Goodbye personal statements: Here’s what Glasgow students think about the scrapping

UCAS’ reforms have drawn widespread reaction from students across the city

2 months ago | UPDATED 1 month ago

Last month UCAS announced a key part of their admissions process is being reformed, as the infamous personal statement’ is on the chopping block as of next September, and The Tab Glasgow has spoken exclusively to Glasgow University students to hear their thoughts on these imminent changes.

Currently, prospective students must undergo the writing of a seemingly boastful essay style piece of up to 4,000 characters outlining their suitability to a certain course. To many a student over many years the very thought of a personal statement has proved tedious,

Along with students’ woes about the unnecessarily time-consuming nature of completing a personal statement, there have also been concerns raised about the socioeconomic divide such a process encourages. The Sutton Trust, an educational charity which champions social mobility, has critiqued the personal statement essay format for its tendency to socially discriminate because of its reliance on access and support – factors which disadvantaged applicants often lack.

Screenshot Of The Personal Statement Reforms Announcement On UCAS Website

UCAS Announced The Reforms On 18 July.

Via UCAS

The process will now be a questionnaire

Instead of a personal statement, prospective students will now need to answer three direct questions in up to 4000 words.

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 hope for many is that this new, more direct questioning format will benefit students who suffer from a lack of support in the university application process compared to their peers.

As concerns over the suitability of personal statements have been mounting in recent years, UCAS’ decision to replace the essay format with a simpler concept of three mandatory questions has been widely commended, including amongst the student population of Glasgow University, who themselves have experienced the personal statement writing process.

Amar Singh, a fourth year accounting and finance student has praised the reforms.

He said: “I think the change is a great thing as it eases pressure for prospective students (since they do not need to write a whole personal statement). I do believe that if this was around during my UCAS application days, I would have preferred it.”

Accountancy & finance graduate Jack, who prefers to be referred to by his first name, shares this optimistic outlook.

He argues that: “The question-based application process looks like it might be a bit more objective and focused compared to the essay process I am familiar with.”

“Overall, I think if the aim of the new format is to help support those from a disadvantaged background and a lot of prospective students are happy with it, then this change is good,” Jack continued.

Molly Carroll, a fifth Year MEduc Student. Credit: Molly Carroll

Molly Carroll, a fifth year education with primary teaching (MEduc) student, is similarly hopeful following the announcement; as she told The Tab Glasgow she is “happy to hear that they are moving towards a question-based process instead as I know first-hand […] how nerve-racking the admissions process can be, so any alterations which reduce anxiety for prospective students is great.”

However some students, such as 1st year philosophy & business MA student Jules Devitt, are more critical of UCAS’ move.

Philosophy & Business Student Jules Devitt. Credit: Jules Devitt

When asked about the moves he said “I can see where those who are glad about the change are coming from. However, nothing in secondary education really teaches the skills you acquire through writing a free-form personal statement.

Alongside a depth of introspection, I gained a lot of confidence and ability to articulate my strengths from the process and believe it is a disservice to future students to take away such an opportunity. I can’t see them being as useful (or challenging) as the previous system, which is not a good thing, in my opinion,” Devitt continued.

No substantial change?

Julia Twiston-Davies, a 4th year Central & East European Studies and Comparative Lit student, is more critical of the supposed gravity of such changes. Speaking to The Tab, Twiston-Davies said “It doesn’t really seem like a big change to me, to be honest, mainly because the statement length will remain at 4,000 characters, which is not all that long anyway, although now it will be divided across three questions.”

According to Twiston-Davies, such a format change could restrict applicants’ creative freedom: “I originally applied for a literature course, where I knew the university would want a good writer, so I used my statement as a chance to prove my skills at writing descriptively and kind of artistically. […] Looking at the questions UCAS will be asking the students, it seems like I would have been able to fit all of that into the new personal statement format as well, actually! However, at that time, I might have preferred the little bit more creative freedom I had with the kind of personal statement I wrote.”

Jack also agrees that creativity may be omitted from the personal statement changes.

“I knew some people from my secondary school who put quotes and stories into their essays to make them more creative so adopting a question-based format might restrict that in some way, which I don’t think is necessarily a bad thing.”

Instead, a more comprehensive set of reforms are necessary to further the accessibility of the applications process, says Twiston-Davies.

She argues that “Again, I don’t really think it’s a big change. Honestly, maybe bigger changes could be beneficial for widening access to the many students who apply to university. For example, some students may not be really confident writers, and another way to show their suitability when applying to a course, such as admissions tests (they only exist for a few courses) or a video presentation option, could be a good idea!”

Though critical of the reforms on behalf of applicants, Twiston-Davies feels that it could be a positive change for admissions offices: “By allowing students less free reign in their statement and requiring them to answer the same questions as every other student, it may help admissions teams directly compare students easier.”

Exuding academic passion through a personal statement

For some students, such as Twiston-Davies, the personal statement was a thoroughly constructive experience: “I remember writing about the way I became interested in the subject I was applying for, writing about my hobbies and passions, explaining how my subjects at A-level were relevant to my career aspirations and interest in the course, and describing everything I wanted to do with my degree.”

The social, economic and political upheaval of the time helped to inform Amar Singh’s own personal statement, as he says he was able to interlink those issues with his course: “I mainly talked about my work experiences, extracurricular activities and why I was interested in studying Accounting and Finance. I also added the context of Brexit into my personal statement, and linked it to accounting and finance and why I wanted to study the subject.”

Focusing his 4,000 word limit on his aspirations within the finance sector, Jack told The Tab: “I can remember highlighting that I wanted to become a chartered accountant and have a career in finance, which typically requires a bachelors degree. Additionally, I emphasised my grades in subjects like maths and accounting, and also spoke about work experiences I obtained in summer months while I was at school to show my suitability.”

The writing process of Molly’s personal statement was not quite as intimidating due to her other admissions requirements.

“As I am a Primary Education student […] I knew that I would have to interview for my place, perhaps making the personal statement less daunting, as I knew the University had an opportunity to directly ask me any pressing questions before accepting my offer.”

“As for in my personal statement which I felt was far too short to speak about everything I wanted to […] I tried to focus on my experience I had gained within the subject, and what knowledge I had gained so far that could assist me on the course (e.g. subject choices/extracurriculars).”

From conversations with a variety of students across varying levels and courses at university in Glasgow it is quite evident that the personal statement was a formative experience for many, perhaps the first hurdle into the higher education world.

But as many now hope with these reforms, it will be a hurdle made easier to jump for more students. The changes will be introduced next September, with those applying for 2026 entry being the first to experience the multi-question format.