MPH Personal Statement: Length?? (500 Max?)

[eek_]

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to finish my personal statements by October 1st.

I am applying to Columbia and I noticed they mention personal statements can be no longer than 500 words--not a lot! I don't see a strict length requirement for other programs I'm applying to however.

For those who are in the midst of writing, or who have already applied-do you think 500 is typical? Should I aim for this in other personal statements, or does it not really matter? My most finished draft so far is about 750 words for another school.

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[Pudu2009]

500 words doesn't seem like much, but it's actually very typical for Statements of Purpose. I found it annoying as well, but now I understand why. First off, think about how many people apply. Can you imagine admissions officers reading 1000+ 5 page essays? It would take them a year just to admit people ! A word limit helps cut down on time. Also, as human beings by nature, we have a tendency to tell a lot about ourselves, so a word limit helps to keep us in check, so to speak. Just focus on getting the important things in and being as concise as possible.

Spoiler alert: In health policy & management, you'll have to write many 500 - 600 word policy briefs, so consider this good practice

 

[625233]

Yeah, 500 max is expected


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[eek_]

Thanks to you both! Sigh, i guess better to have too much to say than too little...time to cut!!