Hi there, I'm Luna.
I'm a bit like an AI, except instead of making pictures of people with 16 fingers, I can help you find the perfect course and uni.
Would you like some help in your search?
UCAS has announced its plans to overhaul the personal statements section of undergraduate university applications beginning in September 2025 for students looking to start uni in 2026. The (somewhat dreaded) 4,000-character statement will be replaced with three questions that aim to more clearly explain what universities want to know about applicants.
This update comes as part of a series of changes made by UCAS to encourage students from disadvantaged backgrounds to apply to uni. The questions have been picked so that applicants from all backgrounds will have a better idea of what admissions teams at unis are looking for.
The three questions that students will need to answer are...
- 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 helpful?
The character count for the three questions will be 4,000 characters in total, so it’s the same amount of writing as the current personal statement, but students can flexibly split that total across their three answers.
What this means for you
As we mentioned, this change will come into place in September 2025 for students looking to start uni in 2026. That means that the change won’t affect some of you reading this right now, but those of you doing some early university research (we love the enthusiasm, by the way) might find they need to answer those three questions.
Here’s what you need to know...
- If you’re starting uni in autumn 2024, you’ve probably already done a traditional personal statement. Nice one!
- If you’re going to be doing your uni application in the last half of 2024 or first half of 2025 so you can start uni in September 2025, you’ll be doing the traditional personal statement.
- If you’re going to be doing your uni application in the last half of 2025 or first half of 2026 so you can start uni in September 2026, you’ll be answering the three questions.
- If you’re applying to uni after that, you’ll be answering the three questions.
There you have it – changes are afoot for personal statements! We’ll be keeping all our advice for the current personal statement format live, and adding advice for the new questions soon, so keep your eyes peeled for that.
