Experts in social mobility applaud the change to asking students to respond to three instead of just one.
The UK’s university admission department has declared that personal statements for university application forms will no longer be required, meaning that the sixth formers and their families won’t have to worry about them in the future.
Those applying for undergraduate places through the University and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) in 2026 will be asked to explain why they want to study the course or subject, how their education or credentials help them prepare for the course, and what experiences they have outside of education that will be helpful. This will replace the state limit of 4,000 characters (including spaces).
Although its origins may be traced back to the application forms utilized by Ucas’s predecessors, the personal statement has been an integral part of the admission process for almost thirty years, having been first established in 1993.
Experts believe that the new questions will increase the chances of applicants from families with no family history of higher education or tutoring, as the previous structure unfairly favored middle-class pupils.
Professor of social mobility at Exeter University Lee Elliot Major stated, “The love letter from a university applicant to their chosen university subject has increasingly become a barometer of middle-class privilege as so many personal statements are now co-created and polished by advisers, teachers, and parents.”
“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.”
Ucas announced that its most recent data revealed a decline in undergraduate applications from the sixth formers in England and Wales for the second consecutive year.
In England, just 42.7% of 18-year-olds applied for a place by June of this year, compared to 44.9% in 2022, as colleges are still concerned that the lower student numbers negatively impact their financial position.
Applications in Wales decreased from 38.1% in 2022 to 33.1% this year, the lowest percentage in 15 years.
Amanda Wilkinson, the director of Universities Wales, stated, “We now have the lowest proportion of 18-year-olds applying for university in the UK, with the gap between Wales and the UK wider than at any point in modern history. This drop has long-term implications for Wales. The industries that will drive our economic growth in the decades to come rely heavily on graduates.”
