How to Write a Master's Personal Statement in 2024 Entry
As with all university applications submitted through UCAS, your Master's application has to come with a stellar personal statement attached. Writing a personal statement for a Master's degree is no easy task — your postgraduate personal statement has to be of the highest possible quality if you want to stand out above the other applicants, and yet, more so if you want to be successfully shortlisted for a place on a Master's course. We have put together a guide to writing the perfect Master's personal statement; read on to discover the secrets.
Postgraduate personal statement
How to Start a Personal Statement for Master's In 2024
Planning & Time - Nothing will undo all the hard work you put into writing your Master's statement quite like trying to rush it, or not planning adequately ahead of time. Different universities and courses will have different deadlines for when your UCAS application has to be submitted by; Oxford and Cambridge, for example, have a deadline far earlier than the UK standard. To ensure you are not strapped for time to properly prepare a perfect personal statement for Postgraduates, make sure you are aware of the deadlines for your course / university, and start writing ahead of time. You also want to make sure you leave yourself enough time for editing and re-drafting — an essential part of the writing process we will explore in finer detail below.
Master's Personal Statement Structure - As part of the planning process, it is well worth figuring out ahead of time what you want to say in your Master's statement, and how much weight you want to give to each part. UCAS guidelines state that you are only allowed 4,000 characters for your document, including spaces, which works out to approximately 600-650 words. Setting out hard and fast rules for what you would like to include in your document, how many characters you wish to expend on each topic, and the order in which you present them, are all areas worthy of consideration before you start writing. Also be aware that any good individual statement needs a catchy opening, and a strong conclusion, in order to communicate a complete and fluent picture of yourself in the eyes of admissions teams.
Your Degree - By virtue of the name, it is assumed Postgraduate students will already have an Undergraduate degree in their back pocket. Whether your initial degree is in the same subject as the Postgraduate degree you are applying for, or you are looking at a new field of study, you should be prepared to explain how your Undergraduate experience has set you up for success, both in your Master's, and as a student of your potential university. You have the advantage of time and experience, to bring a real, unique flair to your Master's statement, and ensure your unique experiences are highlighted.
Your Experience - An aspect of the Master's statement that is of the utmost importance, perhaps more so than when you applied at Undergraduate level, is the inclusion of relevant work, or any experience you may have had within the field. Any detail you can include to ensure you stand out as a qualified individual, who knows what they are getting into, in terms of Master's study, will be sure to highlight you as an exceptional potential student, and a great asset to any university department. If you have yet to attain any relevant work or volunteer experience, this would be a perfect opportunity to expand upon what unique perspective your Undergraduate degree will allow you to bring to the course, either as a student of a particular field, or of a certain university.
You, Yourself and I - Contrary to what you may believe, university applications at Postgraduate level do not have their outcome determined based on your academic achievements alone. University life, as you will no doubt have discovered during your Undergraduate years, is about more than purely academia. The opportunities to involve yourself in university life are rife, with societies, clubs and socials designed to bring people together from day one, and ensure your university experience is as much about you gaining independence and good memories, as much as it is about getting a degree. As such, any extracurricular interests or hobbies you have that have shaped you as a person absolutely deserve a mention in your postgraduate personal statement. If you were a member of any student societies at Undergraduate level, be sure to bring them up. Sports, voluntary work and creative pursuits are also looked upon favourably by university admissions teams who will value knowing more about who you are as a person, and what you will bring to the university during your Master's studies.
Your Goals - Almost no one applies for a Postgraduate degree without a plan in mind for their future. Admissions teams for Master's degrees will absolutely want to know what your plans are for your Master's, whether that be further study, or a future career. Often viewed as an afterthought by students writing statements, this could not be further from the truth; university admissions boards admire ambition, and as any successes you achieve within your lifetime will reflect well upon them as an institution, they have a vested interest in what you intend to do with your Master's, post-graduation.
Personal statement for masters
Postgraduate Personal Statement
Approaching a third party to edit your postgraduate personal statement, or even create a new one for you from scratch, is becoming an increasingly popular option when it comes to the Postgraduate application and statement writing process. Our company is the UK’s lead when it comes to bespoke personal statements for Postgraduate applications, helping to craft un-plagiarised and all-encompassing statements for students all over the world, hoping to study a Master's in the UK, or abroad.
Even the most proactive students report heightened levels of stress and anxiety when it comes to personal statements, even before the writing process has begun. For some, the prospect of condensing an entire life of learning, development and goals into only 4,000 characters is a challenge they would rather not attempt alone. For others, particularly the enormous amount of international students in the UK whose first language is not English, they may wish for a second pair of eyes on a pre-written statement, or to have one written in full, guaranteeing perfect spelling and grammar.
Our expert writers are all 2.1 graduates from the UK’s best universities, and educational experts to boot. If you are in need of a specialist service to produce a perfect statement on your behalf, our tiered packages guarantee we have a solution to suit your needs.
Master's Personal Statement
If you have a draft of your Master's personal statement already written up, you may wish to take advantage of our editing and proofreading package. Though we do not add any additional content, we may re-order your words, tweak phrasing, and eliminate any spelling and grammar errors you may have missed in your own read-through. Swift, professional service is guaranteed, ensuring your statement is returned, complete, within 48 hours, or as quickly as 24 hours, if you choose to go with our Express Service.
For those who would rather have an entire personal statement written on their behalf, our Standard service provides the perfect solution. Fill in a questionnaire, detailing your academic background, work experience, motivations for studying a Postgraduate degree, extracurricular interests, along with your future hopes and goals, and let our writers do the rest. In addition, you can take advantage of the opportunity to suggest one-time edits or changes, before receiving your statement in full.
Lastly, there is our Elite service, highly recommended for applications to Oxford or Cambridge, Postgraduate degrees, and degrees in dentistry, medicine, law or veterinary science. This package not only guarantees you a bespoke personal statement written in full, but a week of full, unlimited editing time to return your statement to your writer and suggest changes. For courses that require a step up in terms of the quality of your personal statement, the Elite package has all the answers.
Where additional material is required to bolster your university application, our writers are happy to help here also. From cover letters to CVs or resumes, editing a letter of recommendation, or ensuring you have your statements of intent laid out perfectly before beginning an application through UCAS, our writers are ready to rise to the occasion.