You will be asked to write a Personal Statement as part of your UCAS application. It is a good idea to prepare this in advance. This page has details and we run a regular webinar that you can attend.
You have 4,000 characters in total (as a guide, that's roughly 500 words) and you'll need to answer three questions (there's a box for each), using a minimum of 350 characters per question. To help you keep track, there's a character count on the question boxes and also an overall character count.
It's a good idea to write write the answer to each question into a document so that you can edit it before copying and pasting it into your online UCAS application.
You should spell-check and proof-read all parts of your Personal Statement. A good tactic for proof reading is to start at the end and read every sentence individually until you get to the beginning. That way, you are less likely to get distracted by the content. It is also helpful to let another person read your statement to look for spelling mistakes and typing errors.
Why do you want to study this course or subject?
How have your qualifications and studies helped you prepare for this course or subject?
What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?
At Cambridge, we are interested in academic criteria, that is, your ability and your potential to achieve in the future. As part of this, we want to read about your academic interests at this stage. The information in the rest of your application (e.g. what school you attend, dates, previous grades etc.) does not give us this. In your Personal Statement, you should use the three questions to help you to
> demonstrate enthusiasm for and commitment to your chosen course
> express any particular interests within the field
You can be very specific if you want to and mention particular activities / projects / books / authors / articles / experiences that have made an impression on you and why. We are not looking for a list of what you've done, however - we want to know what you got out of each piece of work, activity or research, rather than just the fact that you did it.
We run a popular Christ's Regular Webinar from Spring until August each year, with information and tips for writing your Personal Statement and what to include. Why not join us for further advice and examples? See here for details and the next dates and times.
You are likely to need to put a lot of time and thought into your Personal Statement, as writing one that you're happy with is not an easy task. Try not to think of this work as a chore! Instead, think how the process of drafting and finalising your answers to the three questions can help you to make a strong application. Perhaps it will give you a better understanding of your academic interests, motivation to do extra exploration and thinking about your subject, or that bit more confidence that your course choices really do fit your interests. Applying to spend three or more years studying a subject intensively is a big deal, so having to take time to think about your interests, how they've emerged, how they've developed and what has been important is certainly worth doing.
We know that many of you will be concerned that you have not 'done' enough for a strong Personal Statement, however we can reassure you that this is not a tick-box exercise - what is going to matter is what you've gained from doing things rather than exactly what you've done, as there are many different ways to explore a subject.
We have applicants from such a wide range of areas and backgrounds. Some of you will live in big cities whilst others of you live on rural coastlines, and you'll be applying from different school and qualification systems all over the world.
We advise you to use resources that are available to you to explore your subject in your own time, but we do not expect all Medicine applicants to have access to the same work experience opportunities and all prospective architects to be able to find the same books from the reading suggestions (for example). We have put a 'helpful resources' section on every subject page to help you with ideas but you may have other ideas / books, which is fine.
It's a good idea to briefly revisit texts you've already read if you plan on mentioning them in your personal statement – interviewers may well ask you your thoughts on them!
When you've written a draft of your personal statement, read through it and ask yourself 'So what?' after each sentence - this will help you to make sure you've not fallen into the trap of just listing things.
