Recently, UCAS confirmed what was long suspected. In 2024, UCAS will do away with the personal statement, opting instead for a more structured set of application questions. Read on to learn more about why UCAS is making this change, what it will look like, and how students will be affected.
Why is UCAS making this change?
There has been growing concern that the free-response nature of the personal statement may work to widen the gap in post-secondary education. The fear is that students who do not have access to advice or guidance about how best to use the personal statement will not be as successful as their more privileged peers. Students also shared their concerns about the personal statement, and 83% reported that they found the statement stressful while 79% agreed that the statement is difficult to complete without support.
What’s changing?
In 2024, for students seeking admission in 2025, the free-response form of the personal statement will be replaced with more structured questions. These questions are intended to bring further focus and clarity to the process and reduce the need for additional support. The questions are still being developed, but at this time, UCAS has established six key areas of focus.
- Motivation for Course – Why do you want to study these courses?
- Preparedness for Course – How has your learning so far helped you to be ready to succeed in these courses?
- Preparation through other experiences – What else have you done to help you prepare, and why are these experiences useful?
- Extenuating circumstances – Is there anything that the universities and colleges need to know about, to help them put your achievements and experiences so far into context?
- Preparedness for study – What have you done to prepare yourself for student life?
- Preferred Learning Styles – Which learning and assessment styles best suit you – how do your course choices match that?
How will this impact students?
In reality, very little will need to change about your UCAS personal statement plans. The new structure of the application questions works to break down the long, open-ended, traditional personal statement and make it more clear to students what they should focus on. While this clarity will certainly be helpful, it’s likely that these were areas you would have discussed in your personal statement anyways. So while the form may have changed, the content will stay largely the same!
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