Use of the personal statement for undergraduate law admissions

The request was successful.

Dear Sir/Madam,

I would like to request the following data about the admissions process for all of your undergraduate law degrees.

1. Whether a candidate's personal statement (which is submitted through UCAS) is considered by the admissions team when considering whether to give that candidate an offer;

If the personal statement is assessed by the admissions team:
2. A list of the marking criteria/factors that are considered by the admissions team when assessing the candidate's personal statement;
3. Whether a candidate's personal statement is given a score or grade of any kind;
4. The weighting attached to the aforementioned score or grade (e.g. 20%);
5. A list of personal statement scores given to offer holders who had applied for undergraduate study in law at your university in the 2018/2019 admissions cycle (and thus received offers for either 2019 direct entry or 2020 deferred entry).

Best Regards,
Samira

GLPD.Info.Rights, London School of Economics

Dear Samira,

With reference to your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act, please find below the information you requested.

1. Whether a candidate's personal statement (which is submitted through UCAS) is considered by the admissions team when considering whether to give that candidate an offer;

Yes.

If the personal statement is assessed by the admissions team:
2. A list of the marking criteria/factors that are considered by the admissions team when assessing the candidate's personal statement;

The statement is considered as part of a holistic assessment of the application, alongside qualifications, the academic reference and additional social and educational contextual information. It is not assigned a mark or score.

3. Whether a candidate's personal statement is given a score or grade of any kind;

No.

4. The weighting attached to the aforementioned score or grade (e.g. 20%);

N/A – data not held.

5. A list of personal statement scores given to offer holders who had applied for undergraduate study in law at your university in the 2018/2019 admissions cycle (and thus received offers for either 2019 direct entry or 2020 deferred entry).

N/A – data not held.

Each applicant to LSE is considered on his/her merit and in competition with the rest of the applicant cohort in a given admissions cycle. Each application is viewed holistically; assessing the merit, potential, motivation, skills and qualities of applicants by considering all the information presented on the application form. This includes, but is not limited to, academic achievements and qualifications. The personal statement, academic reference and additional social and educational contextual data also form an important part of the selection process. For more information on exactly what contextual information is used in the admissions decision making process please refer to the Undergraduate Admissions Policy.

If you think that the information provided does not meet your request, contact me on 020 7849 4622 or write to Louise Nadal, School Secretary, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE. We will then review the response to your request and get back to you within 20 working days. You can also contact the Information Commissioner's Office http://www.ico.gov.uk/, though they expect the internal review to be carried out before receiving a complaint directly.

The provision of information by the LSE under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 does not imply a right to copy, reproduce publish or otherwise use such information.

Copying or reproducing such information in any way either in whole or in part without prior written consent may be an infringement of copyright or other intellectual property right belonging to the LSE or a third party.

Yours sincerely,
Rachael Maguire
Information and Records Manager
London School of Economics

show quoted sections