Personal Statement word count using microsoft word or notepad?

[archonsbk]

Hey,

I finished my personal statement and it is like 5500 characters according to microsoft word.
I believe that you have to use notepad or microsoft word for AADSAS application.
I downloaded the notepad from this website http://notepad-plus-plus.org/download/v6.5.3.html
Is this the right one? I have never used notepad and just want to make sure my personal statement is under 4500 characters...
Let me know!

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[Glimmer1991]

You don't use either of these programs... You just copy and paste your statement into a text box.

The word count should be the same on either program. It has to be 4500 characters or less, including spaces.

 

[gnleff]

Two pages single spaced in Microsoft word is generally the way to go.

 

[ModifiedBass]

..The number of characters is going to be the same regardless of what software you use. You can just copy/paste your statement from wherever into the application and edit the spacing, etc. in the provided space.

 

[Glimmer1991]

Two pages single spaced in Microsoft word is generally the way to go.

Isn't that way too much? I found that 4500 characters was closer to 1.25 pages in Microsoft word, single spaced.

 

[gnleff]

Isn't that way too much? I found that 4500 characters was closer to 1.25 pages in Microsoft word, single spaced.

I always thought that was the absolute limit on how long it should be. It'll be a tad shorter depending on how many paragraphs you have too.

 

[free99]

I always thought that was the absolute limit on how long it should be. It'll be a tad shorter depending on how many paragraphs you have too.

Oddly enough, I don't think page breaks were counted as characters in AADSAS. I might be misremembering, though.

 

[ModifiedBass]

Yes 4500 is the absolute limit. Two pages single spaced is much more than 4500 characters I believe. And free99, I think you're correct in that "enters" were not counted as characters. So when you are done with a paragraph, just enter and if you really want, use two spaces as an indent, don't waste 5-10 if you're running out of characters.

 

[gnleff]

Darn sorry for misleading everyone.

 

[Glimmer1991]

I didn't indent at all--I just had spaces between my paragraphs. Like GJMeig said, don't waste characters for this! Every little space counts.

 

[ktran17]

I did not indent either. When I tried doing that, it did not look very aesthetic. I just separated each of my paragraphs with a space.

Man, I'm starting to forget what I did last cycle. ..

 

[archonsbk]

I started with 5500 characters and now I have 5244 characters with the space according to the microsoft word gotta narrow down more ahhhh!!

 

[Slumber]

I started with 5500 characters and now I have 5244 characters with the space according to the microsoft word gotta narrow down more ahhhh!!

CUT CUT CUT!

 

[doc toothache]

I started with 5500 characters and now I have 5244 characters with the space according to the microsoft word gotta narrow down more ahhhh!!

If you cannot say what you need to say in 4500 characters, it is unlikely that the additional 744 to 1000 characters will make a difference between acceptance and rejection.

 

[NMC2010]

I started with 5500 characters and now I have 5244 characters with the space according to the microsoft word gotta narrow down more ahhhh!!

You can definitely cut some stuff out. When I finished mine, I made the mistake of thinking it was 4500 word count instead of 4500 character count (yay for reading). Had about 7100 characters, and was thinking, "wow, I wonder if it's OK that I only have 1200 words?" Was pretty surprised when it was too big to paste into AADSAS haha. I cut a bunch out and ended up at about 4300... you just need to be concise.