AI and your UCAS personal statement: what is allowed

Key takeaways

• →UCAS says AI can help you brainstorm, structure your ideas and check readability.
• →Using AI to write all or most of your statement could be considered cheating by universities and colleges.
• →When you apply you declare that the statement has not been copied or provided from another source, including AI.
• →UCAS checks statements for similarity, and universities may be told if text matches other statements.
• →Your own experiences, in your own words, are what make a statement worth reading.

1. What does UCAS say about AI?

UCASThe UK's university admissions service, which runs applications.’s guide to using AI and ChatGPT says AI can help you brainstorm ideas, structure your statement and check how readable it is. The same guide says that generating and submitting all or most of a statement with AI “could be considered cheating by universities and colleges”.^[1]

HEPI’s report from the 2024 UCAS Teachers and Advisers conference quotes the same line and adds that UCAS takes a zero-toleranceA strict rule with no leniency for breaking it. approach to work that is not the applicant’s own, including AI-generated text.^[2]

2. What do you declare when you apply?

UCAS says applicants must declare that the statement “hasn’t been copied or provided from another source, including artificial intelligence software”. That is why the safest rule is simple: the ideas, the examples and the sentences must come from you.^[1]

3. How does UCAS check?

UCAS says its Verification TeamUCAS staff who check applications for fraud and copying. runs checks for fraud and for patterns of similarityA check for text that closely matches other statements. between statements. If parts of a statement resemble others, the universities or colleges involved may be told, and text that is not in your own words could be flagged as fraud, which could lead to no offers or withdrawn offers.^[1]

HEPI’s report adds a useful point from UCAS: a similarity flag does not necessarily mean fraud, and universities decide using a range of information. It also says AI-detection toolsSoftware that guesses whether text was written by AI, and often gets it wrong. some universities use are “quite unreliable” because they often flag human writing, so the sensible aim is not to beat a checker but to write something honestly yours.^[2]

4. What jobs can AI do for you?

UCAS suggests using AI to generate topic ideas, list skills worth reflecting on, suggest structures that show your skills clearly, and check drafts for readabilityHow easy your writing is to read. and concise phrasing. It names tools such as Grammarly, Microsoft Editor, Microsoft Copilot in Word, NotebookLM and Gemini, mainly for editing, research or starting points.^[1]

UWE Bristol takes the same line: AI can help with ideas, structure and readability, but writing the whole statement with it tends to produce a generic submission, and significant AI use may count against an application.^[3]

5. What should you not do?

UCAS says not to copy and paste AI text as your final wording, and to check everything an AI suggests, especially facts, because it can be wrong. It contrasts good examples, which include specific personal details such as a particular book or a work placement, with weak ones that are generic, formal and bland.^[1]

UCAS also warns that heavy AI use feeds model training, which it says may make AI-written statements more detectable through similarity software. That is one more reason to write about things only you have done.^[1]

6. Does this apply to interviews and portfolios too?

Rules differ by university. UWE Bristol says you may use AI to prepare for an interview, for example to practise questions, but not during it, and that AI must not be used to create or compile a portfolioA collection of your own work, needed for some courses.. Always read the rules of each university you apply to.^[3]

7. A safe way to work

Start with a blank page and write down the books, projects, work experience and moments that made you choose the course. Then, if you use AI, use it as UCAS suggests: for questions that prompt you, a check on structure, or a second look at readability. Write every sentence yourself. Our personal statement guide and Year 12 starter guide show how to build one, Is using AI cheating? covers the wider rules and Using AI alongside tutoring shows how to prompt well.^[1]

8. How Brainhub can help

Brainhub offers coaching for students preparing university applications. We help you find your examples, give feedback on what is clear and what is vague, and keep you on track for the deadline. We coach, so the words are always yours, we never write personal statements or other applications for you, and we cannot promise an offer. See our university pathways for more guides, our online tutoring page for how sessions work, and book a free assessment choosing “University or graduate”.

1. 1. Can you use AI to brainstorm for your statement?

   Show answer

2. 2. What do you declare about your statement?

   Show answer

3. 3. Does a similarity flag always mean fraud?

   Show answer

4. 4. Should you paste AI text as your final wording?

   Show answer

Your next steps

1. 01

   Write a list of your own examples before opening any AI tool.

2. 02

   Draft each paragraph yourself.

3. 03

   Check the rules of each university you apply to.

4. 04

   Ask a teacher or coach to read the draft.