Source: Alamy

Follow the formula: not every applicant has help with a personal statement

Personal statements should be banned from university admissions papers because they give an unfair advantage to private school applicants, a thinktank has argued.

Pupils from successful schools, particularly from the independent sector, have better information, advice and guidance when preparing personal statements, strengthening their university applications, according to a study by the Pearson Think Tank, an independent policy unit funded by the FTSE-100-listed education publisher.

With private applicants also able to access more help from their parents, the ¡°unequal levels of information, support and advice available¡­in the completion of personal statements¡± are a concern for almost all the admissions officers interviewed for the report.

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Some say they ignore the statements or approach them with caution given the input from teachers.

¡°Reading personal statements from certain schools you can see the same language coming out, the same sort of form, and you can tell it¡¯s been worked over,¡± says one officer quoted in the report, (Un)informed Choices? University admissions practices and social mobility, published on 30 September.

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Another says that headteachers have told him that private schools are heavily involved in writing pupils¡¯ personal statements.

¡°They said: ¡®Well, they¡¯re paying ?7,000 a term, of course we give them a lot of help, that¡¯s what they¡¯re paying for,¡¯¡± the officer says.

Admissions officers are divided on the usefulness of personal statements, the study found. Some say they give an indication of students¡¯ commitment to a subject and their writing skills, while others feel they are ¡°worthless¡± because they are too formulaic.

The report adds that admissions tutors approach the statements in different ways depending on the university, faculty or department, and recommends their abolition.

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It argues that a centralised admissions system should be implemented to increase the transparency of decision-making processes and improve the fairness of selection.

¡°This would remove differential subjective assessments and value judgments by academic staff across faculties and departments,¡± it adds.

The Russell Group should develop and encourage its members to adopt standardised criteria to ¡°ensure that potential applicants understand how their application is assessed and on what basis¡±.

¡°This would reduce the varying practice in selection processes and so militate against the disparities that currently exist,¡± the report says.

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jack.grove@tsleducation.com