Writing your personal statement: Students with individual needs

What's on this page?

• Personal statement guide for students with caring responsibilities
• Personal statement guide for students estranged from their parents
• Personal statement guide for displaced students

What’s a personal statement? 

The personal statement is your opportunity to show the university or college that you have the potential to succeed on the course, and demonstrate your commitment to studying the subject area you’ve chosen. We have plenty of advice to help you write your personal statement — you can find more guidance here.

Outside of education and academic achievements, some students worry about what they can include about their experiences outside of education. For some, additional responsibilities or personal circumstances have limited their ability to extra-curricular activities, work experience, sports teams, and after-school clubs. However, it is very likely that your individual experiences will have given you different skills and experiences which are just as valuable and transferable to your course.

In this guide, we’ll help you consider your personal responsibilities, and the skills and personal characteristics you may have gained from them – all of which can be used  to make your personal statement stand out from the crowd.

Getting started

Think about the skills and characteristics you will need for different aspects of your studies – perhaps make a list for:

1. studying in general – what sort of skills do you think will help you to be a successful student?
2. your chosen course – what specific skills and personal characteristics do you think this course requires, especially one that leads to a profession or career? Use the course description for ideas.
3. non-academic situations – it’s not all about what happens in the classroom. What other skills and characteristics will you need for settling in, your day-to-day activities or social life?

Once you have some ideas, you can start to think about ways in which you can demonstrate these skills and qualities using your own experiences. The guides below will help you think about these more closely.

How can you stand out?

If you have caring responsibilities, your free time may be limited and you may find it difficult to participate in activities such as volunteering, after-school clubs, local societies or work experience. Student carers tell us they sometimes feel like they’re missing out on opportunities to build an impressive personal statement. However, you’ll undoubtedly have developed lots of additional skills and strengths that are highly valued in higher education.

Providing unpaid care for a family member or friend develops a range of important skills and characteristics. Thinking about these is a great starting point for writing your personal statement. You don’t have to go into lots of detail; it’s about showcasing your skills and demonstrating your suitability for the course.

Let’s look at things to note down to help you think about what to include in your personal statement. These are just ideas to get you started, and you’ll probably think of others you’d like to add.

Think about your responsibilities and actions

These are the things you do as a carer. For example:

• emotional support (e.g. listening and talking to someone who is distressed, helping someone communicate )
• financial support, budgeting and money management (e.g. shopping, paying bills, managing the household budget)
• practical and household tasks (e.g. cooking, cleaning, washing, looking after siblings/other family members)
• personal care or physical help (e.g. providing personal care, helping someone get dressed, washed, go to the toilet, or get out of bed)
• administrative, professional and medical support (e.g. dealing with professional staff, administering or overseeing medication, organising and attending appointments, arranging support services)
• general support (e.g. managing your own needs alongside those of others, juggling caring and work and/or education, prioritising self-care)

Think about your skills

These are the skills you demonstrate through your caring responsibilities – think about how your responsibilities have helped you build skills. Here are some ideas other student carers have suggested to get you started:

• manage challenging situations or behaviours, remaining calm under pressure, risk management
• take responsibility, reliable, takes initiative, leadership skills, decision making
• understand complex information, attention to detail
• problem-solving, organisation, prioritisation, time management
• advocacy (speaking or acting on behalf of someone else), communication, negotiation

Think about your personal characteristics

This focuses on the person you are, perhaps as a result of caring for someone else - consider how the responsibilities and skills you’ve listed have helped you develop these characteristics. Again, we have given you some ideas from other student carers to help you get started:

• patient, compassionate, empathetic, supportive of others, understanding
• flexible, responsive to changing situations, responsible
• resourceful, resilient, emotional intelligence, self-awareness
• commitment, determination, perseverance, self-motivated
• high moral and ethical awareness, sensitive to and respectful of diversity and difference

Read more advice for young adult carers about identifying transferable skills on the Carers Trust website.

Action for Carers offers a young carers’ skills journal to help you think about your skills in more depth.

How can you stand out?

As an estranged student, it’s likely that you’ve lived in difficult conditions at home and may no longer be in contact with your parents or wider family members. Your circumstances may have affected your ability to participate in activities such as volunteering, after-school clubs, local societies or work experience.

Students who are estranged from their parents tell us they sometimes feel like they’ve missed opportunities to build an impressive personal statement. However, your circumstances may mean you’ve had to overcome many personal challenges – and you’ll have undoubtedly gained a variety of skills and strengths that are highly valued in higher education.

Applying to university or college without family support is a very positive personal step, so identifying your transferable skills and characteristics will help your application stand out. You don’t need to go into detail - it’s all about showcasing your skills and demonstrating your suitability for the course.

Let’s look at things to note down to help you think about what to include in your personal statement. These are just ideas to get you started, and you’ll probably think of others you’d like to add.

Think about your responsibilities and actions

These are the things you have to do because you are estranged from your parents. For example:

• live independently, organise accommodation, manage the practicalities of moving
• manage finances, budgeting, money management
• perseverance through difficult circumstances, managing stressful situations, navigating difficult or risky situations
• manage personal needs, independently source support, taking the initiative

Think about your skills

These are the skills you demonstrate as a result of your estrangement – think about how your responsibilities and actions have helped you build skills. Here are some ideas other estranged students have suggested to get you started:

• calm under pressure, manage and critically evaluate challenging situations, mediation and negotiation
• planning, strategic thinking, goal setting
• time management, organisation, prioritisation
• problem solving, resourcefulness
• self-advocacy, communication, responsibility

Think about your characteristics

This focuses on the person you are, perhaps as a result of studying without support - consider how the responsibilities and skills you’ve already listed have helped you develop these characteristics. Again, here are some ideas from other estranged students to help you get started:

• hard working, determined, committed, self-motivated
• independent thinking, creative
• adaptable, self-aware
• empathetic, compassionate, patient, supportive of others
• responsible, resourceful, resilient

How can you stand out?

Displaced students sometimes find it challenging to participate in activities such as volunteering, after-school clubs, local societies or work experience. This is often because they are trying to navigate the asylum process or adjusting to life in the UK.

Although no refugee experience is the same, it is likely that you’ve gained many additional skills and strengths while managing the complexities of restarting your life in the UK. Thinking about what these are will give you a great starting point for your personal statement and help you stand out. You don’t have to go into detail - it’s all about showcasing your skills and demonstrating your suitability for the course.

Let’s look at things to note down to help you think about what to include in your personal statement. These are just ideas to get you started, and you’ll probably think of others you’d like to add.

Think about your responsibilities and actions

These are the things you’ve needed to do as a result of your displacement. Other students have suggested some starting points:

• Practical: learning a new language, navigating a new culture, adapting to new systems and processes, juggling family needs with personal priorities
• Financial: managing a tight budget, prioritising financial needs
• Emotional: handling distressing experiences and difficult situations, making challenging decisions, learning to overcome and recover from difficult past experiences
• Legal and professional: making appointments, managing important paperwork, understanding legal procedures, navigating legal systems, legal aid and other legal services.

Think about your skills

These are the skills you demonstrate as a displaced person. Think about how your responsibilities and actions have helped you build skills – other displaced students have suggested some ideas to get you started:

• endurance of hardship, resilience, adaptability
• attention to detail, understanding complex information, self-advocacy, communication
• stress management, calm under pressure, responsible
• decision making, problem solving

Think about your personal characteristics

This focuses on the person you are, perhaps as a result of becoming displaced.  Consider how the responsibilities and skills you’ve already listed have helped you develop these characteristics. Again, here are some ideas from other displaced students to help you get started:

• courageous, brave, responsible, independent
• hopeful, optimistic
• committed, dedicated, hard working
• resourceful, determination, perseverance, responsive
• self-motivated, independent
• self aware, patient, sensitive to and respectful of diversity and difference in people, environment and culture

You might also like to read

• More information for students with individual needs
• More information on applying through UCAS
• More information and guidance about the personal statement