Any suggestion for writing a university application personal statement?

I'm determined to get this darned application finished this week!

I am applying online to the University of York for a Masters program. The materials include a (seemingly) optional personal statement, which I understand is used by the department for awarding scholarships. However, there are no published or established guidelines by the department, program or even the University that I can find.

I could whip out a typically American personal statement (how the program would fit into my career development, what I would bring as a part of the program and how it going to launch me into a successful career, etc) but I wonder if this might be one of those areas with some cultural nuances that I'd trip over.

Any suggestions/guidelines/pitfalls to watch for/etc would be much appreciated!!! 

In my experience, that essay is more of a proposal than a personal history (intellectual or otherwise).  If it is a research program, you should definitely make the bulk of the essay your initial research proposal.  Also, they're probably looking for between 500 and 1500 words and for you to promote yourself as best as possible.

my personal statement for a taught masters degree (in a more career-oriented subject- information management) was very much like the "american personal statement" you described, exjerseygirl.  Why I wanted to study the degree, interests in the field, my suitable background, how the program could help future career development, etc etc.

Mine was as well.  I will be going to the University of Manchester for an MSc in Social Research Methods and Statistics (taught).  I pretty much talked about my experiences and how they lead me to wanting to pursue this degree and why I want to study it in a different country than the one of my origin.  I also talked about how it would fit into my interests and how that would benefit my career.  So I guess mine was more "American" as well, but I got into 5 schools with it, so it must not be too bad to have an "American" personal statement.  Good luck!

Yeah...I must admit that I'm in for one of those useless-for-the-real-world degrees that is probably about as far away from "career-oriented" as possible (philosophy/theology).  My after degree prospects are pretty much just university jobs (unless a company mysteriously develops a need for a resident philosopher/theologian).

TheStudentRoom has some helpful articles about Personal Statements, including a library of statements from various universities. Check out the rest of the site for further info about the individual colleges/unis, if interested. I should point out that this site is primarily aimed at undergraduate-level applicants, but I've been able to find information helpful for myself as a taught MA applicant.

Personal Statements page: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Category:Personal_Statements_by_University
York: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Category:York_Personal_Statements

Thanks for the helpful suggestions.  I went ahead and poached from an earlier "personal statement" that I wrote for a fellowship application.   

Of course that means that my application is officially DONE! I'm thrilled about that, since I've been working on and off on this (obviously more off than on) since January.

Man, I never thought I would be a student again after my last Masters, but c'est la vie.

Congrats and good luck! Let us know how it turns out.