Jonathan Tinnacher 2/24/25 Jonathan Tinnacher 2/24/25

Ten things you should know about the new UCAS Personal Statement for 2026

The other day I asked ChatGPT what it could tell me about the new UCAS Personal Statements for 2026. “Of course” it said before going on to explain that the new Personal Statement would consist of six specific questions. When I suggested that it was wrong, and there would be only three questions, it admitted “You're right!” before listing the wrong three questions.

ChatGPT, you see, gets its information from the wild west of the internet, and clearly on this particular subject, the internet doesn’t have a clue what it’s talking about.

So instead of trusting AI to sort the truth from the myths, here are ten actual, real, true things that you should know about the new UCAS Personal Statements for 2026.

Jonathan Tinnacher 7/10/23 Jonathan Tinnacher 7/10/23

Personal Statements: Not ‘I have to…’ but I ‘get to…’

Every so often I come across an idea so simple and so brilliant, that it changes the way I look at almost everything. For me, this is one of those ideas. And for you, I hope it helps you take your first brave steps in writing your UCAS Personal Statement.

Jonathan Tinnacher 7/3/23 Jonathan Tinnacher 7/3/23

Writing your UCAS Personal Statement using ChatGPT

I’m writing this during a week when hundreds, if not thousands, of schools world-wide will be holding university application weeks for their year 12 students. Right at the centre of these events will be kick-off sessions for writing your UCAS Personal Statements. I wonder how many of these sessions will focus around how to make best use of ChatGPT, and how many will just conveniently ignore it?

Jonathan Tinnacher 6/26/23 Jonathan Tinnacher 6/26/23

What exactly are super-curricular activities, and why should I be bothered?

You’ve all heard of extra-curricular activities; things like sport, games, clubs and community activities that you do outside of your studies. But what about super-curricular activities? Perhaps you’ve heard about these from teachers or advisers, but aren’t really sure what they are all about. If so, read on…