title: Is embellishing UCAS personal statements accepted practice in applications to medicine and dentistry?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The assessment of non-academic achievements through the personal statement remains part of the selection process at most UK medical and dental schools. Such statement offers applicants an opportunity to highlight their non-academic achievements, but the highly competitive nature of the process may tempt them to exaggerate their accomplishments. The challenge is that selectors cannot discern applicants' exaggerated claims from genuine accounts and the system risks preferentially selecting dishonest applicants.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To explore the level and perception of deception on UCAS personal statements among applicants to medical and dental schools. To investigate the association between attitudes towards deception and various other demographic variables and cognitive ability via the UKCAT.
  
  
  METHODS
  An online survey was completed with first year students from six UK medical schools and one dental school. Questionnaire items were classified into three categories involving individual acts, how they suspect their peers behave, and overall perceptions of personal statements to influence the selection process. Descriptive statistics were used to investigate responses to questionnaire items. t-Tests were used to investigate the relationship between items, demographic variables and cognitive ability.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Candidates recognized that putting fraudulent information or exaggerating one's experience on UCAS personal statement was dishonest; however there is a widespread belief that their peers do it. Female respondents and those with a higher UKCAT score were more likely to condemn deceptive practices.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The existing selection process is open to abuse and may benefit dishonest applicants. Admission systems should consider investing in systems that can pursue traceable information that applicants provide, and nullify the application should it contain fraudulent information.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK. b.kumwenda@dundee.ac.uk
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kumwenda
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dowell
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Husbands
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D000328:Adult; D003163:Competitive Behavior; D005260:Female; D005607:Fraud; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015714:Plagiarism; D012570:School Admission Criteria; D012650:Self Disclosure; D013335:Students, Dental / Q000523:psychology*; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom