Ucas has announced a change to the format of personal statements - a switch that will provide “much needed clarity” for students applying to university, according to a school leaders’ union.
Applicants will now be asked to respond to three structured questions instead of having a free text box for their personal statement. The change will be introduced from September 2025 for 2026 entry into university.
The change is intended to address concerns that progress in encouraging disadvantaged students to apply to university has begun to stall, Ucas said today.
The change was previously announced early last year and at the time it was said to be scheduled to come in for 2024 applications and 2025 entry to university.
Personal statement questions ‘give clarity’
Kevin Gilmartin, post-16 specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “The current ‘text box’ approach is far too vague and has favoured students who are able to draw on support from family members that have previously been to university and submitted personal statements themselves.
“The switch to structured questions will provide much needed clarity to students about what information they should be including.”
The new three questions ask students why they want to study the course they are applying for, how their studies have helped prepare them for it, and what other experiences outside of education have helped prepare them.
In previous Ucas research, 79 per cent of students said writing a personal statement was difficult without support. More than three-quarters of potential applicants that Ucas surveyed said they would prefer the three-question format.
The questions were chosen after conducting research with students, teachers, universities and colleges.
Last month Ucas announced that from September 2025 application fees will be waived for students who have received free school meals at some point in the past six years.
The latest data from Ucas shows there is still a gap in application rates to university between the most disadvantaged and least disadvantaged students.
In England the application rate among students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds was 25.4 per cent in 2024, compared with 60.7 per cent among the least disadvantaged students.
Dr Jo Saxton, Ucas chief executive and former Ofqual chief regulator, said: “During my time in schools, I saw first-hand how the personal statement can help students really clarify and articulate their ambition, but also how challenging it can be for those with less support.”
Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter, said the existing personal statement has “increasingly become a barometer of middle-class privilege as so many personal statements are now co-created and polished by advisers, teachers and parents.”
He added that the Ucas change is a “significant step” in making the admissions system fairer for all applicants.
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