If you’ve previously supported a student with their application to study at university, you may remember the personal statement. The part of the application process that often takes the longest to complete. Well, the personal statement is changing for applicants who are applying to join university in 2026 (and beyond).
Read on to find out what’s changed and how you can best support your young person as they complete their application.
What’s changed?
In the past, the personal statement was a free-form piece of writing where applicants had the freedom to write about anything. Tasked with writing 4,000 characters (approximately a side or two of A4 paper), applicants often found it tricky to get started as there was no set structure to follow. Now with the new format, applicants will be faced with three questions. The 4,000-character limit remains, but your student will now be able to take a more structured approach to writing their statement. And the new format aims to reduce confusion so that students can really make themselves stand out.
What to include
Your student will be asked three questions:
In each of these questions, your student should use evidence to back up their claims and experiences. And they should really tailor it to the course they’re interested in. If your student is applying for different courses, they should take a more generic approach. But they should still showcase how their skills will equate to them being a great university student. It’s important to note that the three questions will be read as if they are one piece of writing, so your student shouldn’t repeat themselves in each of the answers. With this in mind, it’s a good idea for them to use different examples of evidence in each question. Your student also has a limited number of characters to use in the answers so they should try to get as much out of them as possible.
How you can help
You’ll know yourself that it can often be hard to talk about all the good, positive things about yourself. And you’ll probably have realised over the years that you have qualities that you don’t recognise in yourself that others see in you. It’s the same for your young person. They’ll likely have qualities that they don’t realise are really valuable to share as part of their application. You can support them by helping them to identify these qualities and providing examples of how to position them in a way that reflects why they are suited to the course and the university.
You can also help your young person by proofreading their statement. Look out for typos and grammar issues, as these things can often go unnoticed and can be easily missed, especially when your student has been working on the statement for so long. Encourage them to read it aloud so they can understand if there are sentences that need improving, shortening or removing. It’s also a good idea for them to share it with their tutors or peers so they can also provide feedback and offer any ideas that they may have missed.
UCAS deadlines
The deadline for applications depends on the course that your student is applying for.
At Edge Hill, if your student is interested in studying Medicine, their deadline to apply for 2026 entry is Wednesday 15 October 2025. Our Medicine courses (both the 5-year and 6-year routes) are extremely competitive and applications for these courses must be submitted before this date. References for students interested in Medicine must also be completed before this date too. Your student should check with other universities if they’re interested in subjects like dentistry or veterinary medicine, as these subject areas tend to have an earlier UCAS deadline too. The UCAS website has more information.
For any other courses, the equal consideration deadline for 2026 entry is Wednesday 14 January 2026.
The equal consideration deadline means that all applications submitted before this date (except for Medicine at Edge Hill) will be considered equally. Which means that courses can’t close before this date.
Though these are the UCAS deadlines, your student’s school or college may provide their own internal deadlines for their students. This is likely because they need to complete references for multiple students, which also need to be completed before the deadlines. Your student should communicate with the referees throughout the application process so that they are aware when they may be asked to provide a reference.
It is possible for your student to submit their application after the 14 January deadline, and your student will be able to apply up until 6pm on 30 June. However, there is the possibility that the course may close if they have received enough applications for the course. There is no guarantee that there will be space on their preferred course/university, but many universities will still accept applications. To be on the safe side, we would recommend that your student applies before the 14 January deadline, if possible.
Applications received after 6pm on 30 June will be entered into Clearing automatically. Again, there will be limited courses at this point in the process. However, each university will list which courses they still have available. And your student will still need to meet the entry requirements of the course to secure their space.
Where can your student find support?
There are a number of avenues where your student can go for support with their personal statement. It’s common for schools and colleges to provide support in the lead-up to the UCAS equal consideration deadline. And they will work closely with students to ensure they complete their reference on time too. A lot of schools/colleges provide workshops and presentations, so encourage your student to attend if they have the opportunity to engage with sessions like this.
Another huge source of support is attending university open days and events. There are often sessions during the open day which provide details on the application process as a whole and even more bespoke presentations that focus on the personal statement on its own. At Edge Hill, we provide sessions about personal statements during each open day, presented by our Education Liaison Team. They can provide support in helping your student to understand exactly what they need to include and why it’s important.
And, don’t forget, you’re also a support to your student. You can help them focus on the transferable skills they should include in their statement. You can also help with reading through drafts and encouraging them to stick to their deadlines. And if you’re unable to provide feedback on the written content of the personal statement, you can be there for your young person mentally to ensure they keep a clear mind throughout the process.
Find out more
Does your student want to find out more about Edge Hill? Ask them to take a look at our ‘Visit us’ webpage to see all our upcoming events.
September 17, 2025