How Do Admissions Professionals Use the UCAS Personal Statement? HEPI Policy Note 48

In January 2023, UCAS announced their intention to reform the personal statement to a series of short questions. This built upon UCAS's work with students and providers in 2022/23, as well as academic literature that has documented the challenges and inequalities that surround the personal statement, including the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) Debate Paper, "Reforming the UCAS Personal Statement: Making the Case for a Series of Short Questions. HEPI Debate Paper 31" (ED630777), UCAS made an initial proposal to create short questions covering six themes (motivation; preparedness for course; preparedness through other experiences; extenuating circumstances; preparedness for study; and learning styles) and launched a consultation. This HEPI Policy Note aims to inform the consultation, presenting results from a survey of admissions professionals on their use of the UCAS personal statement in undergraduate admissions. The survey was launched in January 2023 and ran until April 2023. It primarily targeted people whose day-to-day work involves processing and assessing applications, hereafter called 'Admissions Officers'. This focus was chosen because the authors wanted to know how UCAS personal statements are used by practitioners, rather than gaining an institutional perspective from 'Admissions Managers', whose day-to-day job primarily involves managing those that process and assess applications. Although both Admissions Officers and Managers completed the survey, the former answered a broader range of questions.