The admissions workflow at a glance
The process moves through five connected stages, from the moment you create a cycle to the point where your team records final decisions.1
Create a cycle and add applicants
Everything in Puddin Admissions begins with an admissions cycle — a named intake period such as 2025 Undergraduate Intake. You configure the cycle with opening and closing dates, then populate it by importing applicants from a CSV file or adding them individually. Each applicant record holds the information Puddin needs to send a personalised invitation and track their progress.
2
Send invitations
Once your applicants are in the system, you send invitation emails directly from Puddin. Each email contains a unique, secure link that takes the applicant straight to their personal Puddin writing environment. The invitation template is fully customisable, and merge fields ensure every message includes the applicant’s name, their deadline, and their unique writing link.
3
Applicants write in the Puddin environment
Applicants follow their invitation link and complete their personal statement inside Puddin’s writing environment. From the applicant’s perspective, this feels like a standard word processor — they can draft, edit, and revise their statement at their own pace before the deadline. In the background, Puddin records the full document creation history: every keystroke, paste event, revision, and writing session. Applicants cannot see or alter this record.When the applicant is satisfied with their statement, they submit it through the Puddin interface. Submission locks the document and delivers both the final text and the writing process evidence to your admissions team.
4
Reviewers examine the submission
Submitted personal statements appear in your admissions dashboard with a Submitted status. Admissions Officers assign each submission to a reviewer, who can then open the full review view. This view presents:
- The final personal statement — the text as submitted by the applicant.
- Writing process evidence — a complete record of how the document was created, including paste events, revision history, session timelines, and writing behaviour patterns.
5
Record decisions and report
After examining the submission, the reviewer records their decision within Puddin. Decisions are logged against the applicant record and contribute to the cycle’s audit trail. Admissions Officers can monitor review progress across the cohort, use filters and bulk actions to manage workload, and export applicant records as needed. The audit log captures all reviewer activity for compliance and governance purposes.
What applicants experience
Applicants interact with Puddin through a single invitation email. There is no separate account registration — the unique link in their invitation gives them direct access to their writing environment. Inside that environment, they write, revise, and ultimately submit their personal statement. The experience is designed to be straightforward so that applicants can focus entirely on their writing.Applicants do not see their writing process evidence at any point. The creation history is recorded in the background and is only visible to authorised admissions staff.
- Receiving the invitation — a personalised email with a unique link, sent by your team through Puddin.
- Writing the statement — composing and revising within the Puddin writing environment.
- Submitting — confirming the statement is final and submitting it through the interface. A confirmation email is sent automatically.
- After submission — the applicant cannot edit or resubmit once the document is locked.
What reviewers see
When a reviewer opens a submitted application, Puddin presents the final personal statement alongside its complete writing process evidence. The evidence is organised into several views:Paste Events
A log of all content pasted into the document — including the text pasted, when it was pasted, and how much of the final document it represents.
Revision History
A timeline of how the document changed over successive editing sessions, allowing reviewers to see how the statement developed from its earliest draft.
Session History
A record of each writing session — when the applicant opened the document, how long they wrote, and what changed during that session.
Writing Behaviour
Patterns across the document’s creation — such as typing speed, edit density, and the distribution of writing activity across sessions.
How review signals work
Puddin does not produce an automatic score or verdict. Instead, it surfaces the document creation history so your reviewers can apply their own professional judgement. Reviewers look for signals — such as a large proportion of content being pasted in a single event, very limited revision activity, or a creation history that does not reflect the effort typically associated with a personal statement — and decide whether those signals warrant further enquiry.Writing process evidence is one input into your review process. It is most effective when used alongside your institution’s existing admissions criteria and reviewer expertise.