UCAS scrapping personal statements to help disadvantaged students

The UK’s Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) has decided to scrap personal statements for new applicants.

UCAS will replace the 4,000-character text box students have been used to for decades with three new structured questions.

It said the decision was part of its initiatives to address concerns about a slowdown in increasing the rate of disadvantaged pupils applying for higher education in the UK.

The move comes in response to concerns that personal statements may be more beneficial to wealthier students who are able to receive extra help writing them.

In Scotland, only 20.7% of people from the most disadvantaged background applied for a university or college this year while the number rose to 50% for the most advantaged, according to UCAS’s own figures.

In England, the figures were 25.4% and 60.7% respectively.

Overall, 321,410 UK 18-year-olds have applied to university or college by UCAS’s June 30 deadline – up from 319,570 in 2023, with 91% holding an offer compared to 89% last year.

The three questions UCAS will ask students

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?

The service said while most students found the purpose of personal statements clear many said it was difficult to complete without support.

The new format will be introduced in September 2025 for students applying for 2026 entry.

Last month, UCAS also decided to waive its application fee for students entitled free school meals.

Dr Jo Saxton, chief executive at UCAS, said: “My aim at UCAS is 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.

“Today’s figures show that whilst positive progress has been made, there is still much to do.

“The changes to the personal statement, along with our recent fee waiver for students in receipt of free school meals, are all part of UCAS’ contribution to the sector-wide effort to ensure more people from disadvantaged backgrounds can benefit from the life-changing opportunity of higher education.”

Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter, added: “This welcome reform strikes the right balance between a more structured approach to deter fabrication, while not limiting the opportunity for applicants to personalise their statement.

“I believe it is a significant step in making the university admissions system a little bit fairer for all applicants.”