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For most students about to start Year 13, the UCAS Personal Statement is beginning to loom large on their list of priorities. This short piece of writing, capped at 47 lines or 4,000 characters, will be the subject of fevered drafting and re-drafting in the coming months as the two key UCAS application draw nearer – 15 October for Oxbridge and medical courses, 25 January for all remaining subjects.

The question ‘what does a good Personal Statement look like’ will be bandied about and various conflicting views put forward to provide an answer. For those approaching this process for the first time, this can all seem quite confusing. The good news is that there are lots of different ways to write an effective Personal Statement (admittedly, along with a few bad ones as well!)

The main thing to remember is that Personal Statements are not a writing competition. They needs to be built around what you have done, not what you intend to do; around the evidence you can provide for why you would thrive on your chosen course, not around the most florid descriptions you can come up with of the course itself.

Although the best Personal Statements give an account of work undertaken over the course of Year 12, it is not too late to assemble an excellent portfolio of work and ideas, drafted efficiently and presented compelling to represent the best of what you can offer.

Bonas MacFarlane’s HE Team have over 25 years experience in supporting students with Personal Statements and draw upon consultants across a huge range of academic specialisms, including Law, Medicine, Business and Management.

Please call the team on +44 (0)20 7223 2794, if we can be of assistance.

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