iba personal statement word limit

Sarah Salman

Writing a statement of purpose.

June 18, 2022
, Education , IBA News

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As the deadline to write a Statement of Purpose (SOP) for your dream university’s application is approaching fast, we at IBA Today are here to help you understand SOP and assist you to write it most effectively.

What is a Statement of Purpose?

It is a concise introduction about who you are to the admissions committee, in the form of an essay. It essentially discusses your reasons for applying in the program that you have chosen to study and how will you use the learned skills from the program for your future career. Ideally, you sell yourself to the admissions committee to explain why you belong in your chosen field of study, at that university.

This is the perfect chance for you to talk about your ideas, plans, achievements, abilities, qualities, goals, etc. Think of what sets you apart from others and write an honest, well-structured, and convincing SOP and you are one step closer to achieving your dreams.

Breakdown of how you should write a Statement of Purpose

Bear in mind, that no Statement of Purpose follows a pre-defined format. It is a subjective essay of every individual’s own skills and achievements; hence, a basic style of essay writing follows; Introduction, Body, and Conclusion. There is no limit to how many paragraphs you include in the body if your entire essay stays within the word limit defined in the instructions provided to you.

First Step:

Choose the first priority program you wish to apply for as it the most essential part of driving the entire essay for you.
Brainstorm the idea of why you are applying for that program.
List down your personal and work experiences that define who you are and played a part in motivating you to pursue your higher studies in the said field.
Think of why you are applying to a particular university. Think about in terms of the learning experience, faculty opportunities that the university will provide you, which will help you when you graduate.
Whatever you tell about yourself, make sure that it aligns with your interests in your chosen field of study.

Second Step:

In this step, you choose points from the list that you wish to include in your SOP

This is where you breakdown all your points in sections of introduction, body, and paragraph.
Choose the point you want to start by making sure that it explains clearly why you want to achieve your dreams and what made you dream of it in the first place.

Moreover, for the body section you could include points such as:

Any social work, and describe how it affected your life and how it motivates you to achieve your dreams. How will you apply what you learned from that experience?
Participation in extracurricular activities or achievements in sports .
Oratory skills. Mention your participation in different international and local forums.
Art or Music skills. Mention any achievements or accomplishments in this regard.
Talk about any business ideas that you have and would want to achieve through your studies in your chosen program.
Some kind of personal experience (it could be any internship experience) that resonates with your career. Therefore, show how you are different from the others .
How have your past academic choices helped you in your career goals?
Additionally, include small but memorable life stories as aspects of your personality to create a bigger picture of your personality as a whole .

Third Step:

For the first two steps, you need not worry about your word limit as that is your workspace. But in this step, you need to start writing with the word limit in mind so your essay starts taking form.

This is where you use good paragraphing techniques and combine all your sections coherently. Easier said than done, so here is a method that will make it easier for you.

Ideally, your paragraph needs to have three things: point, example, and explanation.

Point: Start your paragraph by making a point such as define an interpersonal skill.

Example: Give an instance of where you used that skill.

Explanation: And then explain how it helped you in your chosen field of study.

This trick will automatically reduce the length of your paragraph down to a maximum of 5 to 6 lines .
Use an appropriate level of vocabulary and correct grammar. Use Grammarly to keep your grammar in check.

Final Step:

Before you prepare to hit the submit button make sure you do the following at all costs

PROOFREAD yourself and have an experienced person to read it for you as well. (Don’t take this step lightly. You will be surprised how many changes will be required in your final draft after this)
Read it aloud to yourself. Listening to what you have written helps you understand if it is making sense.
Keep re-reading as it will help you cut down unnecessary words because you need to keep your paragraphs concise as the word limit is strict.

The Do’s and Don’ts for your Statement of Purpose

The Do’s	The Don’ts


	.

This article is for us to give you the nudge to write the perfect statement of purpose that you need to write. We know you have got it in you. Do not let the admission process get the better of you. This is your chance to be who you are without any fear of judgment. Put on your best show and take the step that will lead you to your success.

We wish you all the best!

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9 thoughts on “ Writing a Statement of Purpose ”

This is really helpful and beautifully written. Way to go!

Thank youu!!

It is really helpful. Thank you so much!

I am glad this could help you

Thanks mam to help how to write SOP, its really effective. Before this I was confused how to start my SOP.

It’s a well written article!

The systematic approach makes it a thorough read.

I really enjoyed the emphasis on personal style while writing a SOP otherwise it can feel very daunting and difficult to write one while placing oneself in a box.

This was very helpful, I wish I had this article to guide me during Alevels when I was so anxiously writing my SOPs as I applied to different universities

Just sending this to a bunch of cousins who were asking me about writing one! Thank you, God bless!!!

Writing the Personal Statement

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The personal statement, your opportunity to sell yourself in the application process, generally falls into one of two categories:

1. The general, comprehensive personal statement:

This allows you maximum freedom in terms of what you write and is the type of statement often prepared for standard medical or law school application forms.

2. The response to very specific questions:

Often, business and graduate school applications ask specific questions, and your statement should respond specifically to the question being asked. Some business school applications favor multiple essays, typically asking for responses to three or more questions.

Questions to ask yourself before you write:

What's special, unique, distinctive, and/or impressive about you or your life story?
What details of your life (personal or family problems, history, people or events that have shaped you or influenced your goals) might help the committee better understand you or help set you apart from other applicants?
When did you become interested in this field and what have you learned about it (and about yourself) that has further stimulated your interest and reinforced your conviction that you are well suited to this field? What insights have you gained?
How have you learned about this field—through classes, readings, seminars, work or other experiences, or conversations with people already in the field?
If you have worked a lot during your college years, what have you learned (leadership or managerial skills, for example), and how has that work contributed to your growth?
What are your career goals?
Are there any gaps or discrepancies in your academic record that you should explain (great grades but mediocre LSAT or GRE scores, for example, or a distinct upward pattern to your GPA if it was only average in the beginning)?
Have you had to overcome any unusual obstacles or hardships (for example, economic, familial, or physical) in your life?
What personal characteristics (for example, integrity, compassion, and/or persistence) do you possess that would improve your prospects for success in the field or profession? Is there a way to demonstrate or document that you have these characteristics?
What skills (for example, leadership, communicative, analytical) do you possess?
Why might you be a stronger candidate for graduate school—and more successful and effective in the profession or field than other applicants?
What are the most compelling reasons you can give for the admissions committee to be interested in you?

General advice

Answer the questions that are asked

If you are applying to several schools, you may find questions in each application that are somewhat similar.
Don't be tempted to use the same statement for all applications. It is important to answer each question being asked, and if slightly different answers are needed, you should write separate statements. In every case, be sure your answer fits the question being asked.

Tell a story

Think in terms of showing or demonstrating through concrete experience. One of the worst things you can do is to bore the admissions committee. If your statement is fresh, lively, and different, you'll be putting yourself ahead of the pack. If you distinguish yourself through your story, you will make yourself memorable.

Be specific

Don't, for example, state that you would make an excellent doctor unless you can back it up with specific reasons. Your desire to become a lawyer, engineer, or whatever should be logical, the result of specific experience that is described in your statement. Your application should emerge as the logical conclusion to your story.

Find an angle

If you're like most people, your life story lacks drama, so figuring out a way to make it interesting becomes the big challenge. Finding an angle or a "hook" is vital.

Concentrate on your opening paragraph

The lead or opening paragraph is generally the most important. It is here that you grab the reader's attention or lose it. This paragraph becomes the framework for the rest of the statement.

Tell what you know

The middle section of your essay might detail your interest and experience in your particular field, as well as some of your knowledge of the field. Too many people graduate with little or no knowledge of the nuts and bolts of the profession or field they hope to enter. Be as specific as you can in relating what you know about the field and use the language professionals use in conveying this information. Refer to experiences (work, research, etc.), classes, conversations with people in the field, books you've read, seminars you've attended, or any other source of specific information about the career you want and why you're suited to it. Since you will have to select what you include in your statement, the choices you make are often an indication of your judgment.

Don't include some subjects

There are certain things best left out of personal statements. For example, references to experiences or accomplishments in high school or earlier are generally not a good idea. Don't mention potentially controversial subjects (for example, controversial religious or political issues).

Do some research, if needed

If a school wants to know why you're applying to it rather than another school, do some research to find out what sets your choice apart from other universities or programs. If the school setting would provide an important geographical or cultural change for you, this might be a factor to mention.

Write well and correctly

Be meticulous. Type and proofread your essay very carefully. Many admissions officers say that good written skills and command of correct use of language are important to them as they read these statements. Express yourself clearly and concisely. Adhere to stated word limits.

Avoid clichés

A medical school applicant who writes that he is good at science and wants to help other people is not exactly expressing an original thought. Stay away from often-repeated or tired statements.

For more information on writing a personal statement, see the personal statement vidcast .

Board index Law School Admissions Law School Personal Statements

Sending in a Personal Statement that is over word/page limit Forum

Sending in a Personal Statement that is over word/page limit

Post by GentlemanJim » Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:08 am

Re: Sending in a Personal Statement that is over word/page limit

Post by LawandOrder » Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:09 am

Post by skynet » Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:09 am

Post by Neelio » Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:10 am

Post by GentlemanJim » Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:11 am

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Post by dakatz » Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:11 am

Post by fl0w » Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:13 am

Post by sk_mcbride » Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:16 am

Post by Slimpee » Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:16 am

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Post by hds2388 » Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:20 am

GentlemanJim wrote: What are your thoughts? Is this an automatic fail? I wrote a personal statement that is about 1000 words/3 pages, which was fine for the three schools I most wanted to apply to, but for a lot of schools that is just way too long. Here's the problem: this is the best thing I've ever written. No matter what I do, I just can't trim it down significantly. I'm an excellent writer, so it's not that I don't know how to edit. It's just the thing is so damn good. I honestly can't imagine an admissions staffer not being impressed, provided they took the time to read it. So, that being said, my question: will they read it?? Is sending in a personal statement that is too long something that will screw you over outright? Anyone have any experience here? Thanks.

Post by DukeHopeful » Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:21 am

Post by GentlemanJim » Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:24 am

hds2388 wrote: GentlemanJim wrote: What are your thoughts? Is this an automatic fail? I wrote a personal statement that is about 1000 words/3 pages, which was fine for the three schools I most wanted to apply to, but for a lot of schools that is just way too long. Here's the problem: this is the best thing I've ever written. No matter what I do, I just can't trim it down significantly. I'm an excellent writer, so it's not that I don't know how to edit. It's just the thing is so damn good. I honestly can't imagine an admissions staffer not being impressed, provided they took the time to read it. So, that being said, my question: will they read it?? Is sending in a personal statement that is too long something that will screw you over outright? Anyone have any experience here? Thanks.

DukeHopeful wrote: Not sure where OP is applying, but I was just looking at Emory's app to try and get in for that Woodruff, and they specifically say the PS should be no more than two pages but (interestingly enough) it can be single or double spaced which seems to me that you could actually write a four page statement and just make it single spaced. It does say that those who fail to adhere will absolutely be affected adversely. FWIW

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Post by dakatz » Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:27 am

Post by MC Southstar » Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:29 am

Post by nycparalegal » Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:32 am

How long should the statement be? Some schools will explicitly state their word or page limit. Adhere to their wishes. You will not impress admissions committees with an overly long statement and your inability to follow directions. If no word count or page limit is stated, aim to write a statement that's about two pages long, double-spaced.

Post by DukeHopeful » Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:33 am

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Post by jackster2 » Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:34 am

Post by DukeHopeful » Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:34 am

jayzon wrote: DukeHopeful wrote: Also, just see if you can't go through and eliminate some extra flowery wording. While "The swift black cat bounded gracefully across the lawn before scampering up the tree." sounds great, you could just as easily make the same point in much less words.

Post by nycparalegal » Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:35 am

jackster2 wrote: Why so slavishly follow the rules? Ignore them, write what you want, let them deal with it. Why is everyone so eager to please the authorities? Perhaps a little independence would impress them? And if they're that rigid, screw em.

Post by hds2388 » Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:35 am

GentlemanJim wrote: hds2388 wrote: GentlemanJim wrote: What are your thoughts? Is this an automatic fail? I wrote a personal statement that is about 1000 words/3 pages, which was fine for the three schools I most wanted to apply to, but for a lot of schools that is just way too long. Here's the problem: this is the best thing I've ever written. No matter what I do, I just can't trim it down significantly. I'm an excellent writer, so it's not that I don't know how to edit. It's just the thing is so damn good. I honestly can't imagine an admissions staffer not being impressed, provided they took the time to read it. So, that being said, my question: will they read it?? Is sending in a personal statement that is too long something that will screw you over outright? Anyone have any experience here? Thanks.

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Post by GentlemanJim » Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:35 am

Post by ConsideringLawSchool » Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:37 am

Post by MC Southstar » Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:38 am

Post by hds2388 » Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:39 am

ConsideringLawSchool wrote: jackster2 wrote: Why so slavishly follow the rules? Ignore them, write what you want, let them deal with it. Why is everyone so eager to please the authorities? Perhaps a little independence would impress them? And if they're that rigid, screw em.

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Personal Statements

Personal Statement Length

personal statement

By WTEngel June 8, 2011 in Personal Statements

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When you cut and paste it into CASPA, does it all fit?

The directions in CASPA say that you cannot go by MS word's character count- that it does not line up with theirs. You can cut and paste and it will seem to fit, but then it will cut it off before the end if it is too long (at least according to CASPA). Caspa says to use the character count in notepad or type it directly into the application box and they will keep a count for you. That is what I chose to do, and they were right- it did not match up with my Word document count.

2 weeks later...

I went right to the edge of 5000 chars and had about 880 words. 100 Chars should be super easy to shave on a rough draft.

Thanks tao, I was wondering what the approximate word count was. I saw on the CASPA website everything that others had pointed out, however just wanted some feedback from someone who had actually submitted to get a better feel for about how many words and characters fit.

I would hate to go through the work of trimming an essay only to find that I was still terribly long on the word count, and end up starting from scratch because my general concept just could not be shortened.

MrsRonSwanson

Yeah, CASPA says 5000 characters is about 625 words? So, I wrote my PS in Word and pasted my 625 words only to find out that I have another 1000 characters to fill. Damn!

1 month later...

I had a question pertaining to PS length. Although we are given 5000 characters, is it best to keep it concise? I mean adcoms are reading so many PS's but just because of that...should I sacrifice a few sentences? I'm not sure what to do about the length...my PS is right at 5000 and although I could take some stuff out...I wonder if that would be detrimental. Thoughts please?

I tried using notepad as suggested, but I can't find how to get it to show me the character count, so I just typed in right into CASPA since you can save it there. I don't think it cuts it off as far as what YOU can see, but when the adcoms get it, they will be missing anything over the 5000.

You can paste it into CASPA, and then just type a letter and it will give you the character count up until that point. I found that the count using MS word, however, was pretty similar to CASPA, maybe over by 50 characters max. I also had a statement right around the 5000 character mark, and it was much more than 625 words.

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Writing Resource: Personal Statements

Prep-work: know your audience.

What does the prompt ask me to focus on or cover?

What do I know about the program I’m applying to? What values do they seem to have based on their website?

What do I know about the field or research area I’m going into? What things (experiences, research, interests, qualities) do I think this discipline values?

Imagining the work I would do in the career I’m hoping to get into, what does that work involve? What things would I need to do on a day-to-day basis?

Brainstorming Stories to Tell

Brainstorm as many stories as you can to start with, because this will give you more options and ideally keep you from feeling stuck or over-committed to the first thing you write! Stories that you might tell include, but are not limited to, the following areas:

Heritage Stories: moments of interest that help explain your family, where you’re from, your cultural heritage, or some other important aspect of your identity;
Academic Stories: moments in which you were intrigued or inspired to keep studying a particular thing; these could be about a paper you wrote, a group project you participated in, a specific book that inspired you, or any academic project or small moment in which you asked questions and pursued ideas;
Mentorship Stories: similar to academic stories, mentorship stories highlight key people who’ve inspired you in some way. They may have seen your talent or they may have simply been encouraging even when you didn’t have any talent! But these stories should be about moments of inspiration that likewise encouraged you to pursue a topic, work, a project, etc.
Stories of Struggle: are moments during which you struggled with something. This is an interesting category if done well, but they can be very tricky… you want to avoid the cliched “overcoming” narrative (i.e., I struggled but overcame X.). When done well, stories of struggle can highlight grappling with ideas, experiences, and values and ideally offer complex solutions—not easy answers!

Story Writing Tips

“Show” AND “Tell”: strong story-telling involves a balance between “showing,” or descriptive writing that places us in the moment or scene, and “telling,” writing that names your feelings and what happened from your point of view (for example, “I learned a lot…”). While both types of writing are valuable, for personal statements, it can help to try to “show” first and then only “tell” in limited moments that come afterwards.
Be specific! Use details, adjectives, descriptions, and find ways to pack meaning in!
Focus on moments—tiny, small interactions, as opposed to “my time in my undergraduate” or “that year of my life”

A Good Personal Statement Will….

Explain why a particular school is a good fit for a student, in more than just a “fit” paragraph.

“Fit” means establishing—by showing—that you’ll fit into the research, culture, and interests of the department and campus community. “Fit” should, ideally, be articulated throughout the statement, and involves more than merely naming professors students would like to work with. Think about the resources available at a particular school—do any of these resources make the school an especially good fit? Think about the values a department or field seems to have—how do your experiences and work already enact those values?

Other, non-professor ways to articulate fit : Unique archival/library holdings; Research Centers/Societies; Interdisciplinary Programs; Study-abroad opportunities; Labs doing interesting work in your field; Public-service components for work; Reading groups in your area; Interest in local community-based projects; interest in other projects the department is already involved in.

Draw on specific elements of a student’s undergraduate career to explain why he/she is ready to pursue the life of a scholar. Students need to describe how their specific experiences have prepared them for graduate school and reaffirmed their decision to enter the type of career that graduate school will prepare them for.

Examples of relevant experience : Working on an Honor’s Thesis or Capstone Project; Tutoring; Teaching Assistantships; Lab Research; Summer Research Internships; Community Outreach; work relevant to your field
Template: “My experiences ___________, ____________, and ____________ have already allowed me to see what the life of a scholar-teacher will be like; I feel ready to take that next step, as a graduate student at ______ university.)
Goal: Articulate the values in these work. For instance, your experiences tutoring highlight your commitment to… collaborative learning, teaching, helping others improve their writing, seeing writing as essential to critical thinking, etc. Don’t just say: “Through tutoring, I learned a lot.” Be precise about what you learned.

Have a clear direction, but still indicate openness to intellectual growth and change.

Phrases to use : developing/evolving/growing/changing/progressing
Sample template : “Given my background in X and Y, I can envision my research developing in several directions while at _____. Perhaps I will choose to __; or, perhaps, studying with ________, I will choose to ___________.

Indicate not simply what a school will provide a student, but also what a student will bring to a school.

This is especially important when articulating why you want to work with specific professors! Try to frame statements in terms of potential contributions.

Sample Template: “I could contribute to Professor X’s work on _______. Or, perhaps, given my interest in ____ and ____, I could help Professor B with her new work on _____.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Language that seems naïve, tentative, or overly supplicative..

Words to avoid: Luck, love, hope, passionate

“I have always loved _____.”
“I am passionate about X”
“Although I do not have a background in ___, I know ____ could fill in those gaps.”
“If I were fortunate enough to have _____ decide to work with me….”
“I hope to study ____, if I am lucky enough to be admitted to ____.”

Language that seems overly grandiose, pompous, or entitled.

“When attending X school, I will quickly _______.”
“My theory of V, articulated in my undergraduate honor’s thesis, has overturned Kant’s well-known theory of ____.”
“Professor X will undoubtedly provide invaluable mentoring on my project, which I know will enable it to grow. I, in turn, look forward to helping improve her ___ project, which, though brilliant, has two major flaws:…”

Too many words:

The common word limit for personal statements is typically one thousand words, or roughly two single-spaced pages of size-twelve-font type.

Things you can cut:

Information repeated elsewhere (e.g., in a supplemental essay)
Information that rehashes what is said on a C.V.
Personal anecdotes about how one got interested in the field. (Often, this is the first paragraph of an essay, and often, it is too long).

A Link to a PDF Handout of this Writing Guide

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August 5th, 2024 / IBA

The International Boxing Association (IBA) has clarified the facts that led to the disqualification of two boxers, Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu-ting of Chinese Taipei.

Imane Khelif has been participating in the IBA competitions since 2018, and Lin Yu-ting has competed since 2017. Current IBA management, having been in leadership since December 2020, has been on top of the problem from the very first IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships they conducted in 2022. IBA cannot comment on the previous iterations and lack of leadership actions in this regard.
Following many complaints from several coaches, boxers agreed to gender testing. Blood sample collection was made on 17 May 2022. Sistem Tip Laboratory from Istanbul (License Number: 194-MRK) issued its report on 24 May 2022, after the competition ended. The laboratory detected results that didn’t match the eligibility criteria for IBA women’s events.
Khelif won the silver medal in category 63 kg, Lin won the gold medal in category 57 kg.
One test for each athlete was not enough to make a decision with respective consequences; in the case that one test mistake is possible. The lawyers advised to monitor the situation and to contact the IOC.
IBA informed the IOC representatives about these tests, but no reaction followed from the IOC side.
The situation was completely new to boxing, and IBA, following numerous consultations, decided to conduct a second testing before disqualifying the boxers. However, the second testing could only be conducted in a neutral country and within the IBA competition period.
At the next IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships 2023 in New Delhi, Khelif and Lin were tested following their consent again before their first fights. Blood sample collection was made on 17 March 2023. Dr Lal PathLabs from New Delhi issued its report on 23 March 2023. The findings were absolutely identical to the first test results.
On 24 March 2023, IBA Secretary General & CEO at the time, George Yerolimpos, informed both Khelif and Lin about their exclusion from the Championships for not meeting the eligibility criteria. The athletes received a copy of their testing and were informed about the possibility of appealing to the CAS within 21 days.
Khelif and Lin were informed accordingly about the decision and acknowledged it by signing the papers . The test details were attached to the letter.
On 26 March 2023, the IBA Board of Directors by a majority vote decided to ratify the decision taken by the IBA Secretary General & CEO on behalf of IBA to disqualify Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting from the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships 2023.
These tests affect the private life of the person concerned and constitute medical information protected as personal data. We are not allowed to publish these documents without the agreement of the person concerned. However, both Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting received a copy of these tests, and they never disputed it. They know these tests exist and it is not fake.
Both athletes were provided with the right to appeal against the Board’s decision to the CAS.
Lin Yu-ting did not appeal against the decision to declare her ineligible, and it became legal and binding.
On 12 May 2023, IBA amended its Technical and Competition Rules. After internal discussion, it was decided by the Board of Directors that IBA competitions will be conducted only between male athletes and between female athletes. Participation of DSD athletes (“differences of sexual development”) in boxing competitions were found dangerous for health and security of the boxers.
Amendments made by the Board to the T&C Rules:

Definition of Men/Male/Boy = individual with chromosome XY.

Definition of Women/Female/Girl = individual with chromosome XX

Rule 4.2. Eligibility on Gender:

4.2.1.Boxers will compete against boxers of the same gender, meaning Women vs Women and Men vs Men as per the definitions of these Rules.

4.2.2.To determine the gender, the Boxers can be submitted to a random and/or targeted gender test which will be conducted by IBA in cooperation with the selected laboratory personnel.

4.2.3. In case of adverse result, the Boxer will be immediately notified by IBA.

4.2.4. In case of adverse result, the Boxer will be disqualified from such competition with immediate effect and will be prevented from competing in further IBA-owned and sanctioned competitions of that gender. For this purpose, IBA will share such information with the relevant internal bodies respecting its confidentiality.

On 14 April 2023, Imane Khelif appealed to the CAS against IBA challenging the decision to disqualify her from the competitions. IBA paid its share of procedural costs, which demonstrates the good faith of IBA. Not many international federations agree to pay their share of costs in CAS proceedings. On 27 July 2023, the CAS issued the termination order and terminated the proceedings because the appellant did not pay the costs of the proceedings.
After the termination of the proceedings before the CAS, IBA and Imane Khelif were in contact to resolve the situation. In particular, the athlete provided to IBA number of medical documents, which were examined by the IBA Medical Committee.
On 23 March 2023, the IBA Medical Committee issued its report about the eligibility of Khelif.
On 12 April 2023, IBA informed Imane Khelif about the conclusions made by the IBA Medical Committee and confirmed again that she was not eligible to participate in the IBA Women’s Competition. Therefore, her profile in Elite Women Light Welter was removed from the IBA database. She did not appeal against this decision of IBA.
IBA does not want to comment private life of a person. For IBA it is not a matter how Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting identify themselves, and what is written in their passport. IBA’s main concern is that their hormonal imbalance affords them a distinct advantage over their female counterparts within their respective weight categories. It can be dangerous for other female boxers that we have already seen during the Olympic Games. Therefore, she is not eligible to participate in the IBA competitions.
On 5 June 2023, IBA sent an official correspondence to the IOC regarding the case.
On 16 June 2023, the IOC Sports Director Mr Kit McConnell sent the acknowledgment email.
On 31 July 2024, the Italian Boxing Federation office sent an email inquiry to the IBA Sport Department asking about the facts that led to Khelif’s disqualification on the eve of the bout against their boxer Angela Carini at the Paris 2024 Games.
IBA issued the first statement about the Khelif/Lin cases following multiple media requests on 31 July 2024.
On 1 August 2024, Carini abandoned the fight at 66kg against Khelif at the Paris 2024 Games after 46 seconds.
IBA condemned the IOC’s eligibility rules that allowed disqualified boxers to participate in the Games following that the IOC was warned about their ineligibility.
IOC claimed at the press briefing that the organization has never been informed about the case, which was a lie.
IBA was forced to give a press conference on 5 August 2024 in Paris to address the situation in detail.
IBA issued a statement with a list of facts and attached documents following the press conference to conclude the case.

_______________

Media contact:

Elena Sobol, Head of Communications & PR

[email protected]

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INTERNATIONAL BOXING ASSOCIATION. HOME OF BOXING

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How To Write Your Undergraduate Personal Statement

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What's on this page?

What’s a personal statement, preparing to write your personal statement, how to open your personal statement, your personal skills and achievements, work experience and future plans.

An undergraduate personal statement is a chance to get noticed for the unique talents and experiences you have. It’s an important part of the application process as it’s an opportunity to talk about yourself and your passions, outside of your grades.

In this article, we’re going to talk you through how to write an undergraduate personal statement that stands out, without leaving you feeling overwhelmed.

Chloe Ng, HE Career Coach, Manchester Metropolitan University

You’ll have heard the saying preparation is key, and that’s no different when you’re tackling your personal statement. There are two things to think about when you’re planning. The practical and factual information you need to get across, and the more emotional, human parts of you that make you different to everyone else.

Before you start writing, take some time to think about the key things you’d want an admissions tutor to know about you, and get them down on paper. Don’t worry too much about making your notes perfect – this is more about making sure you know why you should be offered a place.

You can also look at the course description as this’ll help you with what to include and give you a good idea of what each uni is looking for.

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Here are a few questions you can answer to help you get started:.

Why have you chosen this course?
What excites you about the subject?
Is my previous or current study relevant to the course?
Have you got any work experience that might help you?
What life experiences have you had that you could talk about?
What achievements are you proud of?
What skills do you have that make you perfect for the course?
What plans and ambitions do you have for your future career?

Admissions Tutors will be reading a lot of personal statements so it’s important to grab their attention right from the start.

Remember, it can only be 4,000 characters, which is about two sides of A4. So, you’ll need to use your words wisely to fit everything in.

You can find a full guide on How to start a personal statement: the attention grabber , but here are the main things to think about .

Don’t overthink the opening. Just start by showing your enthusiasm for the subject, showcasing your knowledge and understanding, and sharing your ambitions of what you want to achieve.
Avoid cliches! Remember, this opening part is simply about introducing yourself, so let the admissions tutor reading your personal statement get to know you.
Keep it relevant and simple. You’re limited on how much you can include so avoid long-winded explanations. Why use 20 words when 10 can make your point?

Annabell Price, L’Oréal degree apprentice (Professional Products Division)

Next, you’ll need to write about your personal skills and achievements. Universities like to know the abilities you have that’ll help you on the course, or generally with life at university.

Don’t forget to include evidence to back up why you’re so excited about the course(s) you’ve chosen.

Be bold and talk about the achievements you’re proud of.
Include positions of responsibility you hold, or have held, both in and out of school.
What are the things that make you interesting, special, or unique?

Your work experience and future plans are important to include. You should share details of jobs, placements, work experience, or voluntary work, particularly if it's relevant to your course.

Try to link any experience to skills or qualities that’ll make you successful.
If you know what you’d like to do after as a career, explain how you plan to use the knowledge and experience that you’ll gain to launch your career.

It’s always good to connect the beginning of your statement to the end and a great way to reinforce what you said at the start.

You want to see the ending as your chance to finish in a way that’ll make the admissions tutor remember you.

This final part of your personal statement should emphasise the great points you’ve already made and answer the question of why you should be offered a place on the course.

Read our full guide on How to finish your statement the right way.

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Don’t be tempted to copy or share your statement.

UCAS scans all personal statements through a similarity detection system to compare them with previous statements.

Any similarity greater than 30% will be flagged and we'll inform the universities and colleges to which you have applied.

Find out more

Want to read more.

Check out our full list of Personal Statement Dos and Don’ts

See how you can use a personal statement beyond a university application

Now you’ve written your undergraduate personal statement, you’ll need to do a couple of final things before you submit it.

Have you proofread it?

Don’t just rely on spellcheckers. We’d recommend reading it out loud as that’s a great way to spot any errors as well as checking it sounds like you.

Have you asked for feedback?

Ask friends, family or a careers advisor to have a read through your personal statement and take their feedback on board.

Want more advice on your personal statement? Use the links below.

More advice

Use the UCAS’ personal statement tool alongside this guide to help you structure your ideas. Are you interested in how you can turn you Personal Statement into your CV? Read our advice here

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