University hopefuls who copy material from the internet are shooting themselves in the foot, said Janet Graham, director of Supporting Professionalism in Admissions, a body that advises universities on their admissions processes.

“The institutions are used to this and can recognise the stock phrases,” she said. “What they want is students to tell it like it is.

“This is the only place on the whole application form where candidates can stamp their individuality on the process and the last thing they should be doing is copying the same stuff.

“It varies between courses and institutions, but the personal statement is still an important part of the whole application process.”

James Uffindell, of Oxbridge Applications, which advises those seeking an Oxbridge place, said that a lack of imagination rather than a lack of morals was behind the repetitive nature of university hopefuls’ Ucas forms.

“We see people with some appalling first drafts,” he said. “They make the same mistakes again and again. They say that they want to be a doctor because they want to make people better, or they want to be an engineer because they want to understand how things work.

“It’s very difficult for students because they’ve got to try and come up with something original about why they love a subject that they haven’t started studying yet.

“Now many students are getting straight A-grades the personal statement is the real chance they have to make themselves stand out from the crowd. They need to make sure they sell themselves properly.”

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