As a first year medical student it saddens me that my personal statement is identical to those of almost .05% of university applicants. Had I known that burnt pyjamas were such an influential medium, I would have chosen fabric technology for my first degree and marketing for a second. As is, I can only take comfort from knowing that I belong to the select group of early adopters whose interests and musings have come to define a generation.

Doogie Howser, Oxbridge,

Writing personal statements for uni is a terrifying experience. Its hugely important, and often not something students have much experience with, and yet many schools offer them little or no guidance. Its hardly suprising that they turn to the internet for help.

student, cambridge,

At the end of my university time I was told that in one particular college over a period of years the admissions policy had been varied at the mandatory interview in order statistically to investigate the correlation between criteria for entrance and final results and drop out rates.

The criteria had varied from giving preference to all-round achievers, sporting prowess, wide-ranging interests such as music or literature, academic achievement and physical attraction in different years, with typically six applicants vying for one place.

There was no significant difference between the drop-out rates and numbers of pass and honours degrees awarded to the different cohorts, suggesting either that the college imposed
its excellence regardless, or that real world outcomes have a random element of chance.

dr venables preller, Warminster, UK

I was one of the first to put my personal statement up on Studential.com. I can't believe that someone would rip it off! Still, I feel quite special now....

Dani Robinson, London, UK

Nice demonstration of plagarism at work Luke, bunbury, australia/ wa.

Robert, Reading,

Interesting and shocking. One of those phrases was the beginning of my personal statement when I applied to medical school 4 years ago! I allowed my PS to be published on studential to help fellow applicants, I was always wary of the prospect of people plagiarising it but I never expected it would happen quite as much as that! Perhaps I was naive in thinking that, I wonder just how many people have used my phrase.

I do feel kind of proud that people think enough of my PS to copy the start, although it does piss me off rather a lot!

Angry, North Uk,

Why on earth are these applicants unlikely to be denied places?!? They have cheated pure and simple (and not even done a very good job of it!) and as another correspondent said, if there is no downside to cheating there is no disincentive. This is not something you do "by accident" it is a conscious decision to break the rules and obtain an advantage by what amounts to deception.

They should instantly be rejected and be feeling fortunate not to be facing fraud charges.

SimonB, Hertfordshire,

What are we doing to our young people?
Few youngsters, if any, apply for a place to read medicine because of a fascination with how the human body works. A form that demands this sort of guff from applicants deserves a cut and paste plagiarised response.

Malcolm McLean, Bradford, UK

I bet they have profiles on myspace too

dave wilson, Harrow,

As a first year medical student it saddens me that his type of thing can happen. Medical school applications are a minfield for everyone, but apparently more so for the unimaginative. We should be worried about providing services to patients but, perhaps we should be less worried about plagiarism and more about the worrying trend off underage pyromaniacs.

Luke, bunbury, australia/ wa

As a first year medical student it saddens me that others with the same aspirations as myself are so lazy; surely the ample work experience that these students ought to have completed should have provided them with much more personal anecdotes? The whole point of the personal statement is to sell yourself, not your ability to use a search engine. Medical school applications are a minfield for everyone, but apparently more so for the unimaginative. If people have so little intuition that they cannot think of something original to say about their motivation for study, how do they expect to be able to make a differential diagnosis when the time comes?

Charlotte Mears, Edinburgh, UK

I only set fire to my pyjamas when I was nine. Am I too late a developer to apply for University?

Richard Rowlands, Reading, Berkshire, England

Perhaps we should be less worried about plagiarism and more about the worrying trend off underage pyromaniacs. I suggest giving them all ASBOs and fire proof sleepwear.

Alex, Sheffield,

Well, I'm glad I saw this. I really do have a fascination for how the human body works from an early age, and if I had put this on an application.....yikes.

Melissa, Pennsauken, NJ

Stand by for a new law from Mr Reid against setting light to pyjamas...

Anthony Martindale, Reading,

Having applied to read medicine this year and so far gaining 2 offers, (for entry in September), I find it astonishing that so many have resorted to plagarism to enhance their personal statments. Having jumped through all the other hoops such as gaining masses of work experience, voluntary work, the right grades, partaking in a multitude of extracurricular activities so they appear 'well-rounded', surely they cannot be prepared to ruin their applications? I am fortunate in that I am able to write well, studying English Lit., but most medic hopefuls I know are all able to string two sentences together....

Louisa, Northants,

I wonder how many students applying to UCAS this year are feel a little uncomfortable at learning UCAS use software to detect phrases taken from websites to detect plagiarism.
It shocks me that so many are caught out doing it, I guess coming from a school of certainly not the best standards you tend to learn that if you are going to copy from something then you should at least change the wording!

Quite amusing I must say...

Michelle, oswaldtwistle, uk

We can comment all we want about students doing this, but when people in charge are saying things like "...applicants were unlikely to be denied places on the sole grounds that they had plagiarised material in their personal statement." there is no motivation to stop. If they aren't going to be penalized, then why not plagiarize in the highly competitive world of applications? Best case scenario they don't notice and worst case scenario, they just say 'meh.'
If you're not going to react, don't be surprised when it happens.

Liz, Seattle, WA, USA

how many people applied to uni - 50000. how many had burning pyjamas- 233. Thats what my A level maths has taught me to call insignificant. I would bet my life more than 5% of adults lie on their CV's
The reason 10% of students get straight A's is because 50% drop out after gcse, we work hard and teaching is improving all the time.

sam, Oxford,

I think we're all missing the real point here:
Pyjamas should be flame retardant!

Fuzzlizard, Ashford, CT, USA

You wonder why someone with straight As at A-level can't string together a few personal anecdotes with plagiarising. Is it because they didn't get straight As without plagiarising or because imagination is not a prerequisite for good academic results?

James, Taunton, UK

If only they had been applying for a journalism course....

michele, uk,

233 people with burning pyjamas? Perhaps, given the recent debates and controversies surrounding education in this country, one could make an assumption that creativity and literary skill are indeed on the decrease. Plagiarism in this case makes one wonder whether students have the concentration and imagination to complete a degree course in the first place. If they can plagiarise in something as simple, and I have done it, as the application process, then what are they going to do when faced with the massive amount of literary skill they will need on their chosen courses? Are we educating a race of human parrots? And if so, I would hope that the intellectual capacity of the student would mean that they have the good sense to understand the term "reference."

Jennifer Hynes, Barry, Cymru