Writing a Personal Statement

Leagan Gaeilge anseo.

Many course applications require a personal statement including

• NUI Galway postgraduate applications
• UCAS applications
• GTTR applications  

Be clear on what is required.  
The Postgraduate Admissions Office in NUI Galway, for example states that “unless indicated otherwise, all applicants to taught programmes only (i.e., this is not applicable to research applicants) must enclose a typed personal statement of approximately 600 words explaining why you wish to undertake the programme(s) of your choice, outlining how it fits into your career objectives”.

Other courses may have information included with the application asking you to provide specific information in the personal statement or evidence of experience. Read the application pack carefully and make sure you address all the areas mentioned. E.g., if a college asks for strengths and weaknesses then be sure to write about both and not concentrate only on the strengths.

You can see key aspects of the related job(s) on Gradireland or  Prospects.

A personal statement gives you the opportunity to present aspects of yourself and your background that may not be apparent from the other parts of your application. This statement is a chance to show you have the commitment and qualifications to work or pursue further study in your chosen field. It is a personal statement, not an academic assignment or a CV.  Personal pronouns are acceptable but starting every sentence with “I” is not advisable.

You need to provide evidence that you have relevant requirements in an interesting, authentic, succinct, structured and personal way.

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Layout

Plan the structure of the personal statement and divide it into ’chunks’. You will need an introduction and conclusion of course. There is no blueprint for the perfect personal statement – however you might consider focusing sections on:

1. Why you are applying to this course / college.
2. Your academic qualifications and how they relate to the course.
3. Your personal qualitites, work experience and acheivements that make you suitable for the course.
4. Conclusion

It is particularly important to back up statements with evidence. If you say you enjoyed a particular module, for example, clarify the aspects you enjoyed; if you refer to particular experiences then say what you achieved and learned; if referring to interests and experiences outside college then outline the extent of your involvement.

Write your introduction last. Do not begin with “My name is…” Every sentence is now important, edit out anything that appears boring or irrelevant.

You seldom see your own ’typos’. Print out a draft and have at least two other people proofread it to ensure there are no spelling or grammatical errors. A good test is to read it aloud and see if it slows the reader’s progress – make it easy to read.

Where can I get more help?

We would be delighted to give NUI Galway students feedback on their personal statement at the Career Development Centre. Book an appointment through Careers Connect online (see left).

There are also books available in the Information Room such as ’Applying to UCAS’, ’Applying for Veterinary Courses’, ’Applying for Medicine Courses’, ’Writing a Personal Statement’.

UCAS Guide to Personal Statements: Includes 3 downloads: 1) Look at our timeline to see when you need to start researching and writing your personal statement. 2) mind map summarises what you need to know about the personal statement, including preparation, presentation and what to include. 3) Worksheet designed to help you think about information you could include in your personal statement. 

USA, the Information Room has a section on working / studying in North America 

GTTR: The Teacher Development Agency has an Applications Assistant on their website giving ideas for relevant content for those applying for PGCE (teacher training) courses. GTTR also have tips on filling out the personal statement.

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plagiarism

Remember, universities will usually check personal statements and admissions essays.  

UCAS and GTTR, in particular, use software to look for plagerism and will spot similarities between personal statements submitted by different applicants. If UCAS staff find similarities between your personal statement and another applicant's, they will inform the colleges that you are applying to which could adversely affect your chances of getting an offer. See UCAS website for more tips.

There are many samples available online and these can be very useful in order to get ideas for structure etc. However we advise that when writing your personal statement that you start with a ’blank slate’ and work solely from your own personal experiences and not use a template or standard phrases.

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Useful links

UCAS Personal Statement information

Teacher Development Agency Applications section

GTTR Personal Statement information

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