Personal statement evidence sheet

Six rows that make a student explain what each thing taught them, before they write a word of prose.

Fill the first column fast and without filtering. The two columns after it are the work, and a row with only the first column filled in is not ready to use.

What I did What it taught me How it connects to the course

Stuck? Start here

  • A topic you kept reading about after the test
  • Something you read, watched or listened to that nobody set
  • A free online course, a podcast, a documentary you followed up
  • A job, or money or stock you are trusted with
  • Somebody at home who relies on you
  • Something you organise, even informally

The first three are about the subject, and they are first on purpose. Universities read roughly four fifths of a statement as academic, and the subject ones cost nothing: a library book, a podcast, a free online course.