What is the key to writing a successful personal statement?

Your personal statement provides a global picture of you as a student. It helps the admissions board evaluate how much you have learned from each of your experiences and how driven you are about the field you wish to pursue. It can seem daunting to fit an accurate description of your personality in a mere 4000 characters, but it all comes down to demonstrating a few essential qualities: willingness to take risks, intellectual curiosity, leadership and academic accomplishment. Showing passion for the subject you wish to pursue is also crucial. Past experiences in your chosen field are of course a bonus, but not essential to prove your enthusiasm. What matters is that you show how each experience has helped you mature, whether it has anything to do with your subject or not. International students such as myself should also mention why they have chosen to study in the UK. Finally, I would advise you to be genuine. The point of a successful personal statement is not to create the persona of a perfect student, because that will not help you stand out among the swarm of applicants trying to do the same thing. The trick is to highlight the best sides of your own character in a lively and confident manner. I'm here to help you do just that.