Editing UCAS (section)

==== Personal statements ====
The personal statement is an integral part of the application. It gives candidates a chance to write about their achievements, their interest in the subject they are applying for, as well as their suitability, interest and commitment to higher education. Personal statements can contain a maximum of 4,000 characters (including spaces) or 47 lines – whichever comes first, with a maximum of 94 characters per line. A research study conducted by UCAS with over 300,000 personal statements of students revealed that the personal statement (among the student's grades) is the most important part within the application process.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=22 September 2018|date=22 June 2015|first=Jasper|last=Hamill|title=UCAS reveals the secret to writing uni applications: passion AND purpose|website=[[Daily Mirror]]|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/science/ucas-reveals-language-tricks-help-5929898}}</ref> [[Plagiarism]] in personal statements is common<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6426945.stm|title = Degree applicants 'copy from web'|date = 7 March 2007}}</ref> and UCAS uses Copycatch software to detect personal statements that are considered to have 30% or more "similarity" to statements submitted by others.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/applying-university/writing-personal-statement/personal-statement-dos-and-donts|title=Personal statement dos and don'ts|date=19 December 2019}}</ref> The free-form nature of the application also lead some applications to complete the essay in an absurdist manner.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-01-13 |title=Knowing Cardinal Pell, Chaput on 'anti-Francis' bishops, and the hubris of oyster sexing |url=https://www.pillarcatholic.com/knowing-cardinal-pell-chaput-on-anti-francis-bishops-and-the-hubris-of-oyster-sexing/ |access-date=2023-01-18 |website=The Pillar |language=en}}</ref>

Due to being viewed by some as being rooted in class bias, UCAS began phasing out the statement in 2023, with the college class of 2025 being the last one mandated to complete it.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Editor |first=Nicola Woolcock, Education |title=Ucas scraps personal statements for university hopefuls |newspaper=[[The Times]] |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/education/article/ucas-scraps-personal-statements-for-university-applicants-wzlmsmcn8 |access-date=2023-01-18 |issn=0140-0460}}</ref>