Personal Statement 3500 Characters?

[OnMyWayThere]

I am typing my paper in MS Word. Should I use the "word count" feature?

It says "3700 characters without spaces"
"4532 characters with spaces"

Which should I take into account if I should even be using that tool? Does the app shrink it a little bit since paragraphs are all stuffed? I am having trouble shrinking this thing.

Thanks

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[Adapt]

I am typing my paper in MS Word. Should I use the "word count" feature?

It says "3700 characters without spaces"
"4532 characters with spaces"

Which should I take into account if I should even be using that tool? Does the app shrink it a little bit since paragraphs are all stuffed? I am having trouble shrinking this thing.

Thanks

You need to take into account characters with spaces. Unfortunately, on both the AMCAS and AACOMAS, the PS includes letters and spaces. You may have to find some way to cut it further.

 

[(nicedream)]

Just take out all the verbs, you'll be fine.

 

[box29]

By the way, for AACOMAS...the limit last year was 500 words or 3000 characters WITH spaces. It probably won't change...

 

[Robz]

I did some serious editiing between the two application services to get my PS down to the "acceptable" limit. Seriously, would it hurt to give us a little more room to write about our futures?

 

[Buckeye(OH)]

Uh, great, I was going to use my MD PS for my DO application also.


I guess that won't be working.

 

[AshDO]

I know I had a hard time fitting my initial essay into the box provided because of the character count. I ended up combining a few paragraphs to cut down on the spacing, since each space is a character, I believe. I would just write the essay and type it into the given box on AACOMAS..when it tells you that you are over the limit..just go back and do some revising..that's what I did and it ended up being better than the one I started with..

 

[nachoDoc]

Edit in word then copy & paste into notepad then copy from notepad into app.

If you're very close, view the "print application" option and scroll to the essay and see if you still fit inside the limit. Adjust accordingly.

 

[NotShorty]

Your essay will all be crammed into one paragraph on your actual application, so you might as well type your drafts and revisions this way.

It's really important that the whole thing has VERY smooth transitions and is enjoyable to read. You don't want the people reading it to be bored or worse yet, to just forget about you before they finish reading it.

-NS