UCAS Question 2: Connecting your studies to your chosen course
As discussed in previous posts, the UCAS personal statement has been restructured for 2025 entry and beyond. Instead of one long essay, students now respond to three focused questions. The second of these questions asks:
“How have your qualifications or studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?”
This question is all about showing the academic foundation for your interest. It’s your chance to demonstrate how the skills, knowledge, and habits you’ve developed through schoolwork (and beyond) will help you succeed at university.
How much should I write?
UCAS still sets a total character limit of 4,000 characters across all three questions. I recommend using 1,200–1,600 characters here. That gives you space to cover key skills, cross-subject links, and additional supercurriculars without losing focus.
Step 1: Highlight subject-specific skills
The best way to approach this section is to start with skills. Look at the course website for your chosen university and identify what they value.
For example:
The Oxford Chemistry course page notes that the subject is taught and examined as a whole, encouraging students to make links across topics. Here, you could highlight your ability to draw on conceptual understanding and creativity to solve tricky problems, showing that you’ve practiced connecting different parts of the curriculum.
The Warwick Mathematics course page highlights the importance of being able to follow complex reasoning. You could demonstrate your ability to do this by talking about tackling challenging Further Maths questions or exploring enrichment problems.
The Manchester English Literature course page discusses working independently, so you might choose to talk about longer research projects you’ve done on your own, like an EPQ.
Don’t just say you have a skill, show how you developed it.
Step 2: Link your other subjects
A great way of demonstrating the skills you’ve developed which have prepared you to study your chosen course is to reference the skills gained from studying your other A-Level (or equivalent) subjects.
I’ll be releasing a full post on how to write about your other qualifications later in this series, so look out for that if you want to dive deeper into this step.
Step 3: Add more supercurriculars
Finally, this is another chance to showcase your supercurricular activities. You’ll already have mentioned some in Question 1, but here you can add new examples, especially if they link directly to the modules or themes of your chosen course.
For example:
A student applying for Medicine might link to wider reading about epidemiology, sparked by a biology module on immunity.
A Politics applicant could mention attending public lectures or reading journal articles on international relations to build on classroom study.
A Computer Science applicant could show how exploring algorithms outside the curriculum gave them a deeper perspective on A-Level maths topics.
Remember: quality matters more than quantity. Pick a small number of experiences and explain what you learned and why they strengthened your preparation.
Final thoughts
Question 2 is where you prove you have both the academic skills and the intellectual curiosity to succeed at your chosen subject. By linking your studies, highlighting transferable skills, and showing how you’ve extended your learning, you’ll demonstrate that you’re not only motivated but also well-prepared.
If you’d like expert, personalised feedback on your personal statement draft, you can book a free 15-minute chat with me using the button below to discuss how I might be able to help you.
