Personal Statement Length on ERAS

[cnewber4]

aPD, sure you're tired of this but just wanting to make sure...

I used your document margins and the 8pt TNR font. My PS is 828 words or 5279 characters w/ spaces (a little longer bc we have to write an extra paragraph for ENT now...)

That being said even w/ that many words my PS is still only like 3/4 of a page when turned from word to a PDF w/ those margins. Is that even possible or I am I just doing everything wrong?

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[NotAProgDirector]

Thanks for confirming aPD - just curious, do you only read PS on screen and not print it out? (for the interviewers?)

I read them online. Others print them out.

aPD, sure you're tired of this but just wanting to make sure...

I used your document margins and the 8pt TNR font. My PS is 828 words or 5279 characters w/ spaces (a little longer bc we have to write an extra paragraph for ENT now...)

That being said even w/ that many words my PS is still only like 3/4 of a page when turned from word to a PDF w/ those margins. Is that even possible or I am I just doing everything wrong?

Yes, that is correct.

 

[Nymphicus]

This change really increases the "one page" length.

 

[p1ggy]

So if my statement is 1 page and a small paragraph on a 2nd page, will only the 1st page get printed and read?

 

[kinzy]

Whether they print it or view it online depends on the program. Chances are, the whole thing would print - how much they read is up to that specific reader. I've had some people say that PDs stop reading after page 1; others have said that if it's an interesting personal statement, they'll read the whole thing.

 

[BoSoxMack]

Times New Roman font, 8 point.
Left margin: 0.5 in
Right margin: 1.8 in
Top margin: 1 in
Bottom margin: 2.3 in

bump...just stumbled on this enlightening thread, and was wondering if there are any updates on this for the Fall 2016 cycle? do the above margins and font hold for this year as well?

Thanks!

 

[camedstudent23]

bump...just stumbled on this enlightening thread, and was wondering if there are any updates on this for the Fall 2016 cycle? do the above margins and font hold for this year as well?

Thanks!

No one would know until Sep 15 when ERAS opens for PD's. Why not just stick to the <700 word rule? 500-600 is optimal.

 

[wooden69]

No one would know until Sep 15 when ERAS opens for PD's. Why not just stick to the <700 word rule? 500-600 is optimal.

Sorry for the redundant questioning but I'm confused and would appreciate some guidance. On the one hand, aProgDirector responded to the above poser who had 828 words and did not come close to 1 page yet camedstudent23 says to stick to <700 word rule to avoid going over a page. Also aProgdirector said earlier in the thread that roughly 1000 words fit on one page so what gives? Would really appreciate clarification, thanks

 

[mcl]

Sorry for the redundant questioning but I'm confused and would appreciate some guidance. On the one hand, aProgDirector responded to the above poser who had 828 words and did not come close to 1 page yet camedstudent23 says to stick to <700 word rule to avoid going over a page. Also aProgdirector said earlier in the thread that roughly 1000 words fit on one page so what gives? Would really appreciate clarification, thanks

The font size is a lot smaller now than it used to be. You can fit a lot more words/lines per page--but it's harder for us to read. It's pretty rare now for me to see personal statements that go over a page. I still think 700 words is a good guideline--long enough to give programs a feel for who you are and why you chose a particular specialty, but not so long that readers lose interest and start skimming. The goal is to make them want to meet you in person.

 

[gunnerdoc]

So I saw a lot of stuff about certain fonts in Word and such...but it seems like they changed the formatting in ERAS yet again. If we put our personal statement in and view/print it out and it's under one page. That's exactly what the PD will see, correct? Word count it's pushing 900, I'd love to trim it down, but it's tough without losing some good stuff.

 

[gutonc]

Sorry for the redundant questioning but I'm confused and would appreciate some guidance. On the one hand, aProgDirector responded to the above poser who had 828 words and did not come close to 1 page yet camedstudent23 says to stick to <700 word rule to avoid going over a page. Also aProgdirector said earlier in the thread that roughly 1000 words fit on one page so what gives? Would really appreciate clarification, thanks

"That Personal Statement was too short"...

...said no PD ever

 

[gutonc]

So I saw a lot of stuff about certain fonts in Word and such...but it seems like they changed the formatting in ERAS yet again. If we put our personal statement in and view/print it out and it's under one page. That's exactly what the PD will see, correct? Word count it's pushing 900, I'd love to trim it down, but it's tough without losing some good stuff.

Merging with current active thread about the same question.

Also, there's not really "good stuff" in any PS. So cut it down.

 

[EJayBee]

Hey guys. Don't know if you've already figured this out, but when you hit Create New, and paste in your statement, at the bottom is the "preview" button, which shows you exactly what it will look like when programs print it out. Including number of pages. Mine was just at a page in Word, cambria, font size 11, ~650 words, all the standard margins, and ended up being barely half page in ERAS when I previewed it. Hope that helps.