How to write a UCAS Conservatoires personal statement

Where to start

• Course descriptions mention the qualities, skills and experience the conservatoire would like you to have – take note of these to help you decide what to write about.
• Remember it’s the same personal statement for all the courses and conservatoires you apply to. They’ll be able to see where else you’ve applied, so explain why you’ve chosen those courses.
• Have a look at our personal statement mind map for more ideas, or use our personal statement worksheet to write down answers to these questions and more.

• Personal statement mind map
• Personal statement worksheet

What to write about

1. Why you are applying – your ambitions and what interests you about the subject, conservatoires and higher education.
2. Your reasons for choosing the courses you have listed. Remember that each conservatoire will be able to see the other conservatoires and courses you've applied to.
3. What interests you about your chosen study area (playing an instrument, acting, singing, conducting, stage design or another specialist area).
4. Your experience within your chosen specialist area and in any other activity related to the course(s) for which you have applied.
5. What makes you suitable – membership of national/international orchestras, choirs or chamber groups (such as NYO, EUYO or National Youth Theatre) and any other relevant skills and achievements gained from education, work or other activities.

Extra-curricular activities

These are great ways to prepare for higher education. If you do or have done any of these before, they could be ideal things to mention in your personal statement. You might be able to organise or start a new activity before you send your application.

• Clubs or societies you belong to – perhaps musical, sporting or creative.
• Employment or volunteering – such as vInspired Awards, WorldWide Volunteering Certificate or Project Trust.
• Skills developed with ASDAN, Duke of Edinburgh, National Citizen Service or young enterprise.
• You may also be able to get accreditation in personal effectiveness from ASDAN for activities that prepare you for higher education.

How to write it

1. Structure your info to reflect the skills and experience the conservatoires value most.
2. Write in an enthusiastic, concise and natural style – nothing too complex.
3. Try to stand out, but be careful with humour, quotes or anything unusual – just in case the admissions tutor doesn’t have the same sense of humour as you.
4. Proofread aloud and get your teachers, advisers and family to check – then redraft until you’re happy with it and the grammar, spelling and punctuation are correct.

We recommend you write your personal statement in a word processor first, and then copy and paste it into your online application when you’re done. Check the 4,000 character and 47 line limits though – some word processors get different values if they don’t count tabs and paragraph spacing as individual characters.

When you do add it to your application, make sure you save it regularly, as it times out after 35 minutes of inactivity.

What happens to personal statements that have been copied?

We screen all personal statements across Copycatch our Similarity Detection system – so make sure your personal statement is all your own work. Don’t copy from anyone else or from the internet and don't share your personal statement with other applicants.

If we find any similarity in your personal statement, your application will be flagged. Then we’ll email an alert to you and your conservatoire choices and this could have serious consequences for your application.