UCAS Personal Statement Guide: How to Avoid the Generic Mistakes Everyone Makes

“I’ve always been passionate about Psychology because I find the human mind fascinating. Through my A-level studies, I have developed analytical skills that will help me succeed at university…”

If your child’s personal statement opens like this, they’ve fallen into the same trap as thousands of other students. These phrases appear in countless applications every year, making it nearly impossible for admissions tutors to distinguish one candidate from another.

The issue isn’t that your child lacks genuine enthusiasm or interesting experiences. The problem is they’re expressing their interests using the same template language that appears in personal statement guides across the internet.

This guide will show you exactly how to help your child avoid these generic mistakes and create a personal statement that stands out for all the right reasons.

What’s a personal statement?

An undergraduate personal statement is a chance to get noticed for the unique talents and experiences you have. It’s an important part of the application process as it’s an opportunity to talk about yourself and your passions, outside of your grades.  

In this article, we’re going to talk you through how to write an undergraduate personal statement that stands out, without leaving you feeling overwhelmed.

How to Help Your Child Find Their Unique Angle

The key to standing out isn’t having extraordinary experiences – it’s writing about ordinary experiences in a thoughtful, specific way. Before your child starts writing, they need to spend time thinking about what makes their interest in their chosen subject genuine and personal.

Here are a few questions you can answer to help you get started:

1. Why have you chosen this course?
2. What excites you about the subject?
3. Is my previous or current study relevant to the course?
4. Have you got any work experience that might help you?
5. What life experiences have you had that you could talk about?
6. What achievements are you proud of?
7. What skills do you have that make you perfect for the course?
8. What plans and ambitions do you have for your future career?

Getting your child to think through these questions will help them move beyond generic template answers to authentic, personal responses that admissions tutors will remember.

Find Their Defining Moment

Instead of starting with “I’ve always been passionate about…”, help your child identify when their interest became real and personal. Ask them when this subject stopped being just a school lesson and became something they actually cared about. Was there a specific moment, experience, or realisation that sparked their genuine interest?

This could be a family member’s illness that sparked interest in medicine, a documentary that raised questions about environmental issues, or even a school project that revealed unexpected connections between subjects. The answer doesn’t need to be dramatic – it needs to be authentic and specific to your child.

Get Specific About Their Interest

Generic statements say “I find [subject] fascinating.” Strong statements explain exactly what aspect interests them and why. Help your child pinpoint what particular questions or problems within their subject genuinely intrigue them.

Instead of “I find Psychology interesting,” they might write “I’m intrigued by how the same traumatic event affects people so differently – why some develop resilience while others struggle to recover.” This specificity immediately distinguishes them from students writing general enthusiasm statements.

Use Personal Examples Effectively

Template statements list activities generically: “Through my work experience, I developed communication skills.” Compelling statements explore specific examples that reveal insight and character. Guide your child to choose one meaningful experience rather than listing multiple generic activities, then explain what they learned about themselves or their subject through this experience.

Instead of “My volunteering taught me about helping people,” they could write “Working with elderly residents showed me how important maintaining dignity is in care – something that influenced my reading about person-centred approaches in healthcare.”

Make Unexpected Connections

Weak statements make obvious links: “My Biology A-level prepared me for Medicine.” Strong statements explore surprising connections that demonstrate original thinking. Encourage your child to consider how their different A-level subjects connect to their chosen course in unexpected ways, or what skills from part-time work, hobbies, or responsibilities apply to their academic interests.

Examples might include linking baking to Chemistry through understanding molecular structures, connecting football coaching to Mathematics through performance statistics, or relating theatre experience to Psychology through understanding character motivation.

Write in Their Natural Voice

Generic statements sound formal because students think they need “university language,” but the most memorable statements sound like your child genuinely explaining why they’re excited about their subject.

UCAS specifically advises students to “be yourself” and avoid trying to sound like someone else in their personal statement guidance. Their official resources emphasise that admissions tutors can easily identify when students are using unnatural, overly formal language that doesn’t match their authentic voice.

This is why encouraging natural language works so effectively – it creates statements that sound genuine rather than manufactured, immediately making them more engaging for admissions tutors to read.

Connect to Future Study

Template conclusions repeat earlier enthusiasm. Strong endings look forward to specific aspects of university study that build on established interests. Help your child research specific modules or research areas at their target universities, then connect these future opportunities to their defining moment and personal interests.

What to Avoid?

Starting with quotes or clichés like “As Einstein said…” or “From a young age…” immediately signals generic content to admissions tutors.

UCAS explicitly warns against using quotes in their official personal statement guidance, stating that admissions tutors see these openings repeatedly and they waste precious character space that could be used for personal content. Their similarity detection system also flags statements that share common phrases or structures with previous submissions.

This is why avoiding clichéd openings is so important – it prevents your child’s statement from being immediately categorised as generic before admissions tutors have even learned anything meaningful about them as an individual applicant.

How Greenhill Tutors Help Students Sound Like Themselves

Writing an authentic personal statement requires more than following a template – it needs genuine reflection and skilled guidance to help students articulate their unique perspective effectively.

Louis combines his Oxford First Class degree in Philosophy and French with extensive experience helping students discover their authentic voice. Understanding both the academic demands of competitive university applications and the personal challenge of authentic self-expression, he guides families through the process of transforming generic drafts into compelling personal narratives.

His approach focuses on drawing out students’ genuine experiences and insights rather than imposing formulaic structures, ensuring each statement reflects the individual student while meeting university expectations.

Francesca’s Communication Excellence – Oxford Graduate
With her 2:1 in English from Christ Church, Oxford, and professional experience as a writer and editor since 2017, Francesca understands exactly how to communicate complex ideas clearly and compellingly. Her academic background and writing expertise provide unique insight into what makes university applications stand out.

Francesca specialises in helping students express their thoughts authentically and persuasively, teaching them to write responses that demonstrate genuine intellectual engagement whilst maintaining their own voice and personality.

Experience the Greenhill Academics Difference

If your child’s personal statement currently sounds like it could belong to any applicant, you’re not stuck with generic content. With the right approach, you can help them discover and express what makes their application genuinely distinctive.

Contact Greenhill Academics today for a free consultation to discuss your child’s personal statement. We’ll review their draft, help them find their voice, and make sure their statement stands out without sounding like everyone else’s.

Whether your child needs help finding their unique angle or wants to ensure their statement demonstrates genuine voice rather than template language, we’re here to provide the support that creates memorable applications universities notice for all the right reasons.

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