Free help and advice on how to write the perfect UCAS personal statement for medicine.

 

How do I write a personal statement for medicine via UCAS?

  • Here are a few basic points which you must review when starting to write your UCAS personal statement for medicine.

  • The grammar and spelling must be correct – more on this below. You must write in sentences rather than a list – this is a formal document. As well as creating a poor impression, the way you have to type up the statement online means you will waste lots of space if you use a list. You cannot afford to waste space. Ask a teacher or someone you trust to check

  • Write in detail about a few topics (rather than lots of topics superficially). The medical schools are looking for quality of entries rather than quantity.

  • You must justify everything you include in your statement, for example if you write that you find something interesting you must say why.

  • Don’t just list books that you have read. You must indicate why did you read them and what did you learn from them (above what you have studied in your A-levels)?

  • Don’t put ‘this was my childhood dream’. The number of students we see that use this phrase is amazing. This not only may well be factually incorrect (you were not interested in medicine from nursery school) but also does not add any value to your statement.

How long is a UCAS personal statement for medicine?

  • There is a limit on the amount of space that you have. It is currently set at 4000 characters over 47 lines maximum. This means anything that wastes space needs to be avoided.

  • You must spell check & grammar check as if your statement contains these errors, not only does it create a poor impression but if it is scored (any many medical schools do) it could result in you being marked down. Use software but also your tutors – the human factor is still needed here. Don’t just trust Word – we know it is not perfect.

  • Proofread your document and get others to read and comment. Use your sixth form tutor or careers advisor, as well as your family.

  • You will need to create multiple drafts. Students rarely get the UCAS personal statement right first time.

  • Submit in good time and don’t leave until last minute. Submission will be online – remember websites do crash and slow down. The deadline is currently 15 October 2020 at 18:00 but watch out for changes. Your ‘fifth choice’ could be added later.

You can ask Blue Peanut to check your statement for you and also book a session with a tutor is your wish. Check out this service at https://www.bluepeanut.co.uk/ucas-statement-help