Students applying for university through UCAS will be required to answer three questions under new plans to help support people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Under the current system, prospective students have been filling out a free-response essay for their personal statement, which can be up to 4,000 characters long.
But amid concerns the task helps advantaged people who can get support, the essay will, as of September 2025, be replaced with three mandatory questions.
The questions are:
• Why do you want to study this course or subject?
• How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?
• What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences helpful?
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Students seeking to start university in 2026 will be the first to experience the reformed application form, which will allow for the same amount of writing as the essay.
The move comes as UCAS data suggests the gap in university application rates between the most and least advantaged students has widened in the last year.
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Data shows the application rate from the most disadvantaged backgrounds has fallen slightly to 25.4% in England, while the application rate for the most advantaged has marginally increased to 60.7%.
UCAS surveyed potential applicants about to start their personal statement, and found more than three-quarters prefer the new three-question format.
Previous UCAS research found 79% of students felt that the process of writing the personal statement was difficult to complete without support.
Jo Saxton, chief executive at UCAS, said: “The changes to the personal statement, along with our recent fee waiver for students in receipt of free school meals, are all part of UCAS’s contribution to the sector-wide effort to ensure more people from disadvantaged backgrounds can benefit from the life-changing opportunity of higher education.”