UCAS Personal Statements - 2026

(01) Why do you want to study this course or subject?

Question 1 asks you to explain why you want to study medicine or dentistry. This is your chance to show your personal motivation for pursuing the subject, and broadly similar to the beginning of your interview answer to "why medicine/dentistry" .

While it is appropriate to discuss an interest in science and helping others, it is essential to draw on your own personal experiences, such as volunteering, work shadowing, or family influences. Be specific about what excites you in medicine - whether it’s diagnosing illness, prescribing treatments, or focusing on prevention. This will demonstrate why medicine, in particular, is the right path for you.

(02) How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?

Question 2 is the place to talk about things you did as part of your formal education (EPQ, Olympiads, essay competitions, school council, etc.) or more externally-led opportunities like online courses or MyUCAT supercurricular talks. If wider reading or independent research was sparked by these, it also fits here, as it shows intellectual curiosity and how you build on structured learning.

Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result, Reflection) to give clear examples and, most importantly, link each experience back to the skills you’ll need in medicine - such as managing workload, critical thinking, teamwork, communication, and commitment to professional development. This question is absolutely not limited to things at school/your A level qualifications. In general, if it came through a formal teaching opportunity, it belongs here, whereas exploration that stems from work experience and volunteering fits better in Question 3.

(03) What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?

Question 3 asks what you have done independently to prepare for medicine, and why those experiences are useful. This section will usually be the longest part of your answer for a vocational degree like medicine or dentistry - and that’s absolutely fine. Here, you can include experiences such as work experience, volunteering, part-time jobs, or extracurricular activities.

When writing about experiences, use a reflective structure to go beyond just describing what you did:

Situation – Describe a specific case or context you observed.
Theme – Identify a key theme (e.g. communication, empathy, teamwork, shared decision-making)
Analyse – Explain what the healthcare professional did that demonstrated this skill.
You – Reflect on what you learned, how you applied it, and why it matters for you as a future doctor. Did it inspire further reading, research, or activities?

Always link back to how these skills will help you succeed in medical/dental school and in your career. Showing this kind of reflection is what turns an activity into strong evidence of your preparation for your desired career.

Importance of the Personal Statement

Though the personal statement is not the major criteria influencing shortlisting for medical or dental interviews, it is still essential that the personal statement is of a high quality. This is since:

The personal statement is often used in cases of borderline UCAT/interview performance for tie-breaking purposes
At a various universities, the personal statement may be visible to panel/MMI interviewers either before or during the interview process. It is advisable to make a good first impression, while also writing about only those things that a person would be confident discussing.
A small number of medical and dental schools do also make direct use of the personal statement when shortlisting, for instance:
- - Keele now scores the personal statement for medicine and uses this as the main shortlisting factor (out of 15 using these specific criteria)
    - A large proportion of our personal statements each year are for Keele, and we can specifically cater to these requirements
  - The personal statement is a component used by the University of Oxford in shortlisting for graduate-entry medicine - we can provide specific guidance with meeting criteria
  - For dentistry, Sheffield uses the personal statement as one of the shortlisting criteria (alongside UCAT)

We have experience with supplemental questionnaires at universities including:
- Cambridge Medicine - MyCambridge
- Sunderland Medicine - Interview Shortlisting Tool
- Oxford Graduate Entry Medicine - Supplementary Application Form
- Southampton Medicine (WP BM6) - Three Non-Academic Questions
Support for these can be booked in the same way as personal statement support

Please note that the Keele R&R form no longer exists. Nor does a supplemental questionnaire for medicine or dentistry at Manchester.

Spending a large proportion of the summer period reviewing the personal statement is not advisable - it is essential that the UCAT takes priority. Benefitting from our personal statement editing services can accelerate the improvement process and ensure that valuable time is retained for UCAT preparation!

FAQ: How much research do I need?

Statements with mention of research in are appreciated anywhere, but this is particularly important if applying to research intensive top Russell Group universities such as Oxford/Cambridge/Imperial/UCL, as many of our students choose to do each year. It is important to ensure that you do still have enough on interpersonal/soft skills alongside this; no matter where you choose to apply, you are ultimately still becoming a doctor/dentist!

FAQ: Where can I find a model personal statement (note that these are in the old UCAS format)?

(1) This one belongs to MyUCAT Founder: Ojas Rajkumar

Successful Oxford Personal St (Ojas)

(2) This one is on a university webpage as a model personal statement

Model Statement

MyUCAT Personal Statement Guide - 2026 Entry.pdf