In the quest for a personal statement to stand out and be more original, many University applications fall unwittingly into traps. The irony being that far from appearing unique, they are not remotely individual, worse still, they're pure cliché. You may think that you're the first to be inspired by a quote from Coco Chanel, but according to UCAS (as reported by Sian Griffiths in The Sunday Times) 200 students used the same quote in one year alone. Personal statements need to show passion and commitment, and say something about you. The Mount Kilimanjaro trip initially just tells the individual screening the forms that you had the funds to get there. Was it simply courtesy of parents or through hard-earned fund raising? If it's the latter be sure to highlight it! Admissions tutors want to see what inspires you and what enriching experiences you've had, however, they need to show relevance and personal benefit. If your personal statement is not original, then plagiarism detection will be on your side as it culls your competition, if not, your application will be met by a jaded admissions tutor and find itself on the wrong pile.