The three UCAS personal statement questions

What are the three UCAS personal statement questions?

• Why do you want to study this course or subject?
• How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?
• What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?

How to answer question 1: Why do you want to study this course or subject?

• Avoid generic reasons with no real thinking behind them. Saying “I want to study economics because I enjoyed it at A level” or “because I read The Armchair Economist” won't convince an admissions officer.
• Avoid the openings admissions officers see most. That means “I have always been passionate about…”, “Since a young age…”, “I was 10 years old when…”, a famous quote, or a YouTube video as the spark. For economics and finance, also avoid the 2008 crash, Enron and Lehman Brothers, and overhearing your parents talk about money.
• Link your interest to a specific moment or experience that made you curious about the subject, ideally about one particular area within it. Rather than just saying you're interested in psychology, focusing on something like the psychology of financial markets can give you an edge.
• Explain the logic behind your interest, step by step. Your story probably makes sense in your head, but the admissions officer needs you to spell out how one thing led to the next.
• Avoid well-known books like The Wealth of Nations. They add very little, and they suggest your reading hasn't gone beyond the obvious.
• Stick to one central story rather than giving several reasons. One well-explained story beats five smaller ones.
• Show how you're building on your interest. Don't just say you like the subject: mention the papers and books you're reading, the views you've formed over time, and what you want to explore further at university.

How to answer question 2: How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare?

• Link what you've studied at A level or IB to your degree by naming specific concepts you want to develop further at university. For example, if you studied maths, you could explain how you've used differential equations on an economics problem, and how you want to build on that at university as you move on to more advanced models.
• Do this for each subject that's relevant to your course.
• Avoid generic skills links like “History taught me critical thinking”. Name the actual event, concept or theory.
• Avoid overused examples, like Roe v Wade for law, and self-help books for science or social science degrees.
• Mention any courses or summer schools you've taken part in.
• Make it clear that what you've learned in each subject is close to what your degree will expect of you. That's what sets you apart from the average applicant.

How to answer question 3: What else have you done to prepare?

• Focus on a few activities, not everything you've ever done.
• Show how each activity has prepared you, either academically for your subject or through soft skills.
• Describe moments, not lists. Don't just list the skills or topics you learned. Describe a specific moment from each activity, the lesson you took from it, and how it will help you at university.
• Avoid generic activities if you can. If you can't, include at least one unusual activity, or a unique angle on a common one.

Before you submit

Once you've drafted all three answers, run them through Essay Lab at essaylab.ai. It's free, and it shows you which sentences are working and which still need work, question by question.

Common questions