Resolve Them
4 Common UCAS Personal Statement Issues and How to ...
Writing an Undergraduate Personal Statement: UK vs US Universities
You can only submit one personal statement, so you need to cater for all 5 university courses you're applying to. Avoid naming a particular university, as each of your chosen universities will receive the same personal statement from UCAS; Top tips: Make your personal statement just that - personal. Don't get someone else to write it for you!
Common App Personal Statement Word Count Limit & Tips
You should always use all the real estate they give you when writing your college essays. ... The Common Application's Personal Statement has a word limit of 650; you should go up to that limit or risk coming across as noncommittal. ... Don't make admissions officers read the same thing twice — their time is valuable!). Each time you ...
Can You Use the Same Essay for Multiple College Apps?
It is so important to read over your essay to ensure that there is no mention of a different college in it. Proofreading your essay will also avoid any grammatical errors and typos. ... In addition, you can also use the same personal statement for any college that does not utilize the Common or Coalition Application. Scholarships360 Recommended ...
How do I write a personal statement for multiple courses?
In general we'd recommend avoiding dividing the personal statement into one half on subject A, the other half on subject B. Even for joint courses, we want to see how you can combine perspectives and apply your knowledge, so try to do this throughout the personal statement. Answered by the Admissions Team. Answer published: December 2020.
How Universities Use Your Medicine Personal Statement
In general, there are five main ways that your Personal Statement could be used by Medical Schools: For example, Brighton and Sussex say they will not use your Personal Statement in the selection process - whereas others, like King's College London, will look at it when considering applicants to shortlist for interview.

Which program are you applying to?

Can You Use the Same Personal Statement for Different Schools?

1. Make sure each essay has a distinct theme.

2. Chart your list of essays and the qualities you associate with them.

3. Portray your multidimensional self.

4. Name dropping? Better double check the names!

5. No matter how similar the essay questions are, never simply cut and paste an entire essay.

Is it okay to use the same PS/SoP for applying at multiple universities ?

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