UCAS to Eliminate Personal Statement in 2024

There are big changes coming to the UK admissions process!

Beginning next year, the Universities and Colleges Admission Services (UCAS) announced they will no longer require prospective students to submit a 4,000-character personal statement as part of their application. Likely influenced by concerns about ChatGPT, equality, academic integrity, and accessibility, this change aims to level the playing field and eliminate stress by asking more structured questions.

Although the longer essay will be scrapped, applicants will still be required to answer a series of shorter questions about their intended course of study.

These new questions will focus on six key areas:

Motivation for Course – Why do you want to study these courses?
Preparedness for Course – How has your learning so far helped you to be ready to succeed in these courses?
Preparation through other experiences – What else have you done to help you prepare, and why are these experiences useful?
Extenuating circumstances – Is there anything that the universities and colleges need to know about, to help them put your achievements and experiences so far into context?
Preparedness for study – What have you done to prepare yourself for student life?
Preferred Learning Styles – Which learning and assessment styles best suit you – how do your course choices match that?

As reported by The Times, UCAS consulted with 1,200 students, 170 teachers, and over 100 universities and colleges before making these reforms. Looking ahead, the UCAS announcement also noted they are considering moving away from written text to multimedia submissions.

Top Tier Admissions provides expert guidance on all aspects of US and UK admissions, tracking shifts in the admissions landscape in real time. Our Senior Private Counselors are in contact with admissions officers at top UK universities to help you understand new policies and entry requirements. We are ready to help you navigate the ever-changing admissions process in our exclusive Private Counseling Program.

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Dr. Elizabeth Doe Stone

President at Top Tier Admissions

A veteran college admissions consultant, Liz has over a decade of experience working with Top Tier Admissions. As President, she is responsible for managing all content, recruiting, product development, and partnerships to maintain Top Tier’s standards of excellence. In her capacity as a Senior Private Counselor, she has helped hundreds of students successfully navigate the college admissions process to earn spots at Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and other selective schools. Liz pairs her extensive knowledge of the college admissions process with her experience as an educator to provide in-depth guidance with an empathetic approach.

Liz graduated Magna Cum Laude with high honors from Dartmouth College and earned her MA and PhD in Art History at the University of Virginia, where she taught undergraduate courses, earned the All-University Graduate Teaching Award, and received a Fulbright Research Grant.

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