Anyone know the word limit for the AACOM Personal Statement? I'm applying for 2004 admission, and want to get a jump start on writing my personal statement.
Thank you!
PH
Thank you!
PH
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AACOM Personal Statement Length?
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Last cycle it was 500 words or 3000 characters with spaces. I had 489 words and 2889 characters including spaces and the program said it was over the limit. I had to edit twice and thankfully it fit. I went down to 467 words and 2758 or something charaters and it fit. The program was finicky for me but I know that other people didn't have that problem.
Good luck in the process! 🙂
Good luck in the process! 🙂
That's weird. I was wondering about that myself. AACOMAS currently has taken it off of their site until May 1, so I checked the AAMC site to see what they require assuming it would be similar. Apparently it is not, they allow for 5300 characters.
Go figure.
Go figure.
this is just my opinion on personal statements. it could be totally off, but i think that keeping it short and to the point is best. don't use a lot of filler just to make it 500 words. admissions committees read tons of these things and from what i have heard, it gets a little boring. so i think get in, get out but make it pop.
I've basically written my AAMC personal statement which is 5300 characters and I had trouble explaining "why I wanted to pursue medicine" within those parameters. With AACOMAS...I have 500 words! What do you suggest I focus on?
Basically, do I answer Why osteopathic medicine? Can anyone tell me where to even start? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!🙂
Basically, do I answer Why osteopathic medicine? Can anyone tell me where to even start? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!🙂
I agree with jekel...making your statement poignant may be a great advantage although it is certainly more difficult for most. I revamped mine many times (obsessively?) and got it down to < 300 words. To tell you the truth, I found this to be an challenging exercise that really helped me scrutinize my thoughts, feelings, and motives for medicine. I really got wrapped up in the whole process... I also tried to keep in mind that the people screening my essay have seen perhaps hundreds of these things, therefore, I thought "short and sweet" would be refreshing. Good luck!
The question about "why osteopathic medicine?" will come up on your secondaries so it's up to you how much you want to elaborate on that one.
This is a personal statement and I know how difficult it is to write about you within those parameters but it can be done. It took me a while to think about what really moves me and why I decided to pursue medicine in the first place. I had to think about how I got to this point in my life and what I learned from all these experiences.
Good luck and keep at it!
This is a personal statement and I know how difficult it is to write about you within those parameters but it can be done. It took me a while to think about what really moves me and why I decided to pursue medicine in the first place. I had to think about how I got to this point in my life and what I learned from all these experiences.
Good luck and keep at it!
