Pupils → Personal statement
STEP 7 of 9
Personal statement
What your personal statement is for, how to start and how to answer the three UCAS questions.
What is a personal statement?
Your personal statement sits alongside your grades, UCAT score and interview when universities decide who to offer a place. It's your chance to show your motivation, experiences and qualities.
Since 2026 entry, it's made up of answers to three questions, with 4,000 characters in total.
How it's used
Shortlisting
Admissions tutors use it to find applicants with the right character and motivation, not just great grades.
At interview
Interviewers often ask you to talk more about what you wrote – so make sure it's all true.
What reviewers look for
A realistic idea of what medicine involves
Communication and people skills
Leadership and teamwork
Resilience
Time management
Academic and extracurricular achievements
Top tip: know what they're looking for
The Medical Schools Council lists the qualities medical schools want to see, and each university's medicine page lists its own. Link your experiences to these – you don't need to cover every one.
Getting started
Start by listing everything you've done – your final statement won't be a list, but it's a great starting point. Almost any experience works if you can reflect on it and link it to medicine:
Jobs
Time management, reliability and teamwork
Work experience
What you saw doctors do, how they communicated, what you learned
Volunteering
Teamwork, communication and commitment
Sport, music, drama, and clubs
Motivation, teamwork and organisation
Getting started
For each experience, answer three questions:
What did you do/see?
Briefly describe the experience.
Why did you do it/why was it done?
What made you take it on? or what was the rationale behind the action?
What did it teach you - or how did it make you feel?
The most important part. Universities care more about what you learned than what you did.
"
Work experience at my local hospital showed me the rewards and challenges of hospital work. On ward rounds, some elderly patients were hostile, yet the doctors responded with patience and compassion – which I really admired.
Example of reflection (adapted from a real statement)
Another way: describe an achievement, the skill it gave you, why that skill matters for a doctor, and an example of a doctor or healthcare worker using it. You can also try the STARR method.
The three UCAS questions
Why do you want to study medicine?
Be honest about what draws you to medicine – a personal experience of illness and the doctors who helped, a love of learning, wanting to help people, or something else. Clear and genuine beats impressive.
How have your qualifications and studies helped you prepare?
Use your reflections here. How did you get good grades – what skills did that take? Have you had responsibility at school? Did a subject like Human Biology or Modern Studies spark an interest in physiology or public health?
What else have you done to prepare outside of education?
Work experience, volunteering, jobs and hobbies. If you've overcome difficulties to get here, this is a good place to show the resilience that gave you. Combine reflections to make the most of your characters.
Question wording from UCAS – check it each year.
Bringing it together
Show universities who you are and why your experiences made you want to study medicine. Keep reflections focused, link them to how you felt and what you learned, and read it aloud before you submit. Example statements online (like The Student Room) can help, but only as a rough guide.
Do
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Start writing, even if the first draft isn't great
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Talk your reflections through with people who know you
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Get others to check spelling and grammar
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Write in the first person ("I") and keep it personal
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Be honest about what really inspired you
Don't
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Exaggerate or make things up – it shows at interview
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Write about things that didn't really affect you
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Copy other people's examples
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Put special circumstances here – your teacher reference is the place for those
Stuck? We can help
Sign up and register for our annual personal statement review event, or email:
advice@youcanbeadoctor.co.uk
Useful Links
Medical Schools Council: what makes a good doctor - information sheet
Medical Schools Council: core values - statement
UCAS: personal statement - official guidance
National Careers Service: the STAR method - reflection framework