does personal statement character count include spaces

UCAS Personal Statement Length Checker

Please note: The line count may differ than the number of lines in the textbox above but when copy and pasted will match the line count on the UCAS application.

UCAS Personal Statement Requirements

• No longer than 4000 characters.
• No longer than 47 lines.
• Each line can be no longer than 94 characters. (Our character counter above already has a max line length of 94 characters unless otherwise noted.)
• Characters include spaces, carriage returns, and punctuation.

To see additional features including word count, paragraph count, space count and more use the character counter on our home page.

How to write your UCAS personal statement

The UCAS personal statement scares most high school students. Writing a perfect personal statement is a strenuous and unavoidable process. With roughly about 6 million university applications each year, officials need a method for filtering stronger applicants from everyone else.

As challenging as this task may appear, it is also your only chance to share your personality and eligibility for the degree program you have chosen. Follow our practices given, and you can absolutely make your personal statement up to the mark.

Start with a plan

Each year thousands of applications are received for the best degrees in the world and are best focused on the goal of making their application stand out from the rest.

Thus, planning out what you want to say prior to writing your UCAS statement makes it easy to write a convincing personal statement. Start off by making a rough draft, answering some questions like

• What subjects do you want to study?
• Why have you particularly chosen this path for yourself?
• What makes you think that you are best suited to study this degree program at the college?

Some of these points will form the backbone of your personal statement, so write them in a manner that makes sense to you.

Sometimes you want to create simple bullet points or use mind maps. No matter what you decide; your goal is the same. You want to clarify why the university should provide you with a spot.

Bigger Picture of the Degree

Talk about the course that you have applied to. How did you learn about it in the first place? What means did you use to deepen your interest and knowledge in this area?

It would be a huge plus to list the books you read and the meetings you have attended regarding the subject.

Please elaborate on your academic attitude towards the degree. What are your goals after graduating? What role will it play in helping you achieve your greatest ambitions? What sort of vocation plans do you have after graduation?

Write about your work experience and achievements

Your previous achievements are an essential part of your personal statement. Think about all the accolades you have received and the contests you have participated in. These can be in-school, national or international. Both academic and sports awards can greatly help emphasize your commitment.

Write about the important skills and experiences acquired elsewhere (such as hobbies) that can be chained to the degree of your choice.

Remember, you are searching for experience that shows why you need to study the subject that you have chosen. You are not just writing an essay about what you are doing in your high school syllabus.

Extracurricular Activities

Your extracurriculars ought to likewise be included in the personal statement. Whether it be a MUN or a cross country race, they pass on the message that you love participating in different events.

Likewise, it is really smart to discuss any expertise you have acquired through extracurriculars.

Discuss any leadership roles you could have held, as they improve your capacity to appreciate people on a profound level and put you across as a pioneer.

Community service is a plus in the UCAS statement as it shows a promise to a reason bigger than oneself.

You can link all these activities to your selected course in the best case. Be careful not to elaborate too much on extracurricular activities.

UCAS Character Count

There are some specific instructions for your personal statement that you can never ignore.

First, it must not exceed 4,000 characters or 47 lines of text (including blank lines), whichever comes first. If you do exceed this, the university will not get your entire statement.

So make sure your personal statement has a solid and decisive ending. It will look bad if you cut it off in the middle of a sentence after realizing that you have exceeded the text limit.

Instead, give each section proper attention, time, and character to plan your essay thoroughly.

However, while you are getting everything rolling, you ought to overlook these restrictions.

Tips for reducing the character count

From the get-go, you simply need to jot down all that you feel is significant. You will probably wind up with something very lengthy, but that is okay.

This is where you get to do some polishing and trimming. Maintain the focal point of your piece on the course you are applying for, why you want to do it and for what reason you are impeccably fit for it.

Glance through what you have composed until now - do you have the right balance? Cut off whatever continues a little to far, as you want to keep each point crisp and concise.

It is a difficult process to try to keep as much content as possible while keeping the character count low, so here are some simple ways to make it easier for you.

Avoid quotes

Read your personal statement and eliminate platitudes if there are any - for instance, 'I've wanted to study psychology since I was young'…The same goes for the quotations: except if they increase the value of your statement (which they don't most of the time!), it is really the best practice to remove them.

Make sure everything is concise

For each sentence in your piece, use the "so what?" rule. Does this sentence appear to be more reasonable for the course? If not, cutting it is best. This frequently happens when individuals write too much about their extracurriculars in a frantic endeavour to fit everything in. For extra analysis, feel free to use our sentence counter to calculate the average length of your sentences.

Colleges, notwithstanding, need to see a reflection and what you have extracted from your encounters; this implies it is normally better to simply discuss a few extracurriculars than to list many things that the reader is likely to skim.

Also, note that you don't have to use hospital or volunteer location names. This further allows you to remove the last few characters from the count.

Use colour coding

An easy way to see where you are losing most of your characters is to highlight the sections of your statement with different colours.

Check your language

We frequently invest a great deal of energy looking up big words with the expectation that it will make our work impressive. However, this isn't generally the best practice. It is, in many cases, best to cut these words for fundamental and engaging sentences.

I hope the process will now be transparent, and it will be more exciting for you as you embark on your writing.

How to use our UCAS personal statement checker

To use our tool simply copy and paste your personal statement into the text-box above.

At the top, you will see two metrics displayed. The first metric on the left is the total characters you've typed out of the limit of 4,000 characters.

The second metric on the right is the number of lines your text contains out of the max of 47 lines. The UCAS allows a maximum of 94 characters per line, which our line count feature already takes into consideration.

To make it easier you can click the green "copy text" button to copy the text in the text box. You can also click the red "clear text" button to delete all the text in the text-box.

Why use an online UCAS personal statement checker?

Reason number one: The character count feature in Microsoft Word will not give you an accurate reading. The reason is that Word does not count the carriage return (also known as the enter key) as a character while UCAS does count it as a character.

The problem is that this will cause Word to underestimate the character count. This could cause your essay not to be able to submit when you try to upload it. If anything it would be better to overestimate the word count on Word that way it will fit.

Our personal statement checker however will give you the same character count as UCAS unlike the Microsoft Word character count.

It can be helpful to see the character count in real-time as you are typing your personal statement. This way you are constantly reminded of how long your essay is.

If you are not paying attention it can be easy to lose track of how long your essay is and go over the limit.

Our tool makes it easier to be aware of the length and easy to cut back if necessary.

How many characters in a personal statement?

UCAS requires 4,000 characters in their personal statement. Use our personal statement checker above to see if your essay meets the requirements.

How many words in a UCAS personal statement

UCAS has a character limit of 4,000 characters. This equates to about 615 to 800 words.

How many words is 4000 characters?

4,000 characters is about 615 to 800 words. For more Characters to Words conversions, check out our Characters To Words Converter .

Does the personal statement character limit include spaces?

Yes, it does include spaces as well as carriage returns. Check your statement with our personal statement checker above.

Thanks for using our UCAS personal statement checker!

We appreciate you taking the time to check your personal statement using our webpage. As you know, this is a very important college application essay to get into British universities. UCAS stands for Universities and Colleges Admissions Service and is what the UK uses for the college application process. Good luck on your personal statement!

How long should your personal statement be?

Wondering about the university personal statement word count? We go through it all here!

A well-written personal statement adds a lot of strength to an application and allows you to express your personality. It also gives you a chance to go into detail about your interest in studying your chosen course, rather than just demonstrating your eligibility to do so. 

However, it’s vitally important to remember that you have a limited amount of space for your personal statement. Let’s take a look at how long your personal statement should be... 

UCAS requirements state that your personal statement can be a maximum of 4,000 characters or up to 47 lines in length – whichever comes first. The character count includes spaces and the line count includes blank lines, so keep this in mind when it comes to how you format your paragraphs. 

This might sound like a lot, but bear in mind that there are approximately 30 lines on one side of A4 paper in a standard size font, so your final submission will be around a page and a half of text. You’ll need to think carefully about what you want to include, keep it concise, make sure it flows well and has clear meaning throughout. 

Having said this, don’t worry too much about the character count when you start writing. Be free to jot down anything and everything which comes to mind, and even list them in bullet-point form. You can then begin to adjust and re-order these points until a structure and narrative becomes clear. 

You’ll probably have to cut a lot of stuff to keep your personal statement under the character limit. If you’re having trouble choosing what to remove, it can be helpful to ask yourself this question: “Is this really relevant to my personal statement?” 

It’s better to have fewer, well-resolved points which flow together to paint a picture of who you are than lots of rushed points which sound like a jumbled list of achievements. 

You’ll only know exactly how many lines your personal statement is when you paste it into UCAS. The UCAS character count might be slightly different from the one on your word processor, so be careful when you submit it, because any submission which exceeds the character or line limit will be cut off. 

It’s a good idea to aim for 3,500 characters in your first draft, and then you can add or remove words accordingly. For the finished piece, try to get as near to the word count as possible – anything too short might not have enough detail, and anything too long will get cut off. 

Need more personal statement advice? Check out our personal statement guide!  

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By Nik Taylor (Editor, The Uni Guide) | 12 October 2023 | 13 min read

Personal statement secrets – universities reveal all

Want to know how to craft an amazing personal statement? Take some advice from the experts...

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If you’re applying to uni this year, you’ll already know that one of the trickiest tasks is coming up with an original and interesting personal statement.  That’s why we’ve gone straight to the experts – the university admissions staff themselves – to pick their brains on what makes a stand-out personal statement.

• Read more: how to write an excellent personal statement in ten steps

Getting ready to write your personal statement

Understand what a personal statement is.

Your personal statement is a really important part of your application, and your chance to sell yourself to your chosen university.  "Ultimately, a personal statement is a chance for you to convey why you would like to study a particular course, and how you hope this will benefit you in the future. We want to hear what skills and experience you possess which will help you at university, and your passion for your chosen subject," explains Annie Richardson, outreach assistant in the outreach and educational partnerships team at the University of Greenwich . "Admissions staff look for applicants with a strong interest in their course; good qualifications and relevant experience; and the resilience and motivation to complete their degree," Annie adds. 

• Read more: how to write your university application

Before you even start writing, you need to have your motives for applying clear in your mind. Don’t rush your research. "It's impossible to write a strong personal statement until you have explored your options and feel confident in your university course choices," says Annie. "Spend time planning what you intend to write and include in your personal statement," adds James Calcutt, schools and colleges liaison manager at Royal Holloway, University of London . "Students with the strongest and most detailed plans write the best statements. This is because they have something to refer to, ensuring they stay on topic, and it offers them the opportunity to order all their thoughts before writing their statement." Take the time to review uni websites, prospectuses and online student guides, as well as attending open days and checking out our university guides . You could also visit the forums for any unis you're interested in on our sister site The Student Room .   Make sure you read the detail of each course and what it has to offer. Just because they have the same name , they will still have varying requirements. "Start early and take your time," says Anjli Shah, careers consultant at City, University of London . "Read the course summaries for every course you wish to apply for and where possible underline what they are looking for in candidates. Some universities will stipulate either in the course summary or clearly state what they look for in the personal statement. "Research the five courses that you want to apply for in detail. Every university publishes the course content and structure on their website. Understand what topics and modules you will be learning. Identify key themes across the courses and think about what you have done so far to develop your understanding and learning around the subject. As you do this, reflect on why this in interesting to you and why you want to study this. "Take a blank sheet of paper and jot down everything that comes to mind about why you want to study the course, the evidence (reading, experiences, project work etc) that you could include to show how you have developed your thinking about this subject. Always demonstrate what you learned rather than listing what you did.  "Remember whilst it is a difficult exercise, it is also helping you to reflect on why you want to study this subject and the courses you are applying for, and so it is an important tool in your own decision making."

• Read more: I want to go to uni but I don't know what to study

Keep your options open

Remember, it’s not wise to show a personal preference to one particular university, even if you have a favourite. "If you have paid to send five Ucas applications at once, the admissions tutors for each university all see the same personal statement. Do not make a specific reference to a specific university," says Annie at the University of Greenwich. "Remember that you can only have one personal statement no matter how many universities you’re applying to, so avoid mentioning any universities or modules by name," says Lisa Thomas, deputy director of admissions at the University of Chester . "Instead, it’s your task to show these universities why you’re well-suited to their courses, without mentioning specifics. "If you’re going for similar courses, you should notice likenesses in the skills, qualities and experience they’re looking for, making your life a bit easier. If you’re applying for courses that are very different, have a think about how your achievements, skill-set and experience can be applied more generally to fit with the varying course descriptions." 

• Read more: teacher secrets for writing a great personal statement

Getting started

Keep it personal.

When you're looking for inspiration on how to get started, remember: it's all about you. "The clue is in the word 'personal'," says Anjli at City, University of London. "All too often, students write what they think they ought to or will mention something in order to tick it off a checklist. This leads to disjointed personal statements that are too general and don’t tell us anything about why the student wants to study the subject they have chosen. So, make it personal! Spell out what motivates you to study the course; show us your  academic engagement with the course."  It can also be tempting to Google ‘personal statement’ and take your pick. But, be warned. Ucas has resources which will identify any plagiarised statements from the extensive library of archived statements. 

• Read more: Ucas deadlines and key application dates

Don’t be like the rest of them

Be sure your statement is a true reflection of you; this will give it a more authentic feel. "We really want to see applicants being themselves and using their own experiences to inform their personal statements," says Lisa at the University of Chester.   "When you’re about to make the transition to higher education, it’s tempting to write in a stiff and formal way. It’s important to write clearly and appropriately but you should, ultimately, sound like yourself."

What to put in your personal statement

That first sentence….

For many of you this will be the hardest part, thanks to writer’s block, feeling pressured and desperation to create the perfect sentence. The solution? Get into your flow and scribble down all your thoughts in any old order first.  "Students often struggle writing their personal statements because they think it needs to be perfect, or that they need to sound smart – so they end up not sounding like themselves," says Annie from the University of Greenwich. "Write multiple drafts of your application and start as early as possible.  Even if you begin with a spider diagram or bullet points – that is still a draft."  Then, when it comes to structuring your notes into your personal statement, focus on the things the universities will want to read. "Students can stand out by using their introduction to talk about what they are looking to study, why they have chosen this and where their interest comes from," says James at Royal Holloway, University of London . "This gives an excellent context to the statement and provides the admissions specialist with the important information early on." "Opening your statement with a unique line about yourself and how it relates to you wanting to study a particular course is a great way to get your personal statement to stand out straight away," adds Lisa at the University of Chester. 

Be original

Avoid clichés (like the plague...), not least openers such as 'I have always wanted to be', 'From a young age' or 'I have always dreamed of' to justify your choice of subject. "Try to avoid phrases such as ‘I have been passionate about law from a young age’ - even if it’s true," says Lisa. "Admissions teams see them again and again. As an alternative, consider using your personal examples to demonstrate your passion for a subject. [For example], ‘I have been interested in law since shadowing a barrister as part of my work experience’." 

• Read more: the ten biggest mistakes when writing your personal statement

Make the word count count

Your personal statement has a strict limit of 4,000 characters (including spaces) or 47 lines of 95 characters (including spaces); whichever is shorter. Exceed this and Ucas Hub will immediately cut you off and could leave your personal statement dangling in the middle of an unfinished sentence. Editing matters! "Make sure each word counts," says Anjli at City, University of London. "Anything that you choose to include in your personal statement must be relevant to answering the question 'Why I want to study this subject'. "Avoid generalisations. Be specific. If you read a book tell us about a specific school of thought or theory and your learning from it. Does it back your point up? Do you disagree with it? Why? Don’t simply state you read it. Avoid trying to include everything that you have done in your life – only relevant elements that back up your motivation for and understanding of the academic subject you wish to study." 

• Read more: personal statement FAQs

Ditch the quotes

Admissions teams aren't interested in what somebody else has said about your subject – they want to hear what you think.  "We often recommend that students avoid including quotes," says James at Royal Holloway, University of London. "The statement is short, and students only have a small space to demonstrate their thoughts and experiences.   "We’re interested in hearing the student's opinions, not those of whoever they are quoting. Instead of quotes, we suggest students paraphrase the ideas and critical arguments of what they’ve read and give their interpretation." 

• Read more: how to write your personal statement in an evening

Don’t be a bluffer

Don’t write something in your personal statement that you won’t be able to talk about in an interview – keep it honest and resist the temptation to embellish the truth.  "It’s important not to exaggerate or even make something up just because it sounds good," says Lisa at the University of Chester. "We get that you’re out to impress, but when it comes to your personal statement, it’s important to be honest and true to yourself."

Emphasise your student super powers

Universities need to be convinced that you have developed your study skills enough to be able to study independently. "Students who demonstrate they have critically engaged in their subject through wider reading, taster days and online courses stand out," says James at Royal Holloway, University of London.  "It should become evident to the reader that the student knows why they wish to study the subject they have chosen as they demonstrate their learning so far and understanding of the subject," says Anjli at City, University of London. "This can come through their academic engagement with the subject in class but also through additional activities such as reading, listening to documentaries or podcasts or work experiences or project work that they have been doing."

• Read more: how to write your personal statement when you have nothing interesting to say

Getting ready to send off your personal statement

Are extracurricular activities important.

This is always a very popular question on our sister site The Student Room . The key is relevance. "Admissions tutors are pleased to see extracurricular activities on a personal statement as it shows you have excellent time management and varying interests – traits that will serve you well during university," says Annie at the University of Greenwich.  "There must be a balance between academic and extracurricular content," says James at Royal Holloway, University of London. "We often suggest a 75%-25% split between academic and non-academic content. With the extracurricular content, this can be anything that demonstrates crucial transferable skills that will be useful in the course the student is looking to study."  Lisa at the University of Chester agrees that extracurriculars can give your application a boost. "You might think they’re not worth including, especially with the 4,000-character limit, but extracurricular activities can be where you really set yourself apart from other applicants. So, if you have any interests, hobbies or experiences that relate to your subject of choice or showcase your personal qualities, make room for them." Students "should highlight what skills they have developed by doing those activities and perhaps discuss how these will be useful on their course or at university," says Anjli at City, University of London.  "If they are keen to continue certain activities at university then these can be referenced here. If they have had limited opportunity to pursue other activities, but have a part-time job or caring responsibilities, then these are equally important to talk about as they definitely give students a whole range of skills and show how the student is currently managing their academic studies with additional responsibilities."  And Annie at the University of Greenwich has a tip for anyone puzzling over which extracurriculars to include. "If you are unsure how to make an extracurricular activity relevant to your application, you should remember your ABCs. "Think of an Action you have taken (a recent course/hobby/part time job); write about the transferable skills or Benefit this has helped you to develop; and how this experience will directly benefit you in your Course."

• Read more: how long does it take unis to reply to your application? 

Don’t keep the admissions team guessing

If you don’t know why the content of your statement is important, the admissions tutor won’t either. Whether you're writing about your interest in the subject or clarifying your skills, “make sure each point you are making is well developed and shows your motivation for the subject and builds on from the previous point – make it flow," says Anjli at City, University of London.  "The most important aspect of any student's personal statement is demonstrating their passion for the subject. This should be their main factor for studying at university and should be front and centre in their statement," says James at Royal Holloway, University of London.

Show understanding of your future career

If you're applying for a vocational course, such as medicine or law, you'll need to show that you know what to expect.  "If your course is vocational, you should show understanding of the career you are aiming for, any challenges you might face and your ability to cope with these," says Annie at the University of Greenwich. 

Skip the jokes

Your personal statement isn't the place to try to be funny – save the jokes for meeting your roomates in halls.  "A lot of people try to be funny in their application to stand out, but your sense of humour may not be the same as the admissions tutor," says Annie at the University of Greenwich. 

Remember what you're writing

Stay laser-focused on what you're writing and why, and you'll end up with a much better personal statement.  "What separates a good personal statement from a flawed one is often the tone or the structure," says Annie at the University of Greenwich.   "Remember: it is not a letter – so do not structure it like one; it is not your life story – we do not need to know where you were born; it is not an academic essay – do not list all the books you have read; and, it is not a place to list your qualifications – you have already done that earlier in the application." 

• Read more: universities explain how to end your personal statement with a bang

Review and redraft

"You will probably redraft at least five times before you are happy with your personal statement," says Anjli at City, University of London.  When you're editing it down, "keep the language simple and avoid unnecessary words such as 'indeed' or 'I had the opportunity to'. Keep it to the point," Anjli adds.  "Remember the personal statement is about one side of an A4 sheet so you can only write so much. Do not try to include everything! Select five or six key points that you can develop in detail to demonstrate your motivation for and understanding of the course you are applying for." 

Read it out loud

"Read your personal statement aloud – this can make a big difference," says Lisa at the University of Chester.  You could also "try reading your work from the bottom up, taking each paragraph at a time – reading it in a different order can help you spot mistakes," Lisa adds. 

• Read more: five practical tips to help with your personal statement

Dotting the Is and crossing the Ts

Check, check and check again.  "Now is not the time to be lazy with your proofreading and spellchecking," says Lisa. "The extra time you spend checking your personal statement could make an important difference. Obviously, if you do send off your personal statement with a mistake in, it isn’t the end of the world! But don’t take away from the great things you’re saying with errors that could have been caught." 

Don’t be shy about asking for feedback

This is really important – when you’ve been re-drafting your application a number of times it can be hard to spot mistakes. “Get someone else to check over it – a fresh pair of eyes can work wonders," says Lisa.  Visit our personal statements hub for more tips to help you ace your uni application. 

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Personal statement

2020 Undergraduate Application

Make sure your personal statement is your own work

We'll carry out checks to verify your personal statement is your own work.

Provided it is your own work, you can use your personal statement from your application last year. If it appears to have been copied from another source, we'll inform the universities and colleges to which you have applied. They will then take the action they consider appropriate. We'll also contact you by email to tell you this has happened.

My Application example pages

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How to write a UCAS personal statement

Writing a great personal statement

Read our guide on what it is, what to include, how to start, length and what makes a good personal statement 

Once you've decided which universities and courses to apply for, completing your application is pretty simple – until it comes to how to write your UCAS personal statement.

This guide covers everything you need to know about how to write a personal statement for university. We look at what it is and how you can start your personal statement. We've also got questions to guide you and a suggested personal statement structure you can use so you know what to put in it.

If you'd like even more resources, support and UCAS personal statement examples, you can sign up to access our personal statement hub .

What is the UCAS personal statement?

How universities use your ucas personal statement, how to start a ucas personal statement.

• Get feedback on your UCAS personal statement

The personal statement is part of your UCAS application. It's how you show your chosen universities why you'll make a great student and why they should make you an offer.

Your personal statement also helps you think about your choice of course and your reasons for applying, so you know you’ve made the right decision.

Get feedback on your personal statement

Sign up to our personal statement hub to get feedback on your draft. You'll also get access to videos, help sheets and more tips.

Sign up now

UCAS personal statement word limit

Your personal statement length can be up to 4,000 characters long. 

This may sound a lot, but it's a word limit of around 550–1000 words with spaces and only about 1 side of typed A4 paper.

You need to keep it concise and make sure it's clear and easy to read.

Applying for multiple courses

Although you can apply for up to 5 courses on your UCAS application, you can only submit 1 personal statement. So it needs to cover all your course choices.

If you really want to show your commitment to applying for different courses, we will accept a second personal statement from you to reflect your application e.g. if you are applying for Law elsewhere, but Criminology and Criminal Justice with us.

Lots of students who apply to university have achieved the basic entry requirements and many more students apply than there are places available. Admissions teams can use your UCAS personal statement to get to know you and decide why you're more suitable than other applicants.

Some universities read every personal statement and score them. Then they use them alongside your qualifications and grades to decide whether to offer you a place or interview. Other universities put less emphasis on the personal statement and use it with students who have borderline entry requirements.

Universities might refer to your personal statement again on results day if you don't get the grades you need. So a good personal statement could clinch you a uni place even if your grades aren't what you hoped for.

Starting your personal statement can seem scary when you're staring at a blank screen. But, things will seem less daunting once you start.

• Set aside some time in a place where you're comfortable and won't be disturbed. Grab a notepad or computer.
• Write down anything and everything that's influenced your decision to go to university and study your chosen subject. Jot down your skills and experience too.
• Use the questions below to guide you. Don't worry about the personal statement length at this point – you can cut things out later.

When to start your UCAS personal statement

Ideally, you want to leave yourself plenty of time – a few weeks or even months – to plan and write your personal statement.

Try not to leave it to the last minute, as tempting as this may seem when you've got so many other things to think about.

Questions to guide you

Your motivation.

• Why do you want to study at university?
• Why do you want to study this subject?
• How did you become interested in this subject?
• What career do you have in mind after university?

Academic ability and potential

• How have your current studies affected your choice?
• What do you enjoy about your current studies?
• What skills have you gained from your current studies?
• How can you demonstrate you have the skills and qualities needed for the course?
• What qualities and attributes would you bring to the course and university?

Your experience

• What work experience (including part-time, charity and volunteer work) do you have and what have you learnt from it?
• What positions of responsibility have you held? (For example, prefect, captain of a team or member of a committee)
• What relevant hobbies or interests do you have and what skills have they helped you develop?
• What transferable skills do you have, such as self motivation, team working, public speaking, problem solving and analytical thinking?

Research and reading

• How do you keep up with current affairs or news in your chosen subject?
• What journals or publications relevant to your chosen subject do you read?
• Which people have influenced you, such as artists, authors, philosophers or scientists?

Now it's time to write your personal statement using your notes. It's best to draft it on a computer, and remember to save it regularly.

You can copy and paste it into your UCAS application when you're happy with it.

Personal statement structure

While there's no set template for a personal statement, you may find it useful to follow this personal statement structure when you decide what to put in your statement.

What to include in a personal statement

• Reasons for choosing this subject(s)
• Current studies and how these relate to your chosen subject(s)
• Experiences and how these relate to your chosen subject(s)
• Interests and responsibilities and how these relate to your chosen subject(s)
• Your future after university
• Summary including why you'll make a great student

Further tips for a good UCAS personal statement

• Use information on university websites and the UCAS website. This often includes the skills and qualities universities are looking for in applicants
• Ask friends, family and teachers to remind you of activities you've participated in. They might remember your successes better than you do
• Don’t include lists in your application, like a list of all your hobbies. Focus on 1 or 2 points and talk about them in depth to show their relevance to your application
• Explain and evidence everything. It’s easy to say you have a skill, but it's better to demonstrate it with an example of when and how you’ve used it
• Avoid clichéd lines such as ‘I've always wanted to be a teacher’ as it says nothing about your motivations or experiences
• If you’re applying for a joint degree or different subjects, give equal time to each area and try to find common aspects that show their similarities
• Never lie or plagiarise another statement – you'll be caught and it could result in your application being automatically rejected
• Proofread your personal statement by reading it out loud and ask friends, family or a teacher to check it for you

Sign up to our personal statement hub

Watch videos, get top tips and download our help sheets – that's what our personal statement hub is for. It's for you to write your story, so you can show your strengths, ideas and passion to your chosen universities.

You'll also be able send us your draft, so you can get feedback and feel confident about what you've written.

We are aware that this form may not be fully accessible. Please read our Website Accessibility Statement which lists known accessibility issues. If you are experiencing technical issues which mean you cannot read the form, please contact  [email protected]  and we’ll provide a copy within 10 working days.

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Personal statement checker

Personal statement length checker.

Do you want to know how long your personal statement is? You are in the right place.

**Important note – We don’t store or share your personal statement. It is 100% safe to use**

Benefits of using our personal statement checker:

• You don’t need to login to UCAS  and don’t need to use their tricky online form
• Our nifty checker uses their method of counting lines with 94 characters maximum per line
• It also uses their method of counting characters (including spaces etc.)
• Worried about the spelling, grammar and content of your statement? We offer an affordable personal statement editing service to improve the message of your personal statement.

Paste your personal statement below to check if it meets the UCAS Apply requirements for the number of lines and character length. Click “check length”.

NOTE : W e do not store your personal statement and you will not have problems with Turnitin. 

Make your personal statement stand out by removing grammar, spelling, punctuation and sentence errors: 

• We offer a personal statement editing service to improve the grammar, spelling and punctuation of your statement.  It only costs £30 and can really improve your personal statement before you send it to the institution you are applying for. Click on the order now button!

What is the UCAS personal statement word count?

UCAS does not specify a certain number of words. However, the personal statement is limited to 4,000 characters including spaces. You cannot use Word to check your statement length because they count words and spaces differently, hence why we have developed this tool for you.

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Writing your personal statement

A personal statement is your chance to tell us what motivates you and why you’re suitable for your chosen programme.

Please note

you cannot amend your personal statement once you have submitted your application

Where to put a personal statement

You can type your personal statement in the online application form (3,000-character limit, including spaces) or upload it as a separate document. If you upload your personal statement, you can go over 3,000 characters but it cannot be longer than two sides of A4 paper (size 12 font and single spaced).

You should consider the following questions when writing your personal statement

• Why do you want to undertake the programme or research?
• What are your academic interests?
• Why do you wish to study at UCL?
• What educational experience do you have?
• Do you have any relevant work experience?
• Have you completed any extracurricular or voluntary activities relevant to the programme?
• What are your career aspirations?

Some programmes ask for programme-specific information in your personal statement. Check your programme in the Graduate Prospectus for details.

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• Mature Student Personal Statements
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• 10 Personal Statement Don'ts
• Analysis Of A Personal Statement Example
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Personal Statement FAQs

Our personal statement FAQs will help ease the pain of writing a personal statement for your UCAS form . More advice can also be found on our blog .

• When to start writing a personal statement
• Personal statement length
• How do I begin writing?
• What are the admissions tutors looking for?
• Most important part of a personal statement
• Writing a statement for two different courses
• Your plans after university
• How to structure a personal statement
• Extra-curricular activities
• Qualifications
• Personal statement examples
• After you've written your statement
• Posting your statement online
• Asking for feedback
• Further advice
• Mature students
• International students

1. When should I start writing my personal statement?

It's never too early to start thinking about it! Unfortunately, UCAS deadlines have a tendency to creep up on most students, especially if you are applying to Oxbridge where the deadline is much earlier than other universities ( 15th October ).

However, you probably want a good idea of what course you're going to apply for before you launch in to actually writing the thing .

Check out Choosing A Degree if you're still deciding what subject to take.

On the other hand, don't leave it too late - you'll probably need a few weeks to write it and a week or so to get a reference written.

As a general guide we would say start writing it when you come back to school or college after the summer, though it might be worth jotting down a few ideas during the holidays.

We know some people are extremely organised and get at least their first draft done by the end of the summer!

2. How long can the personal statement be?

There is no actual word limit - instead, you have a maximum of 47 lines or 4000 characters to work with.

This is all the space UCAS give you on their online system, Apply . You can check that your statement will fit in the area provided by using our handy Personal Statement Length Checker .

3. How do I start writing my personal statement?

Most people won't be able to just start writing their personal statement off the top of their head - so it's a good idea to jot down a few notes first.

The main things to think about are:

• why do you want to study your chosen course?
• how do your skills, experiences and interests prove you are passionate about and committed to taking this course?

These are the two main things to start with, and if this still doesn't help you can look at a few more detailed starting points .

Many people have trouble writing about themselves and their personal qualities.

So if you're having trouble pop down to a library or bookstore and get a book on writing CVs that will go into this process in much more depth.

4. What are admissions tutors looking for?

Usually the sort of things you've written about for the part above!

Obviously the things admissions tutors are looking for will differ but in general: "Do we want this student on this course?" And "Do we want this student at this university?".

The idea of your personal statement is to show this - so once you've written it, have a read through and see if it answers these questions.

Individual universities and departments often publish information on applying and writing personal statements, so surfing the admissions scetion of their website should turn up more specific information on exactly what they're looking for.

Our blog post, 8 Things Not To Put In Your Personal Statement , will help you avoid making any obvious errors. Then check out What You Should Include In Your Personal Statement to make sure you don't miss anything important.

Read through our Personal Statement Writing Tips and How To Write A Personal Statement Guide for more comprehensive information and advice.

5. What's the most important part of the personal statement?

From our days of GCSE English, we would say either the beginning or the end.

A good first sentence will get the reader interested and ensure they actually read your statement rather than skim it.

A good ending will ensure the reader remembers your personal statement, though it also helps to have a good middle section as well.

The first line is probably the most important thing to work on. Most people put their reasons for studying the subject at the top, and this is generally regarded to be the most crucial part of the statement, as you need to hook the reader and make them want to read more.

However, the rest of your statement should make you shine as a candidate too, so there isn't really a definite answer to this question!

Just try to make your personal statement as interesting and polished as you can.

6. How do I write a statement for two different courses?

There's no easy way to write a personal statement for two totally unrelated courses.

If the courses are similar (i.e. Business Studies and Economics ) you may find you can write a personal statement that is relevant to both subjects without mentioning either subject by name.

If the courses are totally unrelated it may be impossible to write for both subjects without your personal statement sounding vague and unfocused.

Instead, you will need to concentrate on just one subject and just ignore the other, although you may want to question whether it's a good idea to apply for such different course, and re-think your subject choice .

7. Should I talk about what I want to do after university?

You could, but only if you have a good idea of what you want to do.

If you sound sure about what you want to do after university , it gives the impression that you've thought carefully about your course and what you want to do with it.

It is also a nice way to round off your personal statement , rather than just finishing on less important stuff like extra curricular activities.

If you don't have any future plans then leave it out - you don't want to be asked about them at interviews .

8. How should I structure my personal statement?

Most people write their personal statement in an essay style, usually starting off with the course and why they want to do it, then talking about their relevant work experience and skills, and finishing off with extra curricular activities.

However, you can use any style that you feel works best for you.

As a guide, spend around 50% of the space talking about your course and how you're suited to it and 50% on your work experience and other activities.

Exactly how you write your personal statement depends on your subject - generally people write more about work experience for vocational subjects like Medicine and Law than they would for Maths or English , where work experience is less important.

9. Is it worth doing loads of extra-curricular stuff to make my statement sound good?

There's no point doing extra things just to try and make yourself look good to universities - you won't enjoy it and it probably won't help much either.

From what we've seen, an interest and aptitude for the course is more important to admissions tutors than lots of extra curricular activities.

If you do want to do something to boost your application, read relevant books or do work experience related to the subject instead.

10. Should I talk about my qualifications?

No. There's already a section on the UCAS form for this, so don't waste space talking about them on your personal statement.

If you have something important that doesn't go in the qualifications section, ask your referee to put it down in your reference - it will sound better if it comes from them than from you.

11. Where can I see some example personal statements?

We have loads of free personal statement samples that you can browse through, broken down into subject categories so you can hopefully find what you are looking for quite easily!

Looking at what other students have written and submitted on their application is a useful way of seeing what makes a great personal statement (and what doesn't!).

Just make sure you don't copy sentences or whole chunks of these examples though, as UCAS has plagiarism detection software and your application will be rejected if it's found you've cheated!

12. What should I do after I've written my statement?

Ask for opinions on it!

Show it to your friends, parents, teachers, career advisors, etc and note down their comments.

The most useful comments are likely to come from your teachers in the subject and the people at your school or college who handle UCAS applications.

If you have enough time, leave your personal statement for a couple of weeks or a month and come back to it - if you're not still happy with what you wrote, it's time to start redrafting.

13. Should I post my personal statement online?

It's generally not a good idea to post it on an internet forum or discussion board before you've started university.

Anyone can steal information off a website and pass it off as their own, and with something as important as a personal statement, you don't want that to happen.

You should be OK sending it to people you trust by email - see the next question for a better way of getting people to look at it.

14. Where can I ask for feedback on my personal statement?

To get people to look at your personal statement without the risk of plagiarism visit the personal statement review section.

You can also get your personal statement professionally edited and reviewed here at Studential, through one of our very popular personal statement editing and critique packages.

We offer a range of services covering a variety of prices, so there's bound to be a package suited to you.

15. I'm still stuck with my personal statement - where can I find more in-depth advice?

Some people say writing a personal statement is easy – maybe it is, but it’s difficult to write a personal statement well. As this is such a big topic to cover, we suggest taking a look at our personal statement examples to help give you some inspiration for what to write, and then read through our  personal statement writing guide  when you’re ready to put pen to paper. Browse through the  other information and advice  we have in our personal statements section, and if you still feel you need a little extra help, you can always get your personal statement  professionally edited and reviewed  by one of our editors. We offer a range of UCAS personal statement editing and critique services , so there’s bound to be one suited to your needs. Don’t forget to ask your family, friends, teachers and careers adviser to look through your personal statement drafts, and incorporate any feedback they give you until you are 100% happy with it. Remember - it doesn’t matter how many times you have to redraft your personal statement – the most important thing is you get it right so you give yourself the best possible chance of being offered places by your chosen universities/colleges.

IMPORTANT:  When writing your personal statement, it’s vital you remember  not to copy from anyone else’s personal statement  (not even just a sentence!). Not only is it wrong and unfair, but any plagiarism will be detected by the Copycatch Similarity Detection Software. If UCAS discover you have plagiarised your personal statement, whether you have copied someone else’s entirely or parts of it, they will cancel your application.

You can also try looking through our personal statement guide for extra guidance.

This takes you through how to write a personal statement step-by-step, and goes into far more detail than this FAQ does.

If you feel you need more help, check out our personal statement editing and critique services  where our professional editors will review your statement to make it a success.

16. How do I write a personal statement if I'm a mature student?

Don't worry if you're a mature student applying to university - your qualifications, skills and extra experience will count as an advantage! Universities want to take on students from all walks of life, and this includes mature ones with more life experience.

Focus on what you can bring to the university if they offered you a place on the course, and how your degree fits into your future plans.

Read through some of our Mature Student Personal Statement Examples for inspiration.

17. How do I write a personal statement if I'm an international student?

As mentioned previously, universities want students from a range of backgrounds, and this includes those who want to study at their institution from abroad.

Again, try to convey how your experiences in your own country will benefit you on your course, and how they make you a valuable asset to the university.

To give you an idea of what other international students have written in the past, read through some of our International Student Personal Statement Examples for inspiration (but please remember not to copy them, or your application will be penalised!).

A few last tips

What have you done, relevant to your subject, that is unique and no one else is likely to put down?

Many people have the same old boring interests and work experience - you need something to separate you from the crowd, and while it's a gamble to make an individual personal statement, anything individual you do related to your chosen field can only look good.

Have a think - what makes you so special? If you can't think of anything then you can't complain if you get rejected! Finally, remember it's your personal statement, and you can write whatever you want in it.

If everything in this guide conflicts with what you've got already but you think you still have a killer personal statement, then use that.

A personal statement is about you, and you shouldn't let anyone tell you what to put in it - sticking blindly to the formula mentioned here will just stop your true personality showing through.

Further information

For more tips and advice on writing your personal statement, please see:

• The 15th January UCAS Deadline: 4 Ways To Avoid Missing It
• Analysis Of A Personal Statement
• Personal Statement Editing Services
• Top 10 Personal Statement Writing Tips
• Personal Statement Advice From A Teacher
• Personal Statement Writing Guide
• What To Do If You Miss The 15th January UCAS Deadline .

Best of luck with your personal statement!

Has lots of valuable

Mon, 19/09/2011 - 05:17

Has lots of valuable information

Thu, 06/10/2011 - 20:30

very good site!! Helped a lot!!!!

Wed, 12/10/2011 - 17:21

Great info, i appreciate it.

Fri, 14/10/2011 - 14:35

i wana apply for a science

Tue, 25/10/2011 - 10:22

i wana apply for a science faculty but what i did in the past were only related to English (eg:joining competitions in sos verse speaking,public speaking;volunteered to teach english;being chairman of english society at school./) and seems almost nth for science.... so should i write those experience also?but how can i link them to the content.... thanks

Wed, 26/10/2011 - 22:56

Excellent website, I have searched high and low for a website like this. Very impressed.

wow this has just simply

Fri, 28/10/2011 - 21:15

wow this has just simply saved my life:)

Sun, 30/10/2011 - 11:11

Thank you for the guidance, its very simple and straight forward

Disabilities

Fri, 04/11/2011 - 06:38

I have Aspergers should I include this in my PS because it has affected my involvement in extra curricular activities

like to point out that it is

Wed, 09/11/2011 - 15:13

like to point out that it is 47 lines and not 37 :) that aside, very helpful - thanks!

The best site I have found to

Fri, 02/12/2011 - 22:29

The best site I have found to help with personal statements, got so much useful infomation and straight to the point, will definately recommend to others in my class who are in the middle of their personal statments!

I have read that you should

Tue, 06/12/2011 - 14:57

I have read that you should write about why you wish to study at university and what inspires you to, and i want to but the real reason i want to study at uni is because of a very personal reason and im not sure wether to mention it as i feel i may come across as an attention seeker? the real reason i want to go is because of a very abusive relationship with an ex boyfriend that made me realise i should make the most of my life and do exactly what i want and never let anyone bring me down... do u think it would be too much if i said this - I was very unsure whether to write about the real reason I want to pursue what I’m passionate about, because its very personal. The truth is that is wasn’t a good experience. A traumatising abusive relationship with an ex boyfriend woke me up and made me see I should make the most out of my life.

Tue, 06/12/2011 - 15:03

Tue, 06/12/2011 - 15:08

Amazing Stuff

Mon, 13/02/2012 - 13:06

I'm so glad I found this site

Thu, 01/03/2012 - 15:46

I'm so glad I found this site. It's helped alot.

I'm so glad I found this site. It's helped alot. :)

Thu, 01/03/2012 - 15:47

Lying on your personal statement

Tue, 10/07/2012 - 20:27

I was very disappointed to see this included in your FAQs. Even more to see it answered in the way it was. If someone can lie and "get away with it" does that not suggest we could potentially have a generation of useless, brainless, incompetent potential lawyers, doctors, politicians heading our way? Oh, wait...how long have you been giving this advice out?

do we have to write about our

Tue, 31/07/2012 - 19:13

do we have to write about our interests and hobbies???

if yes what if we dont have enough space and gone over max line limit??

thx a lot for the post..lots

Thu, 13/09/2012 - 23:21

thx a lot for the post..lots of info :)

you get 47 lines not 37 as it

Thu, 20/09/2012 - 11:35

you get 47 lines not 37 as it says

Wed, 17/04/2013 - 11:16

Some of the universities I'm applying to offer different courses to other unis I'm also applying to. Is it possible to send two different personal statements depending on which uni? For Edinburgh and Manchester, I want to apply for English Literature, but for Aberystwyth, East Anglia and Manchester Metropolitian they offer English Lit and Creative Writing.

Any advice would be great, thanks!

Wed, 24/07/2013 - 03:11

Say, you got a nice article.Much thanks again. Awesome.

Wrong information

Thu, 25/07/2013 - 16:15

The maximum on UCAS for personal statements is 47 lines and 4000 characters, not 37 lines as stated on this page.

This is really helpful and

Fri, 27/09/2013 - 14:15

This is really helpful and informative but I'm fairly sure the number of lines allowed is 47, not 37 as written here.

Retaking year 12

Sun, 29/09/2013 - 12:22

I have recently retook year 12 and I am now in the process of writing my personal statement. Having gathered differing opinions on this matter i was wondering for your input on whether or not its worth putting it down on my personal statement.I have changed subjects, left one out for a year and returned to it and retaken a subject. This now leaves me with 5 As levels.

Mon, 30/09/2013 - 20:06

"Have a think - what makes you so special? If you can't think of anything then you can't complain if you get rejected!"

As if we're not under enough stress already!

Previous Work

Tue, 29/10/2013 - 20:33

can I put links in to websites I have professionally made

wow very good much

Fri, 15/11/2013 - 09:25

wow very good much informative

Very informative. I really

Wed, 15/01/2014 - 14:57

Very informative. I really appreciate your site.

Not required

Mon, 30/06/2014 - 14:27

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Shona Barrie – Director of Admissions, University of Stirling

UCAS asked admissions tutors – the people who read and score your personal statement – for their advice on what you should and shouldn’t do when writing your personal statement. 

The most common piece of advice was not to worry about it – and don’t be tempted to copy anyone else’s.

Read our step-by-step guide to writing your personal statement

Then follow our simple tips below.

• Do talk about why you’re a good candidate – talk about you, your motivations and what brings you to this course.
• Do be enthusiastic – if you show you’re interested in the course, it may help you get a place.
• Do make it relevant . Connect what you’re saying with the course and with your experiences.
• Do outline your ideas clearly .
• Do avoid the negatives – highlight the positives about you, and show you know your strengths.
• Do expect to produce several drafts of your personal statement before being totally happy with it.
• Do ask people you trust for their feedback.
• Don’t be modest or shy . You want your passions to come across. 
• Don’t exaggerate – if you do, you may get caught out in an interview when asked to elaborate on an interesting achievement.
• Don’t use quotes from someone else, or cliches.
• Don’t leave it to the last minute – your statement will seem rushed and important information could be left out.
• Don’t let spelling and grammatical errors spoil your statement , but don't just rely on a spellchecker. Proofread as many times as possible.
• Don’t copy and paste – make yours original.
• Don’t post your personal statement on the internet or on social media or share your personal statement with anyone including your friends and family, unless asking for feedback from people you trust.
• Don’t worry about it – we have all the advice you need to help you stand out in your personal statement. 

The personal statement tool image

Don’t be tempted to copy or share your statement.

UCAS scans all personal statements through a similarity detection system to compare them with previous statements.

Any similarity greater than 30% will be flagged and we'll inform the universities and colleges to which you have applied. 

Find out more

Ana ghaffari moghaddam – third year law student and careers coach, university of liverpool.

You’ve got this. Follow those simple steps and use your personal statement as your chance to shine .Use the below as a checklist to make sure you've avoided all common pitfalls.

Want more tips on what to include in your personal statement? Use the links below.

• Get started with our personal statement builder . 
• Five things all students should include in their personal statement. 
• See how you can turn your personal statement into a CV, apprenticeship application or covering letter. 
• Read How to start a personal statement: The attention grabber .

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Personal Statement (characters include spaces?)

• Thread starter tennisnr
• Start date May 25, 2005

Senior Member

• May 25, 2005

tennisnr said: Hey all. I was just wondering. Does the character count include spaces or not? Thanks Click to expand...

crazy_cavalier

T3-weighted.

spaces count as characters . hard entry-returns (i.e. hitting enter) counts as two characters.  

striped sweater

That's the kind..

striped sweater said: amcas will literally cut you off when they feel it is long enough!!! so be sure to read the end to be sure everything is there. Click to expand...

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