Your personal statement

Your personal statement provides you with an opportunity to tell us all about you!

While it will not be formally assessed, your personal statement may provide guidance to us when we are shortlisting applications for our Assessment Days and will be essential preparation for you if invited to attend.

The format and structure of the personal statement will change from 2026 academic entry. It will now consist of three sections with question prompts. 

UCAS: New personal statement 2026 entry 

We advise you to consider the following factors when writing your statement:

Personal qualities and skills

  • empathy
  • interpersonal relationships
  • ability to communicate

Evidence of career exploration prior to application

  • understanding the realities of a career in medicine
  • work experience and shadowing with health professionals or in health promotion, examples of which may include the following: working in a nursing home and/or volunteering with disabled people
  • talking with doctors and medical students
  • attending a university open day and medical conferences/lectures
  • reading/ watching/ listening to medical themed literature/ digital content/ articles. 

 

We value quality of experience over quantity. We are looking for clear evidence of reflection on these experiences, showing us what personal lessons you took from them and using these to demonstrate an aptitude for medicine.  The Medical Schools Council have provided guidance on studying healthcare.  This can be found by following the first link below.  In addition, the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) have a free interactive video platform providing insights into the role of a GP and the wider primary care team, which you can access via the second link below.

Studying healthcare - MSC guidance

RCGP - Observe GP

Non-academic achievements and interests

Medicine is a demanding subject and can prove stressful. It is important to maintain a healthy study/life balance and we look for evidence of outside interests. Examples of these can include:

  • involvement in community groups
  • extracurricular school responsibilities
  • leadership positions
  • organisational abilities
  • cultural, sporting, vocational and voluntary achievements
  • interests and hobbies

Please do not email us your personal statement for feedback prior to your application.

References

Your UCAS reference is also important. You will find information on this in the link below:

UCAS Reference

 

This article was published on