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As discussed in our previous column, it is vital for students aiming for top UK universities to identify the university subject to pursue so as to tailor and prepare for their application accordingly.

Exploration of subjects for students can begin any time. Students generally work and progress at different paces. Whilst some may have a clear focus or target when they begin their application, others may need more time to research into different subjects and figure out what it is they wish to pursue in their academic career.

Prior to applying for universities, students should keep in mind this one integral factor: not all UK universities offer all different programs or degrees.

Take Cambridge, Oxford or London School of Economics for instance. These universities do not offer business programs, and the closest which students can apply for may be finance, economics, or economics and management.

That said, when it comes to the search for the right subjects, students should consider checking university websites to see if their target universities offer those courses.

Given these circumstances, the first key question to consider is this: which subject or program do they wish to pursue?

Students should have a clear understanding of their passions and their subject choice, because once they have confirmed a subject, they should start building up their portfolio and experiences related to said subject.

This is particularly important, since these are experiences which will assist students in formulating their personal statements, given that it can better demonstrate students' understanding and passion for their applied programs.

Those who have related experiences and readings will most certainly benefit more, because then they would have had sufficient materials to write on in their personal statements - an aspect which UK universities prioritize in their selection process.

Practical experience is common for subjects like medicine. Generally, students who are fully committed to this program start building subject-related experiences in secondary school.

For medicine, students might begin with job-shadowing a doctor, joining medicine summer courses, or doing their IB extended essay in biology or chemistry to build up a better academic foundation prior to their application, whilst being able to demonstrate their academic abilities and knowledge to the universities they are applying to.

All of these factors will definitely assist students in strengthening their profiles, which will then maximize their chances of getting an offer.

Besides students' experiences which they can write on in their curriculum vitae, personal statements are similarly integral to the application processes.

Students should first familiarize themselves with a general outline of the personal statement, including what universities ask for in terms of content, the structure of their statement and personal attributes that should be included.

Personal statements for UCAS submissions have a maximum of 47 lines, with 4,000 characters.

There is no fixed format regarding paragraphing, but based on communication with university admission officers, as well as our past experience of coaching the writing process, personal statements should generally focus on the students' academic interest in the subject, and their related experience regarding the topic at hand.

Some examples of this may include past or ongoing volunteer work, internships at related fields, exchange programs and competitions.

There is, however, one significant factor to note: the personal statement format will be changed starting 2024, and will be replaced by a series of short questions. For the 2023 batch who are applying for entry to universities next year, they will still have to write their personal statements in the same format, however this will be changed for those applying for degrees in September 2025.

Though personal statements and practical experience are both significant to the application process, one must not neglect the possibilities of preparing for admission tests and interviews, which is an aspect we will be covering in more depth next.