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Admissions 2015/16
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

Guide to writing a Personal Statement

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Guide To Completing Your Personal Statement

Your personal statement is the opportunity for you to demonstrate that you have the enthusiasm
and aptitude required to be a successful student and practitioner. Its a short document, and
youll be submitting the same version to every medical school, so its important that think about
it carefully. This document will tell you what the Leeds Admissions Team look for in a personal
statement. Most medical schools are looking for evidence of the same attributes, but you should
read the guidance provided by any other school to which you are applying as well as this!

General principles

The purpose of our course is to develop excellent

doctors of tomorrow and our teaching is based
on the values of the NHS. Our selection process
is based on attributes, values, motivation and
behaviours relating to those principles. Well learn
something about your attributes and abilities from
your qualifications, but it is the personal statement
which tells us about you as a unique individual.
Try to make the statement as specific and
personal as you can. Whenever possible you
should only make claims which can be verified vague statements such as Im a people person
dont tell us anything useful .

FOR EXAMPLE, DONT SAY

I have 12 GCSE A* grades and

am predicted three As at A level.
That information is elsewhere on
your UCAS application.

Avoid making tick-box lists like I have two weeks work experience, a Silver Duke of Edinburghs
Award and I show Maine Coon cats, but do show us what your experiences meant to you. During
work experience I discovered..., On our expedition, I had to..., Keeping show cats requires
commitment and perseverance...
If anything has adversely affected your ability to study for, or perform in, your examinations, it may
be possible for the Admissions team to make allowances for it in their assessment - but obviously
they can only do this if they are aware of it. You can do this in your personal statement or your
referee can include it in their section, which may save you valuable space. You shouldnt feel under
any obligation to disclose anything to UCAS which makes you uncomfortable and we are willing to
accept direct disclosure via your referee as long as they mention in their reference that they will be
contacting us.
And dont waste space telling us things we already know; the personal statement box doesnt have
a lot to spare!

REMEMBER - Admissions Staff arent psychic!

We cant read your mind and we cant predict the future. The only
way well know anything about you is if you include it on your UCAS
form!

What are we looking for?

Here are some of the key values well hope youll demonstrate in your personal statement and at
interview.

Working together for patients.

Patients come first in everything we do. We fully involve patients, staff, families, carers,
communities, and professionals inside and outside the NHS.

Respect and dignity.

We value every person whether patient, their families or carers, or staff as an individual,
respect their aspirations and commitments in life, and seek to understand their priorities,
needs, abilities and limits.

Commitment to quality of care.

We earn the trust placed in us by insisting on quality and striving to get the basics of quality of
care safety, effectiveness and patient experience right every time.

Compassion.

We ensure that compassion is central to the care we provide and respond with humanity
and kindness to each persons pain, distress, anxiety or need. We find time for patients, their
families and carers, as well as those we work alongside.

Improving lives.

We strive to improve health and well-being and peoples experiences of the NHS. We cherish
excellence and professionalism wherever we find it.

Everyone counts.

We maximise our resources for the benefit of the whole community, and make sure nobody is
excluded, discriminated against or left behind.
Accurate spelling and grammar are of paramount importance when completing your statement. You
have plenty of time to prepare and perfect your statement before submission, so any errors which
slip through make it look as if you havent taken much care over it which doesnt look attractive to
an Admissions Team.
Be especially careful to avoid plagiarism i.e. the words must be your own. There are two important
reasons for this. Firstly, a personal statement must be personal, i.e. it must be about you. A
plagiarized statement only tells us about someone else. Secondly, plagiarism (presenting the
work of another person as your own) is a form of dishonesty, something we do not regard as an
attractive quality in applicants. UCAS put all applications through similarity detection tests, which
identify statements that have been copied from another source. Dont be tempted to copy another
persons application materials, or download your personal statement from a website. We are likely
to reject any such application immediately.

Other sources of information

There are many sources of information to help you to write your personal statement. The UCAS
site contains a lot of useful information but bear in mind that it is generic information, intended
for applicants to all courses. You should tailor your personal statement to highlight information
of interest to medical schools. See http://www.ucas.com/students/applying/howtoapply/
personalstatement/ for further guidance.
The University of Leeds is committed to improving access to all our course, including medicine, via
a range of Widening Access and Foundation programmes. Our WAMS Team (Widening Access to
Medical School) run a useful website at http://www.wanttobeadoctor.co.uk/
There are also many internet fora and chat rooms populated by current and prior applicants,
all willing to offer advice. These are good places for discussions, but be wary of any sweeping
statements which you encounter. The contributors to these discussions will have limited experience
on which to base their opinions and a lot of things everybody knows turn out not to be true! No
medical school issues misleading information and we are as open as we can be without risking
the integrity of the applications process rather like an exam board who will tell you the syllabus,
but not which actual questions will be in this years A-level papers. Our web-site has a lot of
information, and well be updating the Frequently Asked Questions throughout the year. (Assuming
people ask questions. If you want to ask one, go to www.leeds.ac.uk/medicine/admissions/)

REMEMBER We are the people who will assess your application!

There are lots of sources of information out there - web sites,

books, your school, courses and previous applicants. Often this
information is contradictory. If our web-site advises you to do
something one way (e.g. declare your cashed-in AS results) and
another source advises differently, just ask yourself
Whose opinion is going to decide how Leeds rate my application?

What do we want to read?

Your insight into a career in medicine

The Medical Schools Council has agreed that candidates should have obtained some experience
of what a career in medicine involves.

FOR EXAMPLE, DO SAY

I volunteered at The Bledlow Centre,

a respite care home, one day every
weekend for 18 months. I learnt a lot,
both from patients and (when I felt out
of my depth) from the staff and other
volunteers.

Avoid clich statements and be realistic

and honest. Remember that prospective
statements are very difficult to mark everyone is full of good intentions and
so we will concentrate on what you have
already achieved. What did you learn?
Has it helped make you more confident
about your decision to study medicine?
The School recognises that experience
in such a setting is increasingly difficult
to obtain. Think not only of the typical
healthcare settings but also of alternatives
including hospices, nursing homes or
pharmacies.

If your attempts to gain relevant work experience have been unsuccessful make reference to
this within your personal statement. The website http://www.medicalcareers.nhs.uk/considering_
medicine/work_experience.aspx gives guidance on how to obtain work experience and how to
make the most of it.
If you are successful in gaining an interview, contact
details of supervisors/managers are required for all
relevant work experience placements. Note that as a
condition of any offer, relevant work experience may
be verified and deception in amount or type of work
experience could result in an offer being withdrawn.
There has been a recent expansion in the literature
and courses aimed at prospective medical
students. Applicants should use this to find out
more information about their choice of career and
be realistic about the future. Give some indication
of how you informed yourself. Overall, the type of
experience is much less important than what you
have learned from it and how it has helped shape
you. We do not give any extra marks to candidates
who have attended one of the courses that require
you to pay a fee.

BUT DONT SAY

I did some volunteering at a

care home. Demonstrating a
caring nature is important for a
doctor.

This is also a good chance to mention any other academic achievements you may have that fall
outside traditional GCSE/A levels e.g. awards, prizes and additional academic achievements if
they are relevant to your career choice. This could include your extended essay. It is also a chance
to mention anything that may have adversely affected your level of achievement, e.g. illness or
change in personal circumstances.

Evidence that you can take responsibility

Doctors carry a huge responsibility for their patients and applicants should be able to demonstrate
that they have begun to develop this aspect of their character. Demonstration of responsibility
through paid employment, within school, and through family or leisure activities are desirable.
Activities connected to and independent of school are given equal merit.

Evidence of social and cultural awareness

Before embarking on a career so dependent on interacting with all members of society, usually
under difficult situations, it is useful for applicants to have some experience on a regular basis of
society beyond their immediate environment. Preferably this experience should have been gained
over a period of several months, and it is not necessarily required to be directly related to medicine.
This may help applicants to reflect on health and healthcare in the wider community. Many
applicants gain this insight through caring experience, voluntary work, part-time employment and
organised community schemes. Again, activities connected to and independent of school are given
equal merit.

Your interests, activities and achievements

The School believes that people who have developed interests outside their career and who try
to lead a balanced life are more likely to be effective medical practitioners. Also, we encourage
students to contribute to the sporting, artistic, cultural and community aspects of the University.
Successful applicants will have found time to pursue non-academic interests whilst still meeting the
necessary academic requirements.

What dont we want to read?

The area for your personal statement is limited. Dont waste space by telling us things we already
know. In most cases, we want to hear what you have done, not what you plan to do, or would like
to do.

FOR EXAMPLE, DONT SAY

Next year, Im going to spend some time
in Ecuador, digging wells for villages with
no clean drinking water
This is highly commendable but you
havent done it, so we cant reward you for
having done so.

One exception to this suggestion

relates to work experience. We know
it can be difficult to get experience in
time before the application deadline,
so if you have work experienced
arranged which you have not yet done,
do tell us about it. But be aware that
we will ask about it, if you are invited
to interview, so if it has to be cancelled
you should let us know as soon as
possible.

Try to avoid general statements

Medicine is a career which involves
life-long learning - unless you explain
why that applies to you specifically.
Medicine is a career which involves
life-long learning and I have always
loved learning new things. If a
comment doesnt tell us about you,
it probably doesnt belong in your
personal statement.
We dont want to read what your
cousin put on their successful
application last year, or something you
found on-line or in a book. We really
cant stress how important it is that
your personal statement is about you.
UCAS will submit your application to a
software similarity check, so unoriginal
text will be recognised and we would
not be able to process your application
any further.

BUT YOU COULD SAY

This year, I spent one Saturday every
month doing sponsored push-ups to
raise money so that next year I can go to
Ecuador to dig wells for villages with no
clean drinking water

What now?

This is your chance to tell us about yourself. Grab a pencil and a sheet of a paper. Or turn on your
computer and start a new document, if thats how you like to work. Or pick up a pack of Post-It
notes and find a blank wall. We cant decide what will work for you, because we dont know you.
But we want to.

So tell us what youre like...

REMEMBER - Admissions Staff will only know what

you tell them on your UCAS form!
We need a reasonable amount of detail about anything you
want us to consider. We dont need to read a diary listing
every case you saw in your work experience, but theres a
big difference between I volunteered in a care home and I
volunteered in a care home every weekend for a year!

About this document

This document describes the regulations and processes relating to

applications received during the 2014/15 admissions cycle for admission
to the five year undergraduate programme leading to the award of
MBChB.
The admissions processes do not usually undergo significant change
from year to year but if you are referring to this document after the end of
the 2014/15 admissions cycle you should download a copy of the current
version from our website (address below).

DISCLAIMER

The information made available by the University of Leeds in this document does not form part of any
contract. Changing circumstances may cause the University to have to change its provisions at any time.
Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information presented, the University cannot
accept responsibility for errors.

COPYRIGHT

This document is copyright The University of Leeds 2014. It may be reproduced and distributed in full or
part in any format for non-commercial use as long as this copyright notice is included in all copies. A PDF
version is available for download from our website http://medhealth.leeds.ac.uk/info/202/applying_for_the_
mbchb

Email:
ugmadmissions@leeds.ac.uk
Website:
http://medhealth.leeds.ac.uk/medicine/admissions