Personal Statements for 2026 Entry: Everything You Need To Know

If you’re applying for an undergraduate degree starting in September 2026, you’ll likely be aware that you need to include a personal statement as part of your UCAS application. You may also have heard that the format of the personal statement has changed for this intake. Our Head of Admissions, Lucy Cumberland, breaks down everything you need to know about personal statements ahead of the 2026 UCAS equal consideration deadline.

A bit about me

Hi, I’m Lucy Cumberland, Head of Admissions at Escape Studios. I’ve been working in admissions for eight years now and have aided thousands of applicants through the admissions process.

A big part of my role is to ensure that the process of applying to Escape Studios is as straightforward as possible for applicants. This is a very busy time in your life, and the Admissions Team want to help make the move to the next stage of your life as stress free as we can.

The idea of writing a personal statement can be quite daunting. In 2025, the Admissions Team read almost 1200 personal statements, so I want to take this time to let you know exactly what we’re looking for and hopefully put your mind at ease.

What is a personal statement and why is it important?  

A personal statement is an opportunity to tell us more about yourself and why you think you are the right person to study one of our courses. This is your chance to tell us what has inspired you to choose the course, and how your studies and experience have prepared you for this next step in your education. Help us get to know YOU.

What are the new changes to personal statements in 2026? 

For 2026, the personal statement has been broken down into three questions to help you focus on the key information admissions teams are looking for. You will have a limit of 4000 characters (including spaces) to answer all three questions and will need to use a minimum of 350 characters per question.

Below, I’ve provided some talking points for each question.  

Question one: Why do you want to study this course or subject? 

• Show that you have researched the course or subject. Talk about what you already know about it and what excites you about studying it.
• Tell us about when you first became interested in the subject and what sparked this interest.
• If you have a career in mind already, talk about how this course can help you get there.

Question two: How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject? 

• Talk about the qualifications you are studying (or have completed), and how they align with the course you are applying for.
• If you are not studying relevant qualifications, tell us how they are transferable to this course, and what other experience you have that is relevant.
• You can also highlight here any other accomplishments you may have had outside of the subjects you are studying. You may have won a competition at school that is relevant to the course.

Question three: What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful? 

• This is a good place to talk about any extra-curricular activities you have taken part in at school or college. This may have taught you how to work as part of a team or enhanced your communication skills.
• Tell us about anything you have done outside of school. For example, maybe you have taught yourself how to use Maya, or other software.
• If you have been working or volunteering, talk about this here. You may have had a role relevant to the course, or you can explain how the skills you have gained from this are transferable.

If you are applying for multiple subjects, it may be more difficult to focus your answers. I would encourage you to try and speak about each subject in as much detail as the character limit will allow. You can speak more generally about how your qualifications and experience are transferable across multiple subjects. 

What do we look for in a personal statement?

Enthusiasm is key! We’re not looking for a formal essay; we want to see your passion for the subject and where you see it taking you. Do you see yourself designing games? Or, working as part of a VFX team on a blockbuster movie? We want to know your career aspirations and how they align to our courses. 

Tell us more about your motivation for applying. You may not be studying creative subjects right now, and that’s fine. The personal statement is a great chance for you to show how your outside interests and experience have inspired you to apply for one of our courses. Is there a particular film that made you fall in love with Animation or VFX? Do you love playing games and have ideas for developing new games?  

If you are studying a relevant subject, tell us what you have learned during the course that has made you want to continue down that path. For instance, have you been learning Python and want to know how to adapt this for Games and VFX? Or, do you love drawing and want to develop this into visual storytelling?  

In your personal statement, you don’t need to show that you’re an expert in the subject; we just want to know that you have an eagerness to learn and develop the skills displayed in your portfolio. Although the personal statement is an important aspect of your application, we’d rather you focused your efforts on fine-tuning your portfolio to show us that you have what it takes to succeed on one of our courses. 

Finally, carefully check your spelling and grammar. Mistakes show a lack of attention to detail which admissions staff don’t want to see. Ask someone to proofread your personal statement to be safe.  

Lastly, don’t use AI to write your personal statement. We can tell if you have and it doesn’t give a good impression. The statement should be personal to you and only you can write this. 

My main piece of advice would be to have fun writing your personal statement. It doesn’t need to be a scary task, and is your chance to talk about your interests and experience and how they translate to the course you are applying for.

I wish you luck and look forward to reading some of your personal statements this year!