Writing a personal statement for your university application can be tough. You may not be used to selling your skills in writing to a stranger – how do you avoid over-used phrases like from a young age I have been interested in?

It appears that a lot of you are falling back on over-used phrases when writing your personal statement and are damaging your prospects of standing out and getting a place.

According to UCAS chief executive, Mary Curnock Cook the university admissions service looked at thousands of applications to find the most frequently used phrases.

The most over-used phrases on personal statements

The most commonly used phrase was “From a young age I have (always) been…” – which was used as the opening line on 1,779 of applications last year. This phrase was frequently finished with the words “interested in” or “fascinated by.”

The second-most used phrase was the similar, “For as long as I can remember I have…” followed in third by, “I am applying for this course because…” Meanwhile, over 900 applicants wrote, “I have always been interested in,” while “Throughout my life, I have always enjoyed…” and “Reflecting on my educational experiences…” were also common application phrases.

With nursing being the degree course with the highest number of applicants, it is no surprise to see this career path highly represented in the list of over-used phrases, as over 200 people wrote, “Nursing is a very challenging and demanding [career/profession/course].”

This phrase was followed in popularity with the more general, “Academically, I have always been…” while 160 opened with “I have always wanted to pursue a career in…” or “I have always been passionate about…”

Finding an original way to sell yourself on your personal statement isn’t easy, which is why it is worth taking some time and thought over it. However, a lot of students took the ‘personal’ out of personal statement by including a well-known quote from former South African president Nelson Mandela, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” - which was used by nearly 150 people.

As Mary Curnock Cook made clear, “The personal statement is supposed to be personal,” adding, “Learning to write about yourself in a compelling way is a vital skill when applying for jobs,” noting, “Using hackneyed phrases is not the best way to stand out.”

Personal statements - How do you make yourself stand out?

Our advice would be to try to avoid using these common phrases and to make sure your personal statement is truly personal (so no quotes!).