How many char. was your personal statement?

[Rlow04]

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I think I'm going to be pushing the 4500 char limit, has anyone else been pretty close to 4500? Even though it's 'within' the limit, do admissions committees like shorter PSs?

 

[cmcner]

I don't know if you could make it too long due to the character limit imposed already, but I do think you could go too short. This is your only chance to express yourself so treat it like the opportunity that it is. Then again don't add filler to get to 4500, but 4500 is not as big of a number as it seems to be.

 

[joonkimdds]

I also thought about this last year.
At first, I had more than 4500, around 4800?
After editing it several times, it became around 3900.
In the end, it became around 4350 which I thought was perfect length.

 

[Vicviper]

Mine was EXACTLY 4500, haha, I barely got it in, had to take out a word or two when I submitted it. Remember that word doesn't count the breaks between paragraphs as a space, and you'll need to hit Shift+Enter on the actual AADSAS page twice to make a nice break, so that's two chars there between each paragraph.

I've heard this time and time again - a shorter and more consise answer is almost always better, don't feel you need to get to 4500 just for the sake of the numbers.

 

[joonkimdds]

I think 3800~4350 is about the right length.

 

[molarbear]

I agree with being close to the 4500 mark, maybe a few hundred less. Mine was about 5000, and had to edit it several times. My advice if you have to edit it is to take multiple days to do it. After reading it multiple times in one day, you won't see places and things to change anymore. You could also have a friend read it and get suggestions.

 

[sarora11]

about how many pages on microsoft word is 4500 characters? Going to start writing mine soon, so just want a general idea

 

[joonkimdds]

about how many pages on microsoft word is 4500 characters? Going to start writing mine soon, so just want a general idea

well...if you double space it, I think it's about two pages.

 

[Vicviper]

And remember that in your character count you need to include all spaces, which word will do for you.

 

[joonkimdds]

And don't forget about a school that requires minimum of 4500 character WITHOUT space. It's university of Tenne....C.

 

[DrDDSman]

I just wrote at first not minding the character limit..I was around 6000, after multiple edits, I finally got it down to EXACTLY 4500. I feel its a good way to concisely get your point across.

 

[Mgobowl]

I started out without worrying about the character limit and ended up around 6500. After literally 21 edits I got it down to 4400. I worked on it off and on for about a month, then didn't look at it for about 6 weeks before doing my final edits. Have a couple sets of eyes look at it. I had my program adviser look at it since she works with the admissions staff at my school.

Like someone else said, it is important to be concise, but be sure to fully explain yourself. I think a well written and well thought out essay can make a huge difference. My gpa and extracurriculars were not anything special, but I was accepted at a couple schools none the less.

 

[Blue Panther]

Mine was also exactly 4500 characters w/spaces.

 

[Rlow04]

Thanks for the replies, that clears things up for me!

 

[DrReo]

I think I'm going to be pushing the 4500 char limit, has anyone else been pretty close to 4500? Even though it's 'within' the limit, do admissions committees like shorter PSs?

2000 characters. Short and to the point.