Personal Essay

[superconduct]

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How long should the Personal Essay be? My essay about 450 words (litttle less than 1 page). Is it long enough to be a good essay. I really don't know what to say any more about myself. my essay could be longer if i put crappy stuffs in. the maximum for the pharmcas is 4500 words right? Does it matter how long the essay should be or just the substances of my letter matters the most?

thanks.

 

[omnione]

Actually, the PharmCAS limit is 4,500 characters, not words. That's a huge difference because you have to be really concise yet descriptive enough to get your point across.

Since 4,500 characters is a relatively short piece, you should try to fill up the space as much as possible. However, substance trumps quantity and you shouldn't fill up space with random and repeating points. Yet, you don't want to have a short PS that doesn't say much either. It's all about balance.

 

[superconduct]

Actually, the PharmCAS limit is 4,500 characters, not words. That's a huge difference because you have to be really concise yet descriptive enough to get your point across.

Since 4,500 characters is a relatively short piece, you should try to fill up the space as much as possible. However, substance trumps quantity and you shouldn't fill up space with random and repeating points. Yet, you don't want to have a short PS that doesn't say much either. It's all about balance.

thanks alot omnione. you saved my life. my head hurt just trying to make my essay longer.

 

[fenixtnlfan]

PharmCAS is 4500 characters so look to see how long yours is. Looking at mine you only have about half of the alloted amount. I would keep adding if I were you. You really want to sell yourself and give yourself the best opportunity you can. It's really early in the cycle still so stop working on it for a few days and you might come up with some more material. I know that seems like a lot of words to write; I felt the same way. However, just keep working on it. I ended up having to cut material out!

 

[superconduct]

PharmCAS is 4500 characters so look to see how long yours is. Looking at mine you only have about half of the alloted amount. I would keep adding if I were you. You really want to sell yourself and give yourself the best opportunity you can. It's really early in the cycle still so stop working on it for a few days and you might come up with some more material. I know that seems like a lot of words to write; I felt the same way. However, just keep working on it. I ended up having to cut material out!

my essay about 2900 characters total with spacing (2400 w/o spacing), so i still got a bit more to go. thanks for the encouraging words,

 

[mrblah]

my best essay was the shortest essay I wrote. Basically, make it as concise as possible.

I started with a 4 page essay (brainstorming, freewriting), then got it down to about 1 and 1/2 pages (after making a outline). I think the one i submitted was only equivalent to one page, single space (cleaned up, made sure it flowed). It had no fluff whatsoever.

Basically it was 4 paragraphs based on:
1. How my undergrad education led me to pharmacy. (how i loved certain subjects, and how my gpa reflected that)
2. How my work experience led to pharmacy. (working in retail/hospital, etc)
3. How my personal experience led to pharmacy. (what i learned from friends/family/coworkers/bosses who were pharmacists)
4. Lastly, what I could bring to their program, what I was expecting from their program, and my long term goals as a pharmacist. (what types of settings I'm interested, how I'm open minded to new possibilities, etc).

I first wrote a personal experience/tragedy/sob story/essay then I realized that it was too long, didn't convey what I wanted, went way off topic, and was probably what everyone else was writing, so I changed to the above format. I didn't want to focus on one single experience but my life as a whole, which i felt made me a better candidate.

Yea, i know i gave more info than what you were asking, but by keeping to a outline I was able to keep my word count to a minimum (not saying thats good or bad).

 

[sando]

my best essay was the shortest essay I wrote. Basically, make it as concise as possible.

I started with a 4 page essay (brainstorming, freewriting), then got it down to about 1 and 1/2 pages (after making a outline). I think the one i submitted was only equivalent to one page, single space (cleaned up, made sure it flowed). It had no fluff whatsoever.

Basically it was 4 paragraphs based on:
1. How my undergrad education led me to pharmacy. (how i loved certain subjects, and how my gpa reflected that)
2. How my work experience led to pharmacy. (working in retail/hospital, etc)
3. How my personal experience led to pharmacy. (what i learned from friends/family/coworkers/bosses who were pharmacists)
4. Lastly, what I could bring to their program, what I was expecting from their program, and my long term goals as a pharmacist. (what types of settings I'm interested, how I'm open minded to new possibilities, etc).

I first wrote a personal experience/tragedy/sob story/essay then I realized that it was too long, didn't convey what I wanted, went way off topic, and was probably what everyone else was writing, so I changed to the above format. I didn't want to focus on one single experience but my life as a whole, which i felt made me a better candidate.

Yea, i know i gave more info than what you were asking, but by keeping to a outline I was able to keep my word count to a minimum (not saying thats good or bad).

hey i lik yr advice.. thanks

 

[ExpressMaiL]

My statement was 760 words or 4,300 characters.

 

[PBCnetwork]

I need some help to answer the USC questions
1) what have you done to prepare for admission and a career in pharmacy?
2)what unique, personal qualities and/or life experiences will you bring to the USC school of pharmacy?
I wrote something but I am not sure if they're good and long enough. for the second one I wrote what unique and personal qualities I have as a pre-pharmacy student.
for the first question, since I am a reapplicant I just wrote that I took some required courses and worked full time as before I don't know what to add.

 

[Pharm Buddy]

I need some help to answer the USC questions
1) what have you done to prepare for admission and a career in pharmacy?
2)what unique, personal qualities and/or life experiences will you bring to the USC school of pharmacy?
I wrote something but I am not sure if they're good and long enough. for the second one I wrote what unique and personal qualities I have as a pre-pharmacy student.
for the first question, since I am a reapplicant I just wrote that I took some required courses and worked full time as before I don't know what to add.

They seem the same as last year's questions, so USC is not changing their questions?? Thanks

 

[Farcus]

my best essay was the shortest essay I wrote. Basically, make it as concise as possible.

I started with a 4 page essay (brainstorming, freewriting), then got it down to about 1 and 1/2 pages (after making a outline). I think the one i submitted was only equivalent to one page, single space (cleaned up, made sure it flowed). It had no fluff whatsoever.

Basically it was 4 paragraphs based on:
1. How my undergrad education led me to pharmacy. (how i loved certain subjects, and how my gpa reflected that)
2. How my work experience led to pharmacy. (working in retail/hospital, etc)
3. How my personal experience led to pharmacy. (what i learned from friends/family/coworkers/bosses who were pharmacists)
4. Lastly, what I could bring to their program, what I was expecting from their program, and my long term goals as a pharmacist. (what types of settings I'm interested, how I'm open minded to new possibilities, etc).

I first wrote a personal experience/tragedy/sob story/essay then I realized that it was too long, didn't convey what I wanted, went way off topic, and was probably what everyone else was writing, so I changed to the above format. I didn't want to focus on one single experience but my life as a whole, which i felt made me a better candidate.

Yea, i know i gave more info than what you were asking, but by keeping to a outline I was able to keep my word count to a minimum (not saying thats good or bad).

good advice i'm working on point 3, but didn't think of point 4 so I might add that. I'm at about 2300 characters. I read somewhere you don't want to fill it up or fill too little(might seem you didn't finish what you wanted to say or you didn't say enough). If 4500 characters, go with 4000-4200.