number of faculty

[yikes]

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a few of my schools don't mention how many faculty to address in the personal statement. right now i've written a full paragraph about one and then discuss a few others briefly in the next paragraph. is that ok or is it better to write a paragraph about at least 2 members? hope this makes sense, let me know if it doesn't.

 

[psychwanabe]

I had always heard that addressing your best match should be the primary focus. If there are a couple of faculty that meet your interests, perhaps you could discuss them in the same paragraph.

I would think talking about more than two could be a problem in a couple of ways. First, with the word limits you may not have the space. Second, it may make you appear unfocused. I would think it's unlikely that there are more than two faculty at an institution who do research in your area of interest. If you rattle off a list of names it might make you sound like you're shooting in the dark and hoping for a match.

...just my $.02.

 

[yikes]

i wouldn't mention more than two, i'm wondering if it would be ok to only mention 1. for example i have a whole paragraph explaining why i want to work with dr. x. the next paragraph says something like i want to go to this school because i could work with dr. x as well as consult with dr. y and dr. z. then i have a conclusion.
I'm not sure if this made it any clearer...

 

[psychwanabe]

Oh---sorry I guess I misunderstood. 😳

I don't see any problem with that approach at all.

 

[a7dk]

I think that's a fine approach. I did basically the same thing for a few of the schools I applied to, and it worked for me.