Personal Statement character count

[kiddingme]

How many people used all or almost all of the 5300 characters? Did anyone use significantly less? I want to use as much as possible without the ps being verbose just to use up characters. Was/is anyone else in this position?

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[vtucci]

How many people used all or almost all of the 5300 characters? Did anyone use significantly less? I want to use as much as possible without the ps being verbose just to use up characters. Was/is anyone else in this position?

I used 5299.

 

[C.P. Jones]

i'm at about 4800, but still in an editing phase....but i'm almost done, so it should be around there

 

[Hurricane95]

When I wrote mine last year I first had 5420...i then cut out some stuff and ended up consistenly with 1503...arg. I edited like six times until i then had it at 5299. 🙂 Success

 

[Non-TradTulsa]

5,299 characters here after heavy edits and re-writes. I think it's pretty common. Once your AMCAS essay is absolutely perfect at 5,299 characters - if you're also applying through TMDSAS or AACOMAS, you get to hack the whole thing up further and try to make the same points. P.S. editing is not my favorite memory from last summer!

 

[oxeye]

I don't know what is typical but mine is at 5108 right now. It was over 6000 just a few days ago and I've done some major editing to get it down to where it is right now. 😉

 

[QuantumMechanic]

personally 5300 isn't enough. giving solid examples on each point about why I want to enter medicine is difficult to get down below 6000 characters. I could cut stuff out but then I'd be making some blanket statements that aren't backed up. ughhhhhhhhhhhh i hate essays!

 

[jackieMD2007]

5287.

Whew. No wiggle room there. 👍

 

[WannaDoc]

Mine is around 4500 right now and I think it being that succinct will be a good break to readers. It also fits DO and Texas that way. No reason to get wordy. Short and to the point... yet descriptive 😀

 

[coco]

i used 5300 last year. I ended up having to delete a space in between the period of one sentence and the next sentence to make it fit...lol
fun times i tell ya

 

[istream]

I'm at 5600 and cant get myself to delete anything....this sucks

 

[kiddingme]

Mine is around 4500 right now and I think it being that succinct will be a good break to readers. It also fits DO and Texas that way. No reason to get wordy. Short and to the point... yet descriptive 😀

yeah i'm also trying to get mine to a happy medium between 4500 and 5300 so not to much editing will need to be done for my AACOMAS application. At least its better than last year's 3000 characters!!

 

[chilon85]

I have a quick question. Is it 5300 characters including spaces or not including them?

 

[tomorrowgirl99]

includes spaces

 

[coco11]

I haven't started mine yet, but I'll let you know. 😱

 

[MJB]

3985

 

[Tusk]

I'm at 5300 for the 4th time. Every time I start editing my essay, it grows to around 5600, then I have to edit other parts to get it back to 5300. I had to make a few contractions to hit the current mark. 😀

 

[mjakec]

This thread is bringing back some bad memories!

 

[lilnoelle]

Mine was twice the length it was supposed to be when I finished my first draft. Editing was a pain in the butt, but mine ended up being just right under the 5300 limit.

 

[jbrice1639]

i used 5240

 

[Dr.Who?]

don't forget that "enter" counts as 2 spaces...

I wanted my ps in a format that paragraphs were clear, so I used extra 'enters' to get it right.

I've been sent several statements through pm where paragraphs are hard to distinguish...something to think about...

 

[sandros1]

Well, I'm at 5185 with at least one more major round of revisions for flow, clarity and grammar. I definitely go above with any changes, then need to revise down pretty regularly.

 

[rikaram26]

I heard it was better to keep your personal statement to one page!

 

[McMD]

This thread is bringing back some bad memories!

Agreed. The stress of the PS, looking at my application and thinking "they can't get to know me based on THIS"....ahh...it's all too clear. Trust me guys, the application process gets MUCH easier. After the secondaries, you just sit back and coast through the rest...unless you get on a WL and that would be stressful!

 

[rikaram26]

What about the experience blurbs? Any one completely done with those??

 

[mfpullen]

Jase, do no other schools offer scientific writing classes? lol

Since freshman year, almost every bio/chem professor I've had has made us write abstracts, article summaries, essays etc. all under one page.

I finished a damn good PS and it was ~5000 characters. It helps that I'm an English double major, I think...

 

[Dr.Who?]

I heard it was better to keep your personal statement to one page!

that's bull. i don't know how every schools sees/prints the primary, but after you print out your completed application, some schools require you to send copies of it with your secondary. There's really no way to determine what "one page" is in that format. (the .pdf you print out is in the landscape format)

 

[CptCrunch]

Did you guys use one space or two spaces after a period? I normally use two, but I figure I can cut down my character count by using just one.

 

[Dr.Who?]

Did you guys use one space or two spaces after a period? I normally use two, but I figure I can cut down my character count by using just one.

i used 1 space...

 

[Non-TradTulsa]

Did you guys use one space or two spaces after a period? I normally use two, but I figure I can cut down my character count by using just one.

Yup, that's the easiest edit when you're desperate. Very common. I did.

 

[C.P. Jones]

I used two spaces after periods. I would only use one if you need it to cut down on space, or else your sentences will look smushed together and me difficult to read.