The time for university applications is here. As an international student who was so stressed out about this a few years ago, I’m here to share some tips for excelling in your undergraduate programme applications.

Be strategic in your top five choices

For undergraduates, you have five applications to make through UCAS. By five, this could be applying to five different universities, or applying to a university but for different programmes. You can mix both by applying to three universities for five different programmes, for example. The combination is totally up to you. The important point is that you can only submit the same personal statement, which must be 4000 characters long, on why you want to join a given programme across your five choices. In other words, you should be strategic in deciding which programme to apply for, as you can’t tailor and draft five personal statements. 

That’s enough for the theoretical bits, let me walk you through my personal experience. Initially, I was thinking of applying to five International Relations (IR) programmes. Then, as I researched programmes, I realised that there are certain options to study a joint degree, such as IR and Politics, or IR and History. You can read my blog on studying my programme (BSc International Relations and History) to find out more! Next, I came up with a list of extracurricular activities that I led throughout my secondary school years.

You know what, the majority of my student-led experiences had something to do with history at the end of the day. I chose to study IR because I wanted to understand why international conflict (with violence) occurs in our contemporary world. At this point, I felt that it would be more useful if I could grasp the historical background of IR-related conflicts. That’s how I ended up applying for a BSc in International Relations and History at five different universities, which helped me to tailor my personal statement to match both disciplines. Talking of personal statements…

Personal statement: explore, plan, (re)draft

I found the personal statement to be the most abstract (and confusing) part of the UK university application process. Although there is no magic bullet that will make your personal statement perfect, I would strongly recommend that you use the personal statement as an opportunity to explore yourself and why you want to study a certain programme. You could go back to the extracurricular and academic activities you enjoyed in particular, or even think about experiences where you have done extra, spontaneous research (such as reading books or even academic journals) to explore your interest beyond your school curriculum. 

Once you have figured out specific elements you want to put in your personal statement, plan your organisation. You only have 4000 characters to cover three questions. If you’re applying for a joint honours degree, as I did, you will want to balance your interests in both subjects equally as you plan, because you will probably have an equal number of modules from both disciplines. Find out more about how to structure and write your personal statement in Ananya’s guide.

Finally, draft as many times as you can. Your writing will get more concise, yet packed, through your re-drafting process. If you can get feedback from your teachers on your personal statement, that’s ideal. As you draft again and again, you might feel like it’s perfect because it’s so familiar to you, but your audience might not feel the same way. You’ll need enough time to re-edit your personal statement, which is linked to my next piece of advice.

Time waits for no one, but don’t lose yourself

Time management is key for a successful application. You’ll simultaneously have to juggle your academics, personal statement, getting references, and so on. Although it is daunting, you can plan ahead to keep up with the deadlines and commit to making progress with your application every day.

Of course, don’t forget to take small breaks throughout your journey, get enough sleep, and take care of your health. You’re the only person that represents you. Yes, it’s stressful – I’ve been through all that, but don’t let your application override self-care. Have a read of Aishwarya’s blog for tips on prioritising wellbeing alongside your application.