Personal statement usage at UK medical schools

Our notes provide an overview of personal statement usage at UK medical schools

Curious about how the UCAS personal statement is used at different UK medical schools?

Our notes helps you compare usage of the UCAS personal statement at your target UK medical schools.

You can adjust this interactive table

By default, the table below displays all UK medical schools. To focus only on medical schools of interest, you can filter by medical school names. To revert after applying any filter, and see all (unfiltered) results, use the 'Reset' button.

See more filter usage tips...

Our medical school name filter does an 'OR' search on full medical school names after you set the filter and use the 'Apply' button. For example, you could filter on names such as 'Birmingham Manchester Glasgow Edinburgh' to display data related to these medical schools. Likewise, you could filter on 'London' to display data for all medical schools with 'London' in their full names. If you have logged in with a free MedSchoolGenie account, the website remembers your filters set on this page.

Displaying 1 - 39 of 39 UK medical schools

Medical school	Personal statement usage notes
Aberdeen	Personal statement is reviewed prior to interview for evidence of preparation for medicine. The personal statement is not scored but is assessed at interview.
Anglia Ruskin	The personal statement is not taken into consideration when shortlisting for interview Candidates who are invited to interview can expect to be asked about their personal statement at that stage
Aston	All personal statements are read, but not scored or used in ranking of applicants.
Barts	Personal statements are assessed in interview shortlisting, but not scored. They are used in the interview process for panelists to ask about work experience.
Birmingham	Personal statement is not scored. It is expected that the statement provides evidence of commitment to study medicine.
Brighton and Sussex	The personal statement is not used in any part of the selection process
Bristol	Personal statement is not assessed, but may be used to differentiate between applicants who have achieved the same UCAT score.
Buckingham	The medical school may consider all the information provided within a candidate’s application including academic qualifications, personal statement and references before a final decision is made to interview or offer a place on the course.
Cambridge	Personal statement is reviewed prior to interview but not scored
Cardiff	Evidence is sought for insight into a career in medicine, experience and reflection of personal responsibility, experience and reflection in a caring environment, a balanced approach to life, self-directed learning and a sense of social awareness, in addition to positive referee's comments.
Dundee	The personal statement is reviewed prior to the interview stage but not scored
Edge Hill	Personal statement and and reference are used to distinguish between borderline applicants.
Edinburgh	As explained on the website (where there is very detailed guidance), the personal statement "provides the opportunity to tell us all about you! While it will not be formally assessed, your personal statement will be essential preperation for you if you are successful in being invited to one of our Assessment Days." Three main topics to be included in the personal statement: 1) Personal qualities and skills; 2) Evidence of career exploration prior to application; 3) Non-academic achievements and interests
Exeter	The personal statement is evaluated for details regarding mitigating circumstances. The statement is not ranked or scored as part of the selection process.
Glasgow	Reviewed prior to interview but not scored
Hull York	The personal statement is screened before offer but not scored. All available information, including the personal statement, may be used when assessing applicants who are borderline at selection for offer or selection for interview.
Imperial	Evidence of motivation to study medicine, understanding of medicine as a career, community activities, leadership qualities, ability to work in a team and general interests.
Keele	Not assessed, but may be used at interview station to discuss relevant experiences.
Kent and Medway	Personal statements are considered for all borderline applicants in order to promote them into the group selected for interview. Work experience is considered within the personal statement.
King's College	Personal statements are used as part of the interview shortlisting process. No consideration given to applicants whose personal statements are not focused on Medicine.
Lancaster	Personal statement is not used as a separate part of selection process, but may be used as part of the interview.
Leeds	Not formally scored, but it is essential that applicants take this opportunity to demonstrate their motivation and enthusiasm to study.
Leicester	Personal statement is not routinely read, although it can be used in a borderline or tiebreaker situation.
Lincoln	The personal statement is read but not scored. The personal statement and reference are assessed after interview, before issuing offers.
Liverpool	Personal statement will not be used in making the decision to invite to interview but will be assessed at interview.
Manchester	Personal statement not normally used. Non-academic information form is sent to candidates ahead of interview.
Newcastle	Not used prior or at interview. Read prior to offers being made, but is not scored.
Norwich (UEA)	The personal statement is not scored but a commitment to studying medicine is expected.
Nottingham	The personal statement is not scored. Personal statements and references are assessed post-interview before issuing offers.
Oxford	Personal statement is considered along with all other aspects of the application for those applicants who are not automatically shortlisted. Personal stement may be used as the basis for interview questions for those shortlisted.
Plymouth	Not scored
Queen’s Belfast	Personal Statements are not scored. Personal statement should indicate commitment and motivation, explicitly to Medicine as career choice.
Sheffield	Not read or scored. Insight into a career in medicine, work experience, volunteering and outside interests are explored via interview.
Southampton	Personal statement used at interview to discuss non-academic criteria.
St Andrews	Not scored, but applicants must have health-related work experience to be considered for interview.
St George's London	The personal statement is not scored.
Sunderland	Not assessed - roles and responsibilities form required.
UCL	Personal statements are read and priority scored using the following criteria: work experience, motivation to study medicine, evidence of team work, leadership and communication skills, independent learning skills and other interests. Applicants are encouraged to think reflectively about their skills and experiences, and how they have helped to prepare them for a career in medicine.
UCLan	The personal statement, academic reference and transferable skills statement are used in selection of applicants for interview.

You can login to bookmark this post and access power-user options

You can adjust this interactive table

About MedSchoolGenie

Website key links

User Menu