Is a Shorter or Longer Personal Statement Better?

[qszwdxefc]

Yes I know about the 5300 character limit. My question is: my personal statement right now is at about 5100 characters, but is a shorter statement better in any way? My statement does not ramble on by any means, but I was just wondering if making it shorter (by changing sentence structure etc.) will make it easier to read and more enjoyed by the adcoms.

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[motz]

I'd use every character. But I'd use every character wisely. The last thing I'd want is to bore the reader and waste his or her time.

 

[mrh125]

Yes I know about the 5300 character limit. My question is: my personal statement right now is at about 5100 characters, but is a shorter statement better in any way? My statement does not ramble on by any means, but I was just wondering if making it shorter (by changing sentence structure etc.) will make it easier to read and more enjoyed by the adcoms.

Do what works for you. If you can explain everything you need in the necessary details in a shorter essay, try it. If longer works better for you try that. There's no right answer to this.

 

[CW 2010]

I'd go with the shorter one. They get tired of reading personal statements. However, it has to be a complete, nicely written story. If you need more space to do that, then write a longer one.

 

[kthxbai]

Stop writing when you've said your piece, be it in 5300 characters or less.

One great statement I read was only about 3500 characters; this kid is now at Stanford Med, so clearly it was about the quality of his work.

 

[BeMD13]

I was initially planning on applying to PA programs. I went to an info session at a school and the director said "Bonus points for brevity!" I made my statement shorter than the requirement just because of her statement and was accepted. Not sure if it's the same case for med schools but I'm pretty certain after reading tens of thousands of these things, they can sniff out someone who is just filling space and I bet that gets annoying.

 

[hoihaie]

Be concise.

 

[DrPibble]

I agree, be concise. But then again, don't shorten it just to shorten it. If, during your revising, you notice many long sentences or redundancies, then you should definitely edit them down to be less wordy.

 

[nabilesmail]

Writing a short personal statement looks odd. A dean of admissions told me that you don't want to do things that make you look odd. Write the entire length of the PS, but be profound and use every word wisely.

 

[beethousand]

Brevity is the soul of wit


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[mimelim]

If you can effectively sell why you should be in a medical school class in 700 words, you should do it. Realistically, virtually nobody can do that. Nobody cares about the actual length of your PS. And nobody on an admissions committee counts or looks it up. Fluff is bad. It isn't about wasting time. Its about making people less interested in what you have to say.

 

[DokterMom]

Be concise.

If I could like this twice, I would. Quoting will have to suffice --