So, you’ve decided that you want to go to University. But before you can get there you need to complete your UCAS form. Without a doubt, the most daunting part of that form is writing your Personal Statement.

Your Personal Statement should be a culmination of everything you’ve done and achieved to date, without showing off or hitting the wrong tone. As a result, writing a personal statement is a difficult balancing act that requires skill to get right.

We’ve spoken with our crack team of teachers to discover some of the most common personal statement mistakes students make. Here are the top five mistakes students make when creating their personal statement.

<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/ByVnFkuh9sz/" data-instgrm-version="12" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ByVnFkuh9sz/" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; 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1. Failure to show academic suitability for your chosen subject

Why have you selected the subject(s) you’ve put on your UCAS form? If you’re unable to articulate this and demonstrate your suitability for your chosen courses, you’re unlikely to receive an offer from the universities you applied to.

2. Not showing how you’ve developed your knowledge

You’ve studied hard at school and your predicted grades match or are better than the course requirements, but that’s not enough for most universities. A lot of students think that grades are all that matters to universities. University is hard, and the level of understanding required is far higher than school. But can you demonstrate what you’ve done to further your knowledge in your chosen subject outside of school?

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border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" strokeWidth="1" fill="none" fillRule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; 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overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BuOeo-UBxhh/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by aesthetic mess trying her best (@studiousgemini)</a> on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2019-02-23T13:37:29+00:00">Feb 23, 2019 at 5:37am PST</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>

Too much focus on extracurricular activities

Universities also want to get to know you. Most of us would not define ourselves by the subjects we’ve studied at school, or the grades we’re likely to get. But often, students spend too much time on what they do outside of school to the detriment of their academic capabilities. There’s a fine balance, so you need show who the real you is, without diverting focus away from the admissions team’s core focus: are you suitable for the course you’ve applied to, and will you come out the other side with a good degree?

Inappropriate use of language

What’s the best tone of voice to use when writing your personal statement? Should you be formal and risk being a bit bland? Or should you reveal the real you? If you’re too chatty, universities won’t take you seriously. But if you’re too formal, you’ll come across a bit like a robot without a personality.

Remember, if you’ve decided to apply to go to University, you’re likely considering a residential degree where you leave home - probably for the first time - to live near campus. Will you fit in with your course mates? Will you fit in with your housemates or the community at the hall of residence? These are questions that the admissions team will be asking as they read your personal statement.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-cards="hidden" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">when u got like 15 essays 4 assignments and 6 exams to study for and u just chill in bed contemplating ur whole life <a href="http://t.co/JpNoH6a6N4">pic.twitter.com/JpNoH6a6N4</a></p>&mdash; Bianca Adamo (@biancaadamo) <a href="https://twitter.com/biancaadamo/status/583306237267308544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">1 April 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

A lack of editing

Right now, you probably don’t know where to start with your personal statement, and you can feel yourself procrastinating. You’re anxious and have lost confidence in your own abilities. You start to doubt whether you should even be applying to University.

You end up rushing your personal statement.

You’re under pressure to meet the deadline, and you just submit your first draft. Your personal statement ends up being full of spelling mistakes, bad grammar and poor formatting. You also rambled on about something unimportant, and you ended up repeating or, worse, contradicting yourself. This is enough to turn universities off - you’ve shown a lack of care and attention to detail. And they’ve struck you off the list.

Don’t fall into these traps. I know it’s harder than it sounds, but you can do this. And Adapt, we’re here to help you through what can be an incredibly stressful time. Adapt is free revision timetable app that adapts- if you get more done than expected, or miss a session, Adapt will move it to another day to make sure you get everything done by exam day, stress free. Let’s smash this together.

Cover image by @studykea