How to help your teen write their personal statement according to the new UCAS guidelines

Aug 11, 2025
8 min read

Updated: Jul 22

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.

Read the full guide: The Parents' Guide to University

The UCAS personal statement is an important part of the university application process, and the part many young people find hardest to complete. This year, UCAS has changed the format to make it easier to fill in. Let's take a look at what should be included and how it should be structured. We've got plenty of suggestions to explore, so you can encourage your teen if they get stuck on what to write.

What is a personal statement?

As part of the university application, your child will need to submit a personal statement. This is like a short advert that lets your teen showcase why they would make a great student. It must not exceed 4,000 characters (about 500 words). Your teen can only submit one personal statement, even though they can apply to up to five different universities.

This means they need to be careful to make themselves attractive to all the universities, not just their favourite.

Why is a personal statement so important?

Alongside your child’s predicted sixth form grades and their teachers’ references, the UCAS personal statement helps university admissions tutors decide whether to offer your child a place. Not all universities conduct interviews, so the personal statement may be the only opportunity your child has to showcase their talents, accomplishments and interest in the course. Universities also use it to choose between candidates with similar academic experience when there aren't enough places to go round.

Changes to the personal statement format, effective 2026 entry

The objectives and length of the personal statement are the same, but the format has changed. There are now three questions your teen will need to answer. This should make it easier for students to know what to include and where.

The personal statement still allows a maximum of 4,000 characters (about 500 words). Each section must be answered with a minimum of 350 characters (about 45 to 50 words). This gives students flexibility, so they can focus on the questions where they have more to say.

The new guidelines: answering three questions

The three sections help guide students towards the information they should include. Don't forget, sections don't need to be equal length. If your teen has a lot to say about one area but not much in another, they can write more when answering that question. However, they must not ignore a question, and they shouldn't repeat the same information in different sections, as this uses up their character count.

Question 1: Why do you want to study this course or subject?

This is a chance for your teen to express their passion and knowledge for the subject. In most cases they won't have studied it before, but that doesn't matter. Here they need to express why they're interested. Have they been inspired by someone, whether in their personal life, a public figure, a book or a lecture? Is it a subject they love, and if so, why? What have they done to find out more and prove their interest? Is it directly linked to their future career plans, and if not, how will it be linked?

Question 2: How have your qualifications and studies helped you prepare?

This covers formal education, but there's no need to include qualification grades, as those are covered elsewhere in the application. Instead, they should focus on what they've achieved (or are currently studying) at school, or courses taken outside school that are directly linked to the course they'd like to study.

It's also a chance to talk about indirect connections between what they've studied and the course. For example, if the course involves analytics, what have they done already that makes them want to focus on it and shows they'd be good at it? Have they achieved anything relevant, such as becoming school team captain, a school ambassador, or winning any competitions inside or outside school?

Question 3: What else have you done to prepare, and why are these experiences useful?

This is where your teen can stand out most from other applicants, because this part will include experiences unique to them.

Answers to questions 1 and 2 may be similar between applicants, because they'll be of a similar age with similar school experience. Here, your teen should include work experience, volunteering, hobbies and interests beyond what's offered at school, any achievements not already covered, and relevant personal experience.

What's the point of a personal statement?

The personal statement is an opportunity for your child to give the admissions tutor an insight into what they're like as an individual and why they're the right fit. Admissions tutors want to make sure both the course and university are the right choice for the applicant. After all, they don't want them to be unhappy and leave before the course ends.

How to write a personal statement: essentials to include

Don't let your teen fall into the trap of using most of the word count on why they want to take the course or go to university. Instead, they should focus on what they've done to work towards it, and why it's relevant.

Broadly speaking, a personal statement should demonstrate:

your child’s passion for their chosen subject or field
what they’ve done to engage with the subject inside and outside the curriculum
their interests and hobbies, and how these relate to their chosen course
what relevant experience they have
what makes them unique (some hobbies may have nothing to do with the course but tell you a lot about their personality)

If your teen is struggling to think of reasons for wanting to study the course, it might be worth talking about whether it's the right one for them. At this stage it’s okay to go back to the drawing board and research alternatives, as it's important to get this right.

How to write a personal statement: essentials to include

Why it’s good to start early

Content for a personal statement isn’t something that can be created overnight. It takes time to assimilate ideas and finesse them, so encourage your child to start thinking about it well ahead of submission. This doesn’t mean a heavy-handed desk-bound session, but prompting them with questions regularly, to help them clarify why they like something or what makes an experience pleasant or unappealing, will help them consolidate their thoughts and describe clearly what they like and dislike, and why.

One advantage of drafting early is that there's no need to panic if the statement is looking thin; there are things they can do in evenings, weekends and holidays to help them stand out. For inspiration, there are plenty of ideas in The Parents' Guide to Developing Skills and Character.

Editing and finessing

Prepare your teen for a fairly long cycle of reading, editing and rereading until it's ready to submit. If your child is in Year 12, it’s a good idea to return to school in September of Year 13 with a first draft completed. If they don’t yet know which course to study, they can focus the draft on their skills, achievements and hobbies.

Getting started

Most students find that starting is the hardest part. If your teen is struggling to get motivated, encourage them to make a list of everything they might want to include, without worrying whether it'll make the final version. Don’t let them get caught up trying to think of a catchy opening line; that can be left until much later.

A good way to approach it is to break it into more manageable chunks. This makes it less daunting and might even help them structure it. Try using our personal statement mind-map, or notes, spider diagrams and bullet points to help your teen put pen to paper and get the ideas flowing. Don't worry about sentences and flow; no one is expecting a perfect first draft.

Ideas to inspire them

Get your child to look at the university’s website to find out more about the course. Help them identify the qualities and experience they'll need to do well, as this can often help them decide what to write about.
Ask your child why they're applying for that course. Get them to expand on their reasons: what excites them about it, which modules they're keen to learn more about, and where they want it to take them professionally.
Mind-map their interests, hobbies, talents, skills, achievements and any involvement in clubs or societies. This helps your child see what they’ve done so far and identify examples to include.

Demonstrating passion while meeting the new UCAS guidelines

With relatively few words allowed, it's essential that the university understands why this is the right course for your child. Wider reading, additional courses, hobbies and relevant work experience associated with their degree choice all help demonstrate their interest.

Make sure your child doesn’t just list what they’ve done and achieved. The key to a good personal statement is to include what they've learnt and how it has affected them. A good way to approach this is to use three steps:

Identify the activity or experience.
Explain what they've learnt.
Explain how it has changed them, and link it to why it makes them a suitable applicant for their chosen course.

Demonstrating passion while meeting the new UCAS guidelines

Addressing different course choices

If they've chosen several different types of course, they'll need to focus on themes (creativity, communication, organisation, mechanics, research) rather than specifics unique to one course title. If possible, they should seek out the themes common to all the courses.

Even though this may restrict what they can say, they should still try to express why they think they're suitable and passionate about their chosen courses, even if that means speaking in general terms depending on how different the courses are.

It's worth noting that more academic universities will seek greater evidence of your child’s passion for the subject over their skillset, while less academic universities place more weight on skills.

Setting the right tone

Like CVs, there are certain descriptors that can be over-used (creative, great communicator, diligent, willing to learn, team player, problem solver, to name a few). It’s fine to use these expressions, but the focus should be on why they apply, with examples to demonstrate them, rather than listing them without qualification.

Sequence, paragraph order and a broad remit covering a variety of aspects of their personality are important. This is no time to be shy or secretive. Your child should share drafts to get feedback from a range of people who have unique insight into their different strengths.

Make sure they spell-check. Misspellings look sloppy, so get a fresh pair of eyes to read over your child’s personal statement before submitting the final draft.

Extenuating circumstances

If there are reasons why your teen may not achieve their desired grades, or they want the university to know why there have been setbacks, these explanations should not go in the personal statement. Instead, they're covered in the teacher references section, written by an academic referee. Your teen can choose this referee from current or former teachers, tutors or head teachers. It may be useful for both you and your teen to speak to this referee so you feel comfortable that any situation is fairly presented.

Deadlines

Most schools and colleges have their own internal deadlines for when personal statements must be completed. It’s important to stick to these, as they give your child time to receive feedback from staff and make changes before the official UCAS deadline in January. Some universities and courses have a much earlier deadline than the UCAS one, so check in advance. We've included a handy reference sheet of all UCAS key dates.

Acing their personal statement: final words

Writing a personal statement isn't easy, especially if your teen is modest and not good at broadcasting their achievements. That's why it's great for them to start early, get input from other people, and go through our checklist to make sure they include everything. Don't forget, your role as a parent is to help and guide them, not do it for them.