English Tutor Plus

UCAS Support

What is a personal statement?

Writing your personal statement for your UCAS application can be one of the biggest challenges during your time at sixth form and perhaps even more so if you are applying later in life without the support of your college or school. This part of the application is your chance to make yourself stand out from thousands of other applicants – that can make it quite an intimidating task.

The Personal Statement is the part of your UCAS application where you write about yourself and your interest in the subject you wish to study. This sounds easy but is frequently the part of the application which causes students the most stress. Many of us find the idea of ‘selling’ ourselves, or even just writing about our achievements, very hard to do but this is essentially what you need to do.

The Personal Statement can be up to 4000 characters long (roughly two A4 sides of average sized handwriting.) It is better to aim to write this much as a short Personal Statement might show universities that there is not much to say about you!

You can only submit one Personal Statement, even if you are applying for 5 different courses.

Why is the Personal Statement important?

The Personal Statement is the only part of your application where you get to have your say in your words. The rest of the application consists of factual information about you; what you have achieved so far; what your predicted grades are; and your choices. Someone, most likely your teacher or UCAS coordinator at your sixth form or college, will write your reference and you can request that they include certain information about you, but this will be in their words, not your own.

Most courses at most universities will not interview applicants so the Personal Statement will be their only chance to see what you are like and why you would be an asset to their course. You need them to see in 4000 characters that you are bright, enthusiastic, motivated and guaranteed to be fully committed to their course and ready to work hard to achieve your goals.

Different universities tend to view the Personal Statement in different ways. For high demand courses and universities and for some professional courses (such as Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary Science, Nursing, Midwifery, Physiotherapy, Social Work, Primary Teaching), the Personal Statement is especially important, with admissions teams expecting candidates to explain why they are applying for that profession and not just the course. Personal Statements can also be used as a deciding factor if you don’t quite get the grades required on Results Day.

Some universities will use the Personal Statement to help them decide who to offer places to – you may have identical grades to many other applicants across the country, but your Personal Statement will be individual and will hopefully make them choose you over all of the other hopeful candidates.

Personal Statement Advice

I was a sixth form tutor for years and later, Head of Sixth Form and UCAS co-ordinator so I have helped hundreds of students with their personal statements. It can be a long process – I’ve always told my students to expect to do about 7 versions of it before it is ready to send, and to start early – advice that was not always taken!

Here are some helpful tips:

  1. Although you may start planning with a pen and paper, make sure all drafts you submit for checking are Word documents. This makes it neater and clearer, easier to make changes and will save you counting characters each time. It’s helpful to include the character count at the top of your draft so that, if your teacher prints the document, they know how many characters you have. Each time you make changes, save the document again with a new name (draft 1, draft 2 etc)
  2. Don’t think about the character count at the start of the process – it can be daunting or restrictive! You need to focus on the content, writing down everything you want to include. The chances are someone will suggest things you need to add anyway, and they will also be able to help you cut extraneous information or words if you have gone over the character limit.
  3. If you find you have too much to say, bear in mind that your teacher could include this in their reference. Teachers have a specific section on the application form where they can write about any extenuating circumstances that might have affected you so there is no need for you to mention this yourself if you do not want to.
  4. Try to see the Personal Statement as a useful exercise for yourself – it should focus your mind on why you want to study this course and why you’re suited to it. If you can’t explain these, it may be that you need to choose a different course.
  5. When you’re writing, make sure you show the university what you’ve done rather than telling them. It’s not useful to say, “I have always loved reading and I especially like Victorian literature” as anyone can say this; much better to say “Reading novels like Jane Eyre and David Copperfield has given me an appreciation of how some Victorian writers created protagonists with strong autobiographical elements…” which shows you have read these novels and can explain what you found interesting about them.
  6. If you do have to go for an interview, the interviewer will likely base some of their questions on your Personal Statement. Keep this in mind if you are tempted to exaggerate the truth in your Personal Statement – it’s no good saying you have read a particular text if you’ve only read a page of it as the interviewer will probably have read and understood the whole book!

Personal Statement Support

In my experience, the level of support you get from your sixth form or college can differ widely. Some teachers are willing to check as many drafts as you can throw at them and will quickly give you back helpful, considered advice; others might put in in a pile and forget about it for a week or so; others might just give it a cursory look. This can be hugely frustrating.

You can follow the steps outlined above which will probably be what your school or college has advised too but, if you’re still struggling, I can help. For £25, I can proofread and give suggestions on one draft of a Personal Statement or for £60, I will work with you on your personal statements from first to final draft. Although this can be face to face, this process can easily happen over an initial Zoom call and then emails.

Request Appointment

Make an Appointment or Enquiry

Provide as much detail as possible about your requirement and I’ll be in touch to explore how I can help.


Testimonials

What Parents and Students Have to Say

UCAS Support
"Catherine started tutoring Ben when he was in Year 8. His confidence had been low in English, as he felt like he hadn’t any aptitude for it. Catherine worked with him on his reading comprehension skills and how to respond to books so that he now feels much more confident to write about the books they look at in class. His last report showed an improvement in his marks and also his effort which has been really great to see as a parent. We are going to keep having the tuition as it has boosted Ben’s confidence which we think will help him through his GCSEs."
Scott, Parent English Tuition
Catherine at English Tutor Plus was an absolute lifesaver when it came to proofreading my new website for LG Networks. Her attention to detail and expertise ensured every page was polished and professional. She didn't just correct errors; she made the content more engaging and impactful. I couldn’t be happier with the results and highly recommend her services!"
Stuart SmallcombeDirector of LG Networks
"I thought Catherine was a great tutor, she was able to make studying English a lot easier and more enjoyable. She has a lovely space to study in and made me feel more confident about approaching my English literature exams. Catherine is a colleague of my mum which is how we were able to ask her for English tutoring.”
Lola, aged 18 A Level English Literature Tuition
"I had some tutoring with Catherine in Year 12 when I started doing A Level English Literature. Although I loved all the books we were doing in class, I wasn’t getting good grades in my essays. Catherine showed me how to structure and plan A Level essays and we did lots of practice ones to build up my confidence. My teacher said my work had really improved. I didn’t carry on with the tuition in Year 13 as I didn’t have time but my grades were better as I kept writing my essays the way Catherine showed me.”
Molly, aged 18 A Level English Literature Tuition
"Catherine is a good friend and colleague, so when my daughter needed some additional help for her English Literature A Level, Catherine was the obvious choice. My daughter enjoyed her sessions with Catherine and always came back with a new sense of confidence. Her essay writing skills developed, and she increased her grade in just a few sessions. I would highly recommend Catherine as a tutor for both GCSE and A Level. Having worked with Catherine for several years, I know that students find her approachable and friendly and have always enjoyed her lessons.”
Sally, parent A Level English Literature Tuition
"I was getting lower marks for the writing sections of the GCSE English Language papers so Catherine worked with me on ways to develop my writing which really helped me improve. Catherine made this much more fun than in class and I now really enjoy creative writing.”
Emma, aged 17GCSE English Language Tuition
"My daughter was doing really well in English Literature, but her marks were lower (a 6) in English Language. When Emma started having tuition in Year 11, Catherine quickly saw that it was her creative writing skills which were pulling down her marks in Language, so she worked with her on these. Emma’s writing became far more detailed and imaginative as Catherine gave her the confidence to be original and it paid off as Emma got an 8 in English.”
Sarah, parentGCSE English Language Tuition
Catherine at English Tutor Plus was amazing at proofreading my law degree coursework. She picked up on all the little details I missed and helped make my writing clearer and more professional. Her feedback really boosted my confidence, and I felt so much more assured handing in my work. I couldn’t recommend her enough!.
AbbieStudying Law at Oxford Brookes University
"Catherine’s tutoring helped me crack the code regarding essay writing during my GCSEs. I also found her feedback and suggestions enormously helpful when writing my thesis for my masters in comparative English literature at the University of Amsterdam. Without Catherine’s help, I wouldn’t have developed such a passion for literature and literary analysis. I am now a secondary school English teacher in The Netherlands hoping to help my pupils the way Catherine helped me.”
Alex, aged 16 (now 24) GCSE tutoring and Master’s Dissertation proofreading
"Catherine did a fantastic job supporting me in writing my dissertation and several other projects at University. Catherine was incredibly helpful at guiding me on the flow and structure of my writing , spotting mistakes and suggesting changes in a very contrastive way. She was always willing to help, even on short notice and was happy to help no matter what the subject. I couldn’t recommend Catherine enough!! ”
Taylor, aged 20 (now 26) Proofreading of Undergraduate Dissertation for Politics and International Relations
"Catherine proofread all of the essays I did for my Masters degree in Film Studies, including my dissertation. She checked them really quickly and, as well as correcting my punctuation throughout and other mistakes, made lots of helpful suggestions about how to reduce the word count. Although she had told me that Film Studies was not her subject, she made some good recommendations about the essays and where I could make my points more effectively.”
Ellie, aged 23Proofreading
"I kept putting off doing my Personal Statement as I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go to university, so I was quite near the application deadline when I decided to go. Catherine helped me write it. She helped me plan what to write and showed me examples and then I kept sending her what I had written. I think I emailed her about 5 copies of it and she marked them quickly and sent them back telling me what I needed to do to make it perfect. I was over the word limit, but she helped me cut out words I didn’t need without getting rid of the bits I liked. I got into Loughborough University so I think we did a good job.”
William, aged 18Personal Statement Support
Your lessons were consistently engaging and passionate; your insights offered new perspectives and methods of analysis that gave me the tools necessary to answer difficult exam questions with confidence. Your love for the subject and care for your students has inspired my want to study, read and enjoy literature. I would recommend your service to anybody looking for an English tutor.
SadieYear 12 English Literature class
I decided at the age of the 20 that I wanted to go to university, but because I was no longer at school, I had no help from teachers or sixth form. I sent my personal statement to Catherine, and she annotated it with suggestions of what I could add, things that could be worded better, corrected SPAG errors, as well as reducing my word count. She looked at several drafts and got back to me the next day every time. She is a life saver!
EviePersonal Statement Support
English Tutor Plus
© Copyright Catherine Foley 2024. All Rights Reserved.

Website by eseyo