Transparency in Undergraduate Admissions Essays: The case of the UCAS personal statement in the UK

Abstract

There is considerable debate about the fairness of university admissions processes, particularly in national contexts with substantial prestige differences between providers. However, there does tend to be agreement that admissions processes should be transparent. This study investigates the extent to which undergraduate university admissions in the UK are transparent, particularly with regard to the use of an admissions essay called the UCAS personal statement. Our methods are twofold: 1) we assess whether university staff use the personal statement in ways that align with information on student-facing websites, and 2) we perform an in-depth transparency analysis of fifteen university course websites to assess the extent to which universities helped applicants to understand what a high-quality personal statement looked like. We find considerable evidence of issues related to transparency, with some examples of good practice. The paper concludes with several recommendations for providers to enhance their transparency. The 2025-26 reforms to the UCAS personal statement offer an opportunity for all universities to update their public-facing websites and guidance, so this paper represents a timely intervention.