UCAS announces changes to university application personal statements

The University and College Admissions Service (UCAS) has confirmed its plans to scrap personal statements. This change will take effect in 2025 for those applying to study in 2026.

Rather than writing a structured 4000-character piece, students will now answer the following three questions:

• Why do you want to study this course or subject?
• How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?
• What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences helpful?

It is hoped that the change will eliminate the unfair advantage of experienced tutors helping students

The 4000-character limit will remain across the three questions. It is hoped, however, that the change will eliminate the unfair advantage of experienced tutors helping students to structure and hone their personal statements.

Professor of Social Mobility at Exeter University, Lee Elliot Major, welcomed the reform, declaring it to be a “significant step in making the university admissions system a little bit fairer for all applicants.”

He described the outgoing personal statement as a “love letter” to a student’s chosen subject.

Major lamented that it has “increasingly become a barometer of middle-class privilege as so many personal statements are now co-created and polished by advisers, teachers, and parents.”

The move follows in-depth discussions with students, teachers, and experts.

UCAS reported that 79% of students previously surveyed found writing their personal statement difficult to do without external support.

UCAS’s updated figures for England and Wales reflect a second successive drop in undergraduate applications by sixth formers.

Welsh applications in particular have fallen from 38.1% in 2022, to 33.8% this year. This is the lowest figure in 15 years.

The decline in applications has naturally prompted questions regarding the efficacy of the personal statement

The decline in applications has naturally prompted questions regarding the efficacy of the personal statement, especially since it has dominated the admissions process ever since the formation of UCAS in 1993.

Chief Executive of UCAS, Jo Saxton, outlined to the BBC that she intends to ensure that “the doors of opportunity stay open for as many students as possible so that they can benefit from a university education.”

The personal statement will remain as part of the admissions process for one final academic year.

From 2025, it is hoped that the newly structured system will begin to elevate the most disadvantaged students’ representation at UK universities.