The personal statement, a mainstay of UK university applications for over 30 years, is set for a major change by the University and College Admission Service (UCAS) as an independent charity and the UK’s shared admissions service for higher education for students applying from 2026 onwards.

Applicants will now be asked to answer three structured questions instead of a 4,000-character essay. UCAS explained that while the majority of students understood what it was for, nearly 80% found it difficult to fill out without help.

The new format is designed to establish a better picture of students’ suitability for courses and to make the admission process more accessible. The new format will be introduced starting September 2025 for students applying for undergraduate places in the UK’s September 2026 intake.

The three new questions asked for your UCAS personal statements will be:

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?

Dr. Jo Saxton, UCAS’ Chief Executive, explained on their website that she aims “to make sure that the doors of opportunity stay open for as many students as possible so that they can benefit from a university education and find the right course that they will succeed in.” An admirable ambition!

True to that goal, UCAS has continued to evolve the admissions process to improve their service and to encourage disadvantaged students to apply. Recently, they launched seven new exceptional participation questions in application 2022, which are structured as references in 2023 and all the historical grades for their entry in 2024.

They aim to create a fairer system that offers a level playing field for students from all educational backgrounds, especially those without access to guidance or support from their advisers or parents.

This change aims to create a fairer system that offers a level playing field for students from all backgrounds.

Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter, told The Guardian that the previous approach benefitted more privileged applicants whose personal statements were “co-created and polished by advisers, teachers, and parents.”

Professor Major states that “this welcome reform strikes the right balance” between dealing with this issue while still allowing students the chance to personalise their statements.

Hopefully, this change to the UCAS personal statement will also make life easier for international students, as the language barrier won’t be quite so high after next September! If you want to keep up to date on this story, sign up to our newsletter for all the latest tips and advice on applying for UK universities through UCAS.