Your medicine personal statement is one of the most important elements of your medical school application. Competition for medical school is always fierce, and you can expect more of the same if you are submitting an application in 2024. Therefore, your personal statement will be essential to distinguish yourself from other applicants.
Universities will factor it into their decision-making process by comparing candidates before or after an interview, along with the result from your admission exam (if applicable) and your predicted grades. You should see your personal statement as an opportunity to show universities more about you, your experiences and your motivation for applying.
If you're applying in 2024 for 2025 entry, you may have heard that changes were expected for your personal statement. However, UCAS has confirmed that this won't be happening in 2024. Instead, changes are expected for those applying in 2025 for 2026 entry. This isn’t going to be a complete overhaul. Instead, the personal statement is being reformed to include a series of questions, providing more structure to those writing it.
As it stands, UCAS has confirmed personal statements will be written around the following questions:
The good news is that you would be writing about these subjects anyway. If anything, the questions might make the writing process easier, as it ensures that you only include relevant material. Remember, this is expected to come into effect in 2025, so if you’re applying this year, you don’t need to follow this structure.
Your personal statement is a key opportunity to show your chosen universities the skills and experiences that make you a suitable candidate, as well as your ambitions for a career in medicine. You’ll find some guidance on what you should aim to include in your personal statement in the next section, but it’ll also be useful to consider the following when preparing to write your personal statement:
One of the biggest challenges when looking at areas that you need to cover is trying to include everything within the tight UCAS character limit. Remember, you only have 4,000 characters, which is roughly 550–1000 words or two sides of A4. Consider which elements are most important to you and which qualities and experiences you want to demonstrate, as there may be things you have to sacrifice to avoid exceeding the character limit.
The quality of your writing is important within your personal statement, so consider your choice of language carefully and remember your audience and what you’re trying to convey. Equally, ensure that your writing is cohesive and flows well; so while you'll undoubtedly have a list of skills, experiences and information you want to include, you want to avoid it reading like a list.
Whether you’re discussing work experience you’ve undertaken or hobbies or clubs that you partake in, you should always focus on making them relevant to your future studies. Universities aren’t looking for a narrative of work experience that you’ve carried out; they’re interested in what you learned as a result of the experience. Your personal statement should reflect on any work experience and demonstrate what skills and/or qualities you’ve developed which are required within the medical profession. Similarly, with your hobbies or clubs, you should reflect on relevant skills and qualities that you have developed as a result of these.
As well as demonstrating your motivation for working within the medical profession, it’s also important to show that you have a realistic understanding of what this entails, which can be achieved by acknowledging the less attractive side of medicine. However, ensure that you put a positive spin on any negatives you present and allow your passion for medicine to come through. Linking to your work experience is a great way of doing this. For example, you could highlight challenges that you observed within medical practice but focus on the positives that came from this: was it multidisciplinary teamwork, effective communication, or challenging individuals to continue to develop their skills and knowledge?
There isn’t a set personal statement template which you need to follow, however, there are some essential things which you should try to include. The UCAS website previously advised that university admissions tutors are looking for evidence of the following:
This can be demonstrated in a number of ways:
For example, sports, music, volunteering. Again, remember to use these to demonstrate your skills and qualities that will make you a suitable candidate for medical school.
Give examples of occasions when you’ve demonstrated that you can work effectively within a team and as an individual. You may also want to include examples of situations where you’ve led a group, if you have experience of this.
Try to provide examples which demonstrate your personal qualities which make you a suitable candidate for medical school, for example your empathy, your resilience, your drive, etc., by linking to your work experience, your hobbies and even your academic studies.
The most effective way to demonstrate your skills is by providing examples, using your experiences to show that you process the required analytical and critical thinking skills to make you a suitable candidate.
Writing your personal statement can seem daunting; keep it simple with the following useful tips:
Using the information above to help you, create a plan of what you want to include, whether that’s using a mind map, lists, or any other method that works for you. This will ensure you know which experiences, skills, and qualities you want to share before starting your personal statement.
Don’t worry about making your personal statement perfect the first time around (or keeping within the character limit for that matter). Once you’ve written everything you want to include you can begin rewording sentences, moving sections around, and editing parts that are less significant so you can get within the character limit.
It's simple but so important. All those drafts take time, so make sure you give yourself plenty of time to write. You don’t want your personal statement to appear rushed or to miss important information that will help your application.
Getting a second opinion is useful for picking up errors you might have missed or showing you where you can sell yourself more. Just be careful to avoid taking on board too many opinions, as you want you to make sure it’s your voice which comes through.
It’s so basic but it makes spotting punctuation and grammatical errors easier. It’ll also help ensure that it flows and reads well, which admissions tutors will be looking for.
Often the most difficult part with any written piece is getting started; there is generally a focus on ensuring that your first paragraph captivates your reader and makes them want to read more, which can create a stumbling block when you begin writing. A useful tactic to help you to avoid staring at a blank page for hours, is to ignore your opening altogether, and to begin as if you’re picking it up after an introductory sentence or two. Once you’ve written your first draft, you’ll find it easier to draw out interesting points and to rework them to create an opening statement.
It’s important within your opening paragraph to show your passion and your reasons for wanting to study medicine; the difficulty is trying to avoid cliches, when it’s highly likely that your reasons for wanting to study medicine are similar to many students who have come before you. Sharing your interests which are related to medicine, or your personal experiences (your work experience, volunteering, etc.), which have developed your passion, is an effective way to achieve this in an individual way. Don’t get fixated on trying to stand out; focus on giving an honest account of why you want to study medicine and your interests and experiences that have helped you to decide this, and avoid using unrealistic or exaggerated reasons or experiences.
Remember, while your opening section is important, it is also just one part of your overall statement; make sure that it adds to your personal statement (remember that tight character limit) and isn’t just there to grab attention.
If you’re applying for the graduate entry route, not only will the UCAS rules be the same for your personal statement (for example, the character limit, deadline, etc.), but what you should aim to include will also remain the same. However, university admission tutors will have higher expectations for graduate entry applicants’ skills, competencies and experiences, given that you have undertaken a degree previously and likely have more experience.Therefore, sharing relevant work experience, as well as any academic achievements or other accomplishments which are relevant, will allow you to demonstrate that you meet these expectations.
Even if your current or previous employment is not health-related, it may still be relevant to your application, if you're able to demonstrate the transferable skills which will be useful for a career in medicine. Where possible, provide examples of additional work experience within medical or care settings, if your employment isn’t health-related, to demonstrate your commitment to studying medicine and your development of skills to support this. Remember to limit your descriptions of your work experience, to include only what is necessary, and focus on reflecting on your experiences and the skills and qualities you have developed as a result of them.
As with other routes into medicine, you’ll be expected to demonstrate why you want to study and your passion for a future career in medicine. Admission tutors will also assess whether you have the required attributes for a career in medicine and a realistic view of what it entails. Again, reflecting on your previous work experiences, either voluntary or paid, as well as your previous degree, if it’s relevant, will allow you to demonstrate that you meet these requirements.
You can find more guidance on entry requirements, funding and admissions exams in our Graduate Entry Medicine blog.
Finally, remember that a good medical personal statement will look completely different depending on the candidate. Focus on sharing your unique experiences, skills, and qualities, as well as your personal ambitions and passion for a career in medicine. Admission tutors want to see that, and it will make you stand out as an individual.
For more personal statement tips visit the UCAS ‘How to write your undergraduate personal statement’. Our dedicated ‘Applying to medical school' section can also help you with all aspects of your medical school application and interview.
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