Writing a Personal Statement

Writing a Personal Statement for a New Zealand University

In a personal statement (statement of purpose), the student writes about what they hope to achieve on a university course, what they hope to do after the course and why they are applying to this particular university. It is your first chance to show a demonstrable passion and understanding of your chosen subject away from exam results.

In New Zealand, a statement of purpose is only required for undergraduate and postgraduate university applications. Otherwise, it is only needed for visa applications at all other study levels.

What do I include in my Personal Statement?

• Your career aspirations

• How you became interested in studying the subject

• What, if any, relevant work experience you have undertaken that is related to the course or subject

• What aspects of your previous education you have found the most interesting

• What attracted you to the particular university

• Other relevant academic interests and passions which display positive character and personality

Genuine experiences of extra-curricular clubs, work experience or knowledge around a subject are much more likely to make your personal statement stand out, while admissions officers are also for looking for positive evidence of your character which will make you a productive member of the university.

How long should my Personal Statement be?

The length of a personal statement varies depending on the university, but generally, the average length for an undergraduate application is between 300-600 words, around one side of A4 paper or a maximum of 47 lines. Certain postgraduate programmes may require a 1000-word personal statement, but this will be clearly specified.

Try not to go over the given character limit as admissions officers have many personal statements to go through, and a clearly written and concise personal statement is more likely to stand out.

What are common Personal Statement errors?

• The personal statement is too short/long

• The personal statement does not include important information/includes negative information

• The personal statement has a confusing structure

It is also important not to lie about any aspect of your personal life and education history, or even exaggerate. Admissions officers will question you about almost all aspects of your application and will be able to see through any lies.

Tips for Writing a Personal Statement

• Express a passion for your subject

• Start the statement strongly to grab an admission officer's attention

• Link outside interests and passions to your course

• Be honest, but don’t include negative information

• Don’t attempt to sound too clever

• Don’t leave it until the last minute; prepare ahead of the deadline

• Have friends and family proofread it

• Don’t duplicate material from your CV/resume

In terms of presentation, attempt to create five clear paragraphs of text in a clear font such as Arial or Times New Roman, with a maximum size of 12.

Personal Statement Editing

Once you have completed your personal statement, arrange a free consultation with SI-New Zealand. We can suggest edits and ensure the English is clear and grammatically correct.