Using mindmaps to complete the UCAS Personal statement
- The Parents' Guide to
- Aug 17
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 31
This is just a snippet from The Parents' Guide to University. If you’d like the full version, with clear, up-to-date advice, practical tips and actions you can take at home, click below.
If your teen is planning on applying to university, they'll need to complete a personal statement as part of their application. This is like a short advert that lets your teen showcase why they would make a great student. It includes all the things they've done, inside and outside of school, that proves to the university that they're ideal to be accepted as a undergraduate. They're allowed to write about 500 words.
Why using mindmaps will help them complete the UCAS personal statement
Most students find that starting their personal statement is the hardest part of their application. If your child is struggling to get motivated, encourage them to make a list of all the things they might want to include without worrying whether or not these will make it into the final version.
A good way to start is to break down the content into more manageable chunks. This will make it less daunting and might even help them to structure it. Try using mind-maps, notes, spider diagrams, bullet points (or whatever works best for your child) to help them put pen to paper and get the ideas flowing. We've included an example of our personal statement mindmap below.
How mindmaps work
Work through each bubble in our mindmap above, get your teen to list some bullet points where they have something to say (and tick off that bubble!) then highlight the bubbles where there's nothing to say.
Don’t panic if your child’s list is looking quite ‘thin’. It's OK not to have done everything, but if there are lots of "empty bubbles", they may need to take action to broaden their experience. This amounts to them trying different hobbies and interests.
How to make their personal statement impressive
There’s plenty of things they can do during evenings, weekends and school holidays to help them have something to say and stand out from others. This is not about them achieving miracles in a short space of time, it's about them selecting their likes and dislikes by trying different things, which helps build their character. Need inspiration? We've got lots of ideas in The Parents' Guide to Developing skills and character - no matter what your teen's personality there's always something they can explore and enjoy.
Writing their personal statement
Once your teen has listed plenty of ideas of things to include in their personal statement, it's time to work out how to structure it. It's important to write the personal statement according to the new UCAS guidelines and we'll take you through this step by step if you'd like to know more.
When the first draft is finished, your teen should then share it with others to get their feedback. This might be friends, family, teachers, or anyone who knows them quite well. The idea is to see whether what they've written is a good reflection of them and includes all their strengths. It's quite amazing how we see ourselves differently from the way others see us. Quite often we don't notice in ourselves the very characteristics other people find impressive. Don't let them miss this step out, even if they are a bit shy.
Your teen should write several drafts of their personal statement before submitting the final version in their university application. That's way it pays to start early.
We always love to hear from you, so do let us know if there are any subjects you’d like us to chat to you about. Stay safe and keep happy, Vanessa and Darius - info@theparentsguideto.co.uk
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