The Differences Between UCAS and The Common APP and the Guidelines for Writing a Great Personal Statement for UCAS in the UK
In order to write a great UCAS personal statement one has to understand a little about UK college admissions and what UCAS is. US and UK universities evaluate applicants quite differently. In the USA we practice holistic admissions which means while colleges look primarily at your grades and test scores they are also concerned with the whole student and consider your extracurriculars and accomplishments as well. The Common App reflects that interest in holistic admissions by including an extensive activities section and by phrasing their essay prompts to get students to show something of themselves that goes beyond academics. In the UK, admissions are for the most part program based. So what is UCAS? UCAS stands for the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. It is the UK organization that’s main job is to run the application process for undergraduate UK universities. In that respect it is similar to the Common App and its function in the US. There are lots of differences between the two as well.
As a side note you can use the Common App to apply to over 20 UK schools. If you do, your application is tailored to that school to include what course you are applying to and your limit of how many UK schools you can apply to is still 5. Both the Common App and UCAS ask you to write an essay as part of your application. More differences:
Reveal and tell are the operative words here. Revealing requires creativity more like writing a good story. Telling requires facts, more like writing a good CV and cover letter. Both are trying to convince a university to admit you but if you want to think of it in a fun way, the Common App essay is more like trying to get someone to go on a date with you and UCAS is more like trying to get hired for a job. Common App essay is an admit me because of the person I am. UCAS personal statement is admit me because my experience, skill set, accomplishments and goals make me worthy. So what makes a great UCAS personal statement? First you need to research your course selection and really know and understand what you are applying for at each College/University. The same subject can vary greatly from College to College and you need to write a personal statement that will cover those similarities and differences and show that you fully understand what you will be studying. Next let’s cover the requirements. I think the best personal statements are usually 3 parts where the middle is the most important and twice as long as the other parts.
The first part:
- should show you understand the course you are applying to study
- should show your suitability, enthusiasm and passion for the subject or in other words why the subject is important to you
- should show why you want to study that particular course
- Should tell them about your goals/ambitions as they pertain to the course
If you are International: You should include here why you want to study in the UK and if you can why that course in the UK. You can tell them what about being an International student appeals to you. Also if you are from a non-English speaking country this first part is the place to tell them your qualifications for studying in English.
The second part: Academics
- should tell them why you are a good candidate for studying that course/subject
- you should provide evidence of your skills, experience, passion for that subject and/or any extra knowledge you have in that subject
Information to include here:
-any pertinent to the course significant studying you have done inside or outside of school
- any extra reading you have done outside of class-be specific and use names
- any work experience volunteer or otherwise , or job shadowing that is pertinent to your course subject
- any club, sports team, interest, or extracurricular activity that is pertinent to your course subject
- any trip, lecture, or exhibition that you experienced that is pertinent to your course subject
- should tell them what you and your experiences will add to the classroom discussions on your subject
The third part:
- should tell them what you will add to their universities as a whole- you should share appealing personal information about yourself
- discuss extracurriculars that might be outside of your course subject that will also show transferrable skills and state how those skills will relate back to your subject. Also discuss how those extracurriculars will add to the university as a whole, like playing on a sports team
Things to keep in mind:
- Avoid clichés
- You should start and finish with strong sentences- Be specific but be concise. You only have 4,000 Characters
- Remember that this is the same statement for every College/University you apply to so do not mention a particular university
- Never lie or copy someone else’s work- Constantly be linking every point back to why you want to study that course or why you want to study in the UK
- Writing a great personal statement takes time. Expect to write several drafts before you are done. So write this first on your computer and then copy and paste it into UCAS
Here are a couple of links of sites you might find helpful:
How to write a great personal statement from the University of Birmingham