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Resources AllUCATPersonal StatementMedicineDentistryInterviewsGraduate MedicineHot TopicsFree WebinarsAll Medical School Entry RequirementsLast updated September 2026 · Worked examples · 2027 entry
Reading an example only helps if you can see why it works. So for each of the three UCAS questions we have written two answers to the same experiences: one that is fine but forgettable, and one that would score. Underneath each answer you get the reviewer notes, split into what works and why, and what is weak and how to fix it.
These answers were written in-house by our reviewers as teaching examples. They are not real submitted statements, and you must not copy them. UCAS runs similarity checks on every statement, and an admissions tutor can tell when a line is borrowed.
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How to use these examples. Read the weaker answer first and try to spot the problems yourself, then read the stronger one and the notes. Copy the structure and the thinking, never the sentences. UCAS checks every statement for similarity.
These are short excerpts. They show how to turn a weak answer into a stronger one, not the full length you should write.
Question 1This answer decides whether the reader trusts the rest of your statement. It should show a realistic, evidenced reason for choosing medicine, built from something you actually saw or did.
How long
Around 25 percent of your 4,000 characters, so roughly 900 to 1,100.
What a reviewer checks
Shadowing on a respiratory ward showed me that most of the job is dealing with uncertainty, not dramatic moments. I watched a consultant explain a new COPD diagnosis three times, in three different ways, until the patient repeated it back. Reading Being Mortal after that placement changed how I think about treatment goals. I want a career where thinking carefully and speaking honestly matter just as much as each other, and where I keep learning for forty years.
Weak points
Reviewer verdict: The experience itself is good, but the wording buries the best parts of it. Answer B below tells the same story more specifically.
StrongerShadowing a respiratory consultant, I watched her explain a new COPD diagnosis to a patient who nodded along but had not understood. She drew the airways, swapped to everyday language, and asked him to explain it back so she could correct the gaps.
It showed me how much of medicine depends on adaptive communication. Knowing the right diagnosis is not enough if the patient has not taken it in.
Reading Being Mortal afterwards made this clearer. Patients often care more about quality of life than survival alone. The consultant had done the same thing: she reduced the jargon, checked his understanding, and found out what mattered to him before discussing treatment. That is the kind of doctor I want to become.
Reviewer verdict: Same ward story, but now it shows exactly what the consultant did, what you learned from it, and why that matters in medicine.
How the earlier draft became a stronger answer
Compare the earlier draft with the revised version, then see exactly what changed and why.
Earlier draft
Shadowing on a respiratory ward showed me that most of the job is dealing with uncertainty, not dramatic moments. I watched a consultant explain a new COPD diagnosis three times, in three different ways, until the patient repeated it back. Reading Being Mortal after that placement changed how I think about treatment goals. I want a career where thinking carefully and speaking honestly matter just as much as each other, and where I keep learning for forty years.
Revised version
Shadowing a respiratory consultant, I watched her explain a new COPD diagnosis to a patient who nodded along but had not understood. She drew the airways, swapped to everyday language, and asked him to explain it back so she could correct the gaps.
It showed me how much of medicine depends on adaptive communication. Knowing the right diagnosis is not enough if the patient has not taken it in.
Reading Being Mortal afterwards made this clearer. Patients often care more about quality of life than survival alone. The consultant had done the same thing: she reduced the jargon, checked his understanding, and found out what mattered to him before discussing treatment. That is the kind of doctor I want to become.
What is better, and why
This is where you show how you think, not what you have been taught. Pick one or two academic threads and go deep rather than walking through every subject.
How long
Around 35 percent of your 4,000 characters, so roughly 1,200 to 1,500.
What a reviewer checks
My EPQ started as a straightforward question: why are antibiotics failing? I expected the answer to be about bacteria mutating faster than we can develop drugs. What I found was more uncomfortable. A large part of the problem is prescribing that is entirely reasonable for the patient in front of the doctor and unreasonable for everyone else.
I read about GPs prescribing for infections likely to be viral, often under time pressure and with a worried parent in the room. The individual decision is defensible each time. Repeated across a population it drives resistance. That was the first time I understood that a clinical decision can be right for one patient and wrong overall, and that someone still has to make it in ten minutes.
Chemistry built the habit behind the project. When a practical gave an unexpected result, I learned to trace the source of error, usually my own technique, before blaming the method. I appraise health claims the same way now: what was measured, in whom, and how reliable that evidence is.
Weak points
Reviewer verdict: A strong draft, but the wording still hides its best ideas. The revised answer below makes the same experiences sharper and more concrete.
StrongerMy EPQ began with a straightforward question: why are antibiotics failing? I expected the answer to be that bacteria were simply evolving faster than we could develop new drugs. Instead, I found a more uncomfortable problem: prescribing can be entirely reasonable for the patient in front of a doctor, yet contribute to resistance when repeated across a population. Reading about GPs prescribing for infections likely to be viral, often under time pressure and with a worried parent in the room, showed me how hard it is to do the right thing when the patient in front of you wants something now. The individual decision is defensible each time. Repeated across a population it drives resistance. That was the first time I understood that a clinical decision can be right for one patient and wrong overall, and that someone still has to make it in ten minutes.
Chemistry has taught me to question unexpected results rather than immediately accept the first explanation. When an experiment produced an anomalous result, retracing my calculations and technique revealed an error in my own procedure. I saw the same principle on an online course about clinical research, where comparing studies of the same treatment showed me how differences in study design can lead to very different conclusions. In one example, an observational study suggested a treatment improved outcomes, but a randomised trial found little benefit once differences between the groups were controlled for. This showed me why medical evidence cannot be separated from how it was obtained.
Reviewer verdict: This answer would be remembered. It shows a student who follows a question past the syllabus and understands that the method behind the evidence matters as much as the headline result.
How the earlier draft became a stronger answer
Compare the earlier draft with the revised version, then see exactly what changed and why.
Earlier draft
My EPQ started as a straightforward question: why are antibiotics failing? I expected the answer to be about bacteria mutating faster than we can develop drugs. What I found was more uncomfortable. A large part of the problem is prescribing that is entirely reasonable for the patient in front of the doctor and unreasonable for everyone else.
I read about GPs prescribing for infections likely to be viral, often under time pressure and with a worried parent in the room. The individual decision is defensible each time. Repeated across a population it drives resistance. That was the first time I understood that a clinical decision can be right for one patient and wrong overall, and that someone still has to make it in ten minutes.
Chemistry built the habit behind the project. When a practical gave an unexpected result, I learned to trace the source of error, usually my own technique, before blaming the method. I appraise health claims the same way now: what was measured, in whom, and how reliable that evidence is.
Revised version
My EPQ began with a straightforward question: why are antibiotics failing? I expected the answer to be that bacteria were simply evolving faster than we could develop new drugs. Instead, I found a more uncomfortable problem: prescribing can be entirely reasonable for the patient in front of a doctor, yet contribute to resistance when repeated across a population. Reading about GPs prescribing for infections likely to be viral, often under time pressure and with a worried parent in the room, showed me how hard it is to do the right thing when the patient in front of you wants something now. The individual decision is defensible each time. Repeated across a population it drives resistance. That was the first time I understood that a clinical decision can be right for one patient and wrong overall, and that someone still has to make it in ten minutes.
Chemistry has taught me to question unexpected results rather than immediately accept the first explanation. When an experiment produced an anomalous result, retracing my calculations and technique revealed an error in my own procedure. I saw the same principle on an online course about clinical research, where comparing studies of the same treatment showed me how differences in study design can lead to very different conclusions. In one example, an observational study suggested a treatment improved outcomes, but a randomised trial found little benefit once differences between the groups were controlled for. This showed me why medical evidence cannot be separated from how it was obtained.
What is better, and why
Work experience, volunteering, caring roles, part-time jobs. Reflection matters more than the hours logged. One experience written properly beats four listed.
How long
Around 40 percent of your 4,000 characters, so roughly 1,400 to 1,700.
What a reviewer checks
I have completed two weeks of work experience in a hospital, where I shadowed doctors in several departments. I also volunteer weekly at a care home and I am a member of my school's debating society and netball team.
My work experience showed me the importance of teamwork and communication in the multidisciplinary team. Volunteering at the care home has developed my empathy and taught me how to speak to elderly people. Debating has improved my confidence and public speaking, and netball has taught me leadership and how to work as part of a team. Together these experiences have prepared me for the demands of a medical degree and a career as a doctor.
Weak points
Reviewer verdict: This reads like a CV turned into sentences. These experiences deserve a proper write-up.
StrongerFor fourteen months I have volunteered on Saturday mornings at a residential care home. I struggled with the quieter residents at first, because I filled every silence and moved on to the next question before anyone had answered.
One resident, a retired seamstress, barely spoke to me for a month. What changed was watching a care assistant sit with her without saying anything, then ask about the cardigan she was mending. She talked for twenty minutes. I had been treating conversation as something I had to supply, when what she needed was time and a reason to start.
I now go in expecting the pace to be hers, not mine. The same has been true on the ward. During work experience I watched a nurse notice a patient had gone quiet, mention it to the doctor, and change the plan for the day. Nobody had run a test. Someone had simply been paying attention.
The other thing I have learned is that a lot of this work is not uplifting. Some Saturdays involve the same conversation for the fourth week running with a resident who will not remember it. I have kept going because I can see it matters to them at the time, and I would rather know that about the job now than find out during my first placement.
Reviewer verdict: The strongest of the three answers. It's specific, it's honest, and there's no way it could have been copied.
Good to better: tightening the opening
Compare the earlier draft with the revised version, then see exactly what changed and why.
Earlier draft
For the past fourteen months I have volunteered on Saturday mornings at a residential care home. At the start I was bad at it. I found the quiet residents hardest, because I felt responsible for filling every silence and kept moving on to a new question before anyone had answered the last one.
Revised version
For fourteen months I have volunteered on Saturday mornings at a residential care home. I struggled with the quieter residents at first, because I filled every silence and moved on to the next question before anyone had answered.
What is better, and why
Send us your medicine statement and a senior reviewer marks it up line by line, keep, sharpen or cut, with the reason and the fix. Back in 72 hours, from £69. We suggest edits and give detailed feedback, we never rewrite it for you.
Get my draft reviewed Prefer 1-to-1 tutoring?Admissions tutors read hundreds of these. The event may be genuinely important to you, but as an opening line it tells them about someone else, not about you. If it belongs in your statement, use it as evidence later, and lead with something you did.
Never quote a dictionary, the GMC or a famous physician to explain what medicine is. The person reading it has done the job for twenty years.
Two weeks in a hospital, three days with a GP, a fortnight in a pharmacy. Nobody scores the hours. They score what you noticed and how it changed your view of the job.
Compassionate, resilient, hard working, a good communicator. If you have to say it, you have not shown it. Delete the adjective and describe the moment instead.
Only mention what you have properly read and can be questioned on. A single book you can discuss beats five titles you skimmed.
A statement where nothing was difficult reads as unreflective. One honest difficulty, and what you did about it, is worth more than three success stories.
AI drafts are fluent and say nothing, which is exactly the failure mode admissions tutors are trained to spot. UCAS also runs similarity checks. Use it to plan if you must, never to write.
These are the clichés we see in almost every first draft. The rewrite keeps the same idea but shows the skill through a real moment, and explains why it matters for medicine.
Weak line
"I am a hard working team player with excellent communication skills."
During a busy evening shift at the care home, a resident with dementia became agitated while I was helping another resident with her tea. Rather than trying to manage both at once, I caught the eye of a senior carer, explained quickly what was happening, and asked her to stay with the first resident while I finished.
It took about ten seconds, but it taught me that handing over a patient is not about dumping every detail you know. It is about giving the next person enough to take over safely. That is the communication and teamwork medical schools are actually looking for.
Why this works: The weak line claims three qualities at once. The better version shows one moment where the writer had to communicate clearly, work as part of a team, and put the resident's safety first.
Weak line
"Volunteering at a care home made me realise I want to save lives."
At the care home, a woman with Parkinson's used to grip my hand while I walked her to the dining room. At first I thought she needed physical support, but I noticed she was steady on her feet and just wanted someone to stay with her while the room moved.
I learned that reassurance can be as useful as treatment, and that noticing what a patient actually needs takes longer than doing what you assume they need. That is the part of medicine I want to get good at.
Why this works: Saving lives sounds impressive but says nothing about what the writer saw or learned. The better version shows observation, patience and a real insight into patient-centred care.
Are these real medicine personal statements?
No. Every example on this page was written in-house by our reviewers to teach a point. They are not submitted statements, and they must not be copied. UCAS runs similarity checks on all statements.How long should each answer be?
The 2027 UCAS statement is 4,000 characters in total across three questions, with a minimum of 350 characters per answer. There is no fixed split, but for medicine roughly 25 percent, 35 percent and 40 percent works well.Can I use these examples as a template?
Use the structure, never the sentences. What makes the stronger answers work is that the detail belongs to one person. Copy the detail and the whole thing stops working, apart from the fact that it is not allowed.What makes an example good rather than just well written?
Three things: a specific moment nobody else could have written, evidence instead of claimed qualities, and a visible change in how you think. Fluent writing without those is still a weak statement.Can you check my own personal statement?
Yes. Our medicine personal statement review returns your draft with line-by-line comments in 72 hours, from £69. You get suggested edits and detailed feedback, not a rewrite.Do you have examples for dentistry?
Yes, on our dentistry personal statement examples page, written by dental student reviewers.Line-by-line feedback on your own draft in 72 hours, from £69.
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