UCAS Personal Statement Guide

Before even starting to plan or write your statement access the help and advice contained on the UCAS website with regards to personal statements. It is then essential to plan your statement carefully, leaving yourself plenty of time to proof read it, and arrange for people you trust to check it before submission.

Create your statement in Word (or any other similar software package) first before pasting it into UCAS Apply. This will enable you to grammar and spell-check your work before submission.

Now you are ready to begin; here is a suggested format:

Paragraph 1: Demonstrate why you are interested in law and want to study it at university. Provide information on any specialism’s you are interested in.

Mention specific aspects of the courses that interest you and any legal reading or research you have done. Mention any law related training events or conferences that you have attended.

• Refer to relevant law-related coursework you have completed
• Highlight any paid or unpaid legal work experience you have done and any personal experiences you have had which have led to the decision to study law and your future career aspirations.
• Identify your unique selling points – what makes you special and the best candidate? Do you have any personal achievements or experience that will make you stand out from the crowd?

Paragraph 2: What have you done that is related to law which isn’t already on your UCAS form?

Paragraph 3: Relevant work experience (shadowing a solicitor, going to the Magistrates court to observe practice, involvement in mooting competitions etc...) doing school activities (being a school prefect, organising a study circle and public speaking activities) related to the competencies needed to work in a legal environment.

Paragraph 4: Paid or unpaid work experience that you have done that is not directly related to law but has enabled you to develop competencies that can be related to a legal environment, for example, maybe you have worked at the same organisation for a period of years – this would demonstrate your reliability and commitment.   

Paragraph 5: Interests and responsibilities that you have been involved in outside of school (Guide, Scout, Cub or Brownie Leader. Are you the captain of your local rugby team? Do you contribute towards your community in some way?)   Experiences that show you are a reliable and responsible person

Paid or unpaid work, membership of student bodies or societies, Duke of Edinburgh, Young Enterprise or similar...Any positions of responsibility you have held such as being a school prefect or any leadership roles you have undertake e.g. being the captain of the hockey or football team Your interests and skills

• Details of your free time activities including any sporting or musical achievements. Language fluency.

Paragraph 6: Ultimate career aim what you want to achieve by going to university and studying law and a closing comment that finishes off what you are saying in a succinct manner.

If you plan to take a gap year it is necessary for you to refer to this in your statement and explain your motivations for doing so in addition to the skills, knowledge and achievements that you plan to gain from it.

Above all else do not plagiarise another students personal statement. UCAS run all  applications through a very sophisticated piece of plagiarism software called  'Copycatch'. Statements found to contain 10% or more similar content are reviewed by the UCAS Similarity Detection Service and your university choice will be notified if there are found to be 'reasonable grounds for suspicion'.

For additional help and advice regarding the UCAS application procedure, please read Law personal statements – 9 top tips.