The UK’s University and College Admissions Service (UCAS) has recently launched big changes to the undergraduate admissions process.
In this article, we look past the headlines to explore what the changes will really mean for students looking to apply to UK universities.
Is UCAS Scrapping the Personal Statement?
Well, the short answer is no, not really.
Perhaps the most important thing to note is that the new changes to the personal statement will come into effect in September 2025 for students applying for 2026 entry.
In addition, UCAS acknowledges that the personal statement is a great opportunity for students to show they’re more than just their grades. Moreover, it’s an important prompt for self-reflection, which can help students refine exactly what and where they want to study.
However, they also acknowledge that the quality of a personal statement can be more of a reflection of the support a student has received from schools or tutors during the admissions process than their own suitability for further study.
To address this issue, UCAS is replacing the personal statement with three short questions which you’ll need to structure your answer around. These are:
1. Why do you want to study this course or subject?
2. How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course?
3. What else have you done to prepare outside of education and why are these experiences helpful?
Other Changes to the UCAS Process
The other changes won’t affect the elements of the application you need to fill in, but it’s still good to know how they’re changing the back end of the process and the additional resources that are available.
Academic reference
Changes to the academic reference section affect the way your teacher, tutor or head of sixth form will fill in their section of the UCAS form. Overall, this should broadly be a good thing, as it will make sure references are more comparable between schools, and it won’t change your side of the application in the slightest.
Entry grades
In a move that should prove very useful for prospective students, UCAS has improved student access to entry grades data. Specifically, course pages now display the advertised and actual grades of accepted students based on five years of historical data.
Personalised resources
UCAS releases unparalleled amounts of data and insights on the university application process, and they’re committed to publishing resources and making this information public.
That said, they publish so much that the resulting quantity of content on their website can be, frankly, overwhelming. In response, they’ve committed to targeting this wealth of information, aiming to foreground resources that will be most useful for each individual, based on the information you input when you’re making your account.
Ultimately, the aim of this change is to make sure each student knows where to access the best support and most relevant information, regardless of background, school or resources.
Outreach opportunities
Finally, UCAS has launched the Outreach Connection Service, which will connect students and schools with the full range of support available to them, with the aim of improving accessibility and widening participation in higher education.
By Sophie Parker
Our Head of Content, Sophie, is responsible for our blog and our resources. She graduated from University College London, where she read English.
