UCAS Personal Statement Checker

How to check your UCAS personal statement

1. Write or paste your answer to each of the three questions in its own box.
2. Watch the counters: each answer needs at least 350 characters, and the three together must not exceed 4,000 characters, including spaces. The bar turns red if you go over.
3. Read the checks for overused phrases, very long sentences, unbalanced answers and characters that may not display in the UCAS Hub.
4. Copy each answer into the matching box in your UCAS application, then check UCAS's own counter, which is the one that counts.

The new UCAS personal statement format

For courses starting in 2026 and later, UCAS replaced the single free-form essay with three questions: why you want to study the course, how your qualifications and studies have prepared you, and what else you have done to prepare outside of education and why it is useful. The 4,000-character limit is shared across all three answers, and each must be at least 350 characters. You decide how to split the space; many applicants give the first two questions a little more room, but universities read every section, so none should feel like an afterthought.

Admissions tutors want evidence and reflection rather than claims. Instead of saying you are passionate, show it: a book, lecture, project or experience, what you learned from it and how it connects to the course. Use the course's own language, cut generic openings such as "From a young age", and end each answer with a link back to the subject. The application deadline for most undergraduate courses is 13 January 2027 (6pm UK time), the equal consideration deadline; the earlier deadline for Oxford, Cambridge and most medicine, dentistry and veterinary courses was 15 October 2026.

Your answers are saved only in this browser and never uploaded, so you can draft over several sessions. Download a copy before you clear your browser data.