How long should our personal statement be?

[sekem]

I know it says 5000 characters which is basically 3-4 pages doubles spaced!

but I heard people say no more than 2 pages?


Any ideas on that?

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[drmota]

how about 5000 characters?
-mota

 

[kevster2001]

Generic answer: Enough to get your point across, under 5000 characters of course

 

[Depakote]

5300 Characters.

If you run short, fill it out with "Kill Flanders" over and over...

 

[Law2Doc]

I know it says 5000 characters which is basically 3-4 pages doubles spaced!

but I heard people say no more than 2 pages?


Any ideas on that?

If it's really compelling, no one will complain if you fill up the space. If it's boring, then as far as the readers are concerned, the shorter the better. If you finish saying what you think you need to in 4000 words, no need to go further. Tons of people end up having to cut down to the 5000 word range, though.

 

[8744]

Length is unimportant provided you mention dead or dying African babies.

Glad I could help.

 

[NehsNairb]

Use up all of the characters. You should have enough relevant experiences, anecdotes, and insight to use 5300 characters.

 

[Law2Doc]

Length is unimportant

Never believe women when they say this...

 

[8744]

Use up all of the characters. You should have enough relevant experiences, anecdotes, and insight to use 5300 characters.

Don't be so sure. You've held one dead African baby you've pretty much held them all.

 

[Packamylase]

I know it says 5000 characters which is basically 3-4 pages doubles spaced!

but I heard people say no more than 2 pages?


Any ideas on that?

5300 characters is about a page and a quarter. (less than 2.5 pages double-spaced.)

 

[medicomel]

write enough to tell your story. it will most likely be more than they allow. trust me, you'll be trimming the fat later on, and it's better to have more to work with in the beginning. it turns out i had EXACTLY 5300 characters.

 

[Law2Doc]

trust me, you'll be trimming the fat later on, and it's better to have more to work with in the beginning.

That should be the Jenny Craig slogan.

 

[medicomel]

sounds inspirational, doesn't it?

 

[8744]

Or Brazilian orphans. African babies are becoming a cliche.

 

[Non-TradTulsa]

I hate to do the CPA math thing, but 5,000 characters at 80 characters per line with monospaced type is 62.5 lines, which is one letter-size page single-spaced.

I'd worry more about putting some passion into your personal statement. I learned the hard way that you can't write a personal statement in a day or two. It took me several days to come up with everything I wanted to say - but once I did, I had to do some trimming to get to exactly 5,300 characters.

Your personal statement is your chance to introduce yourself beyond your "numbers" and it's a chance to show your heart and your personality. Don't rush through it, because I believe that if your stats are good, your PS may be a significant factor in whether or not you get an interview.

 

[deleted212936]

Hey does it matter if your PS is too short? Mine is only ~4500 now.

 

[Klemptor]

If you're happy with what you've written, then 4500 is fine.

 

[Ohio SMP]

5300 Characters.

If you run short, fill it out with "Kill Flanders" over and over...

 

[jal06c]

so im getting the sense that its alright if its short ... as long as you say what you want to say ... correct? mine is currently around 4000 characters and im coming into the conclusion now. is that okay or should i beef it up a little bit?