How to Write a Standout Personal Statement for the New 2026 UCAS Format
1 month ago by Chris
The personal statement can be an important aspect of a UK university application. It's your opportunity to express why you want to study your chosen course and demonstrate your academic readiness and broader experiences.
Starting with the 2026 entry cycle, UCAS has introduced a major reform. The traditional free-form 4,000-character personal statement has been replaced with a structured response format, aimed at making the application process fairer, clearer, and less stressful for students.
In this blog, we'll explore what's changing and why, examine the structure of the new personal statement, discuss how to approach each question and identify common pitfalls.
What's Changing in 2026?
The new format of the personal statement involves a significant change in structure and approach. Previously, students worked with a single, unstructured statement of up to 4,000 characters, giving them complete freedom to choose what to include and how to structure their response. This open-ended approach often left many students feeling overwhelmed and uncertain about what admissions teams were seeking in candidates.
From 2026 onwards, the statement will be split into three fixed questions, with students required to write at least 350 characters per question. The total combined character limit remains at 4,000 characters including spaces. There's now an optional section for extenuating circumstances that allows students to provide context for any challenges they've faced.
Why Did UCAS Change the Personal Statement?
UCAS introduced these changes to address key challenges with the previous format. The original unstructured approach left many students uncertain about what information was important for demonstrating their suitability, often making them overly dependent on the quality of support available at their school. The new structured format better clarifies what information is essential, increasing students' confidence and understanding of what should be included in their statement. It also provides universities with a more consistent framework to compare applicants across different backgrounds and educational contexts.
Approaching the New UCAS Personal Statement Questions
UCAS now asks applicants to respond to three core questions, each targeting a key area of suitability for university study.
Question 1: Why do you want to study this course or subject?
This question focuses on your personal motivation for the course, requiring you to demonstrate genuine engagement rather than simple enthusiasm. Your response should showcase what makes your personal journey unique and authentic.
For medicine and dentistry applicants, this question is crucial. Admissions teams want to see genuine commitment to the healthcare profession, not just academic interest.
What to include
You could start by describing a defining moment or experience that sparked your interest in the career. This could be a personal health experience that changed your perspective, a book that opened your eyes to the career, or an interaction from work experience that challenged your thinking. Show how that initial interest deepened over time through activities like independent reading, volunteering, or meaningful conversations with healthcare professionals. Reflect on what specifically draws you to medicine or dentistry - perhaps the combination of science and patient care, the diagnostic challenge, or the opportunity to make a direct impact on people's lives.
What to avoid
Avoid vague statements like "I've always loved science" or “I’ve always wanted to help people” that are impersonal and could apply to anyone. Steer clear of generic clichés about "making a difference" without specific personal context. Of course, avoid mentioning anything to do with prestige, job security, or family expectations.
Question 2: How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course?
It is expected that medicine and dentistry applicants will have strong academic foundations. Use this section to demonstrate your academic readiness beyond your school grades, highlighting achievements and insights that extend beyond the standard curriculum.
What to include
Reference academic subjects and achievements that relate to medicine or dentistry. Include any extended work like EPQs, independent research, or academic competitions that helped you explore beyond the syllabus, always linking these experiences back to the medical career.
Include specific insights from your studies that have shaped your understanding, independent work or investigation that you've pursued out of genuine interest, and reflections on how these academic experiences have prepared you for both the content and pace of university study. These examples should demonstrate intellectual curiosity and self-directed learning.
What to avoid
Avoid simply listing your A-level subjects or grades, as these appear elsewhere in your application and do nothing to distinguish you from other candidates. Avoid discussing subjects that are not clearly relevant to your chosen course, and resist making generalised statements like "I've always worked hard in school" that don't provide specific evidence of your academic development.
Question 3: What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?
This is where you can demonstrate your experiential preparation through activities beyond school which have helped you to understand your chosen field and develop essential skills. This section requires you to provide evidence that you understand what is involved in a medical career.
What to include
Share relevant work experience, including hospital volunteering, care home work, shadowing doctors or dentists or first aid training. Show what you learned about patient care, teamwork, the realities of medical or dental practice, and your own suitability for the career. Note that it is far more important to demonstrate what you've learned than to simply list your experiences.
You can also include relevant non-academic extra-curricular activities, particularly those which involve team-based endeavours.
Focus on how each experience developed transferable skills such as communication, empathy, resilience, problem-solving, or leadership. Include real examples that show personal growth, increased maturity, or deeper insight into your chosen field. Reflect on how these experiences have enhanced your readiness for the responsibilities of university study and your future career, and explain how they helped you develop relevant personal qualities that will serve you well.
What to avoid
Avoid writing a long list of achievements without meaningful reflection on their impact. Don't simply describe what you did without explaining what you learned or how it changed your perspective. Exclude experiences that don't connect clearly to your course or the skills you'll need to flourish.
Optional: Extenuating Circumstances
Use this section only if your education was disrupted or you faced serious challenges affecting your academic performance. Such circumstances might include personal or family illness, loss or bereavement, financial hardship, caring responsibilities, or lack of access to typical educational support.
When using this section, be concise, factual, and honest in your approach. Admissions officers use this information to understand your achievements in context. It is not a section to ‘make excuses’ so focus on the facts and their impact.
UCAS Resources and Support
To help students adjust to the new structure, UCAS has released a series of helpful guides and videos:
MedEntry offers tailored support for the new UCAS format, including a personal statement review.
Final Words
The 2026 UCAS personal statement format isn't necessarily harder than the previous version, but it does require more focused, thoughtful writing that directly addresses what admissions teams need to know. With proper preparation, honest self-reflection, and a strategic approach, every applicant has the opportunity to write a statement that is informative and effective.
Start thinking about your personal statement early, be specific in your examples and reflections, and write with clear purpose about your journey towards medicine or dentistry. Seek feedback from teachers, mentors, or professionals who understand your desired field, and proofread your work thoroughly multiple times, including reading it aloud to catch errors and awkward phrasing. This is your unique story – the journey that has brought you to this point in your academic and personal development. Tell it well.
