Personal Statement Length on ERAS

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Is it better to have only one page with smaller font or a page and a paragraph with slightly larger font?
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^ ERAS standardizes the font. Please see aPD's post below from earlier in the thread. As mentioned previously, try to keep it to one page.

aProgDirector said:
New courier 10 font
Left/Right margins 0.3 inches
Top/Bot margins 0.8 inches
Single space, no linespace between paragraphs (although many applicants decide to skip a line between paragraphs)

It should be accurate to +/- one line.
Click to expand...
 
n/m
 
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aPD, what do you recommend with regards to indenting paragraphs?

EDIT: Actually, just read the answer to that on myEras: Do not indent your paragraphs with a tab space. We recommend using 4 - 5 spaces. Spaces will always be treated the same, but tab spaces are interpreted differently by different systems. Some appear to be 3 spaces long, while others appears to be 10 spaces long.
 
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aProgDirector said:
New courier 10 font
Left/Right margins 0.3 inches
Top/Bot margins 0.8 inches
Single space, no linespace between paragraphs (although many applicants decide to skip a line between paragraphs)

It should be accurate to +/- one line.
Click to expand...

When I used the above settings on my Mac and tried printing from Firefox, my PS came out to 1 page PLUS a paragraph even though my PS on Word was less than a page (but just barely). So I tried printing using Firefox on my parent's PC and then it was a page. It was around 700 words. Just a heads up for Mac users. Also, if anyone knows exactly how many characters fit on one ERAS page I would appreciate that. Everyone says stick to one page but does anyone know how many characters that is using New Courier 10 font?
Thanks
 
Does this still hold true these margins? I'm editing someone's essays and I think it would be too long with these settings. Doing 1 x 1 seems better than trying 0.3 x 0.8 which I think you are taking a risk.
 
DocLan said:
Does this still hold true these margins? I'm editing someone's essays and I think it would be too long with these settings. Doing 1 x 1 seems better than trying 0.3 x 0.8 which I think you are taking a risk.
Click to expand...

Bumping this. Would really like to know if these margins still hold true. By these I mean 0.3 on sides and 0.8 on top/bottom.
 
Last I checked don't you just paste it into the box in ERAS? You have 28000 characters, looks like that includes spaces.
 
skijumpbump said:
Last I checked don't you just paste it into the box in ERAS? You have 28000 characters, looks like that includes spaces.
Click to expand...

Yes but IDEALLY you want the PS to be all on one page when the PDs print the application. So it is useful to know what the margins and font are for when they print it from ERAS. You definitely don't want to take all 28,000 characters... unless perhaps you are the most interesting med student in the world.
 
What about the page type: A4 or A5? It makes a big difference.
I'd also say 1" margin all around is on the safer side.

I hate that PS thing. It's a waste of time and energy, especially that PDs ADMIT they don't read them. So why ask for them in the first place?! Arrgghh.
 
A4/A5 sizes aren't used in the US. The standard size in the US is 8.5" x 11".
 
I see someone already asked above, but no answer yet... Indents? No, or 7 spaces?
 
Slightly unrelated question. Do people capitalize the specialty name in their PS? What's the correct format? I've seen it both ways...

I would say no as it's not a proper noun but I've seen people who do...

"I decided to do 'specialty name' blah blah".
 
I'm not a PD, but I think it's silly when people capitalize the specialty name. It suggests that they're not particularly good with grammar. And it also breaks the flow of your essay (just like bad grammar does).
 
shan564 said:
I'm not a PD, but I think it's silly when people capitalize the specialty name. It suggests that they're not particularly good with grammar. And it also breaks the flow of your essay (just like bad grammar does).
Click to expand...

Very true. The exception is if it's part of the name of a department. So you practice internal medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine.
 
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Quick question because searching for information on "headers" is hard:

I know when the PS is printed by a program directer there is no header. Should we include out name and AAMC ID at the top to make it easier for PDs to keep things together?
 
how important is it to have our PS submitted along with our application the day ERAS becomes available? I have someone editing my personal statement, and i'm afraid i may not have it in on time for sept 15th opening date.

Will one week make a large difference?
 
Sept 15 is a Saturday. It's unlikely that anybody will look at it until Monday at least. Even then, most people probably won't be rushing to offer interviews on the first possible date, especially considering that MSPEs come out on Oct 1.
 
Ahh. My young padawan. You have yet to master the intricacies of the force.

My administrator will be downloading applications on the 15th. I have told her this is unnecessary. She does not care.

That being said, I agree that whether you apply on Sept 15th or Oct 1, it is very unlikely to make any difference.
 
aProgDirector said:
Ahh. My young padawan. You have yet to master the intricacies of the force.

My administrator will be downloading applications on the 15th. I have told her this is unnecessary. She does not care.

That being said, I agree that whether you apply on Sept 15th or Oct 1, it is very unlikely to make any difference.
Click to expand...
lol
 
aProgDirector said:
Ahh. My young padawan. You have yet to master the intricacies of the force.

My administrator will be downloading applications on the 15th. I have told her this is unnecessary. She does not care.

That being said, I agree that whether you apply on Sept 15th or Oct 1, it is very unlikely to make any difference.
Click to expand...

Wow, that's good to know... thanks again, Obi-Wan!
 
Would anyone be able to confirm that the font and page margin guidelines are based on the US Letter and NOT on the A4 paper size?

Thank you very much!
 
aProgDirector said:
Ahh. My young padawan. You have yet to master the intricacies of the force.

My administrator will be downloading applications on the 15th. I have told her this is unnecessary. She does not care.

That being said, I agree that whether you apply on Sept 15th or Oct 1, it is very unlikely to make any difference.
Click to expand...

Music to my ears.
 
znov said:
Would anyone be able to confirm that the font and page margin guidelines are based on the US Letter and NOT on the A4 paper size?

Thank you very much!
Click to expand...

Nobody uses A4 in the US. I once tried to find an A4 envelope in the US (because I was applying to Australian schools and they asked for an "A4 envelope"), and the people at the office supply store didn't even know what "A4" meant. I was also a bit confused about why they wanted such a weird paper size until I realized that everybody in Australia uses A4 rather than 8.5" x 11" letter size.
 
Thank you guys! I didn't know that.
 
Hi,
My PS is 750 words, what do you guys think? Is it too long? I hope it fits on one page.
I've tried to be as brief as possible.

Regards
 
my PS has a lot of dialogue in it, which naturally takes up more lines than it should.

will i be given some room in the length? theoretically it won't take them any longer to read it...

also, double space with paragraphs?

CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS TO BE DONE.
 
Bumping this thread to see if anything has changed for this year's ERAS. Does anyone know if the old 0.3 side x 0.8 top margins w/ 10 pt courier new font still hold true?
 
EBLoneStar said:
Bumping this thread to see if anything has changed for this year's ERAS. Does anyone know if the old 0.3 side x 0.8 top margins w/ 10 pt courier new font still hold true?
Click to expand...

Don't know if they still hold true, but wanted to add that last year it was definitely still true. I saw my application printed out several times and despite my initial skepticism these were in fact the correct margins!
 
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Sheldor said:
Don't know if they still hold true, but wanted to add that last year it was definitely still true. I saw my application printed out several times and despite my initial skepticism these were in fact the correct margins!
Click to expand...


thanks for your response!

mine just barely fits when I use those specifications and is about 4 lines over when I try to print from eras on my mac computer so I hope it works! would hate to have 4 poor orphaned lines of text on a 2nd page that PDs will resent me for making them read =/ haha
 
Sheldor said:
Don't know if they still hold true, but wanted to add that last year it was definitely still true. I saw my application printed out several times and despite my initial skepticism these were in fact the correct margins!
Click to expand...
darth-vader-i-find-your-lack-of-faith-disturbing.jpg
 
just bumping this one more time because it's very useful information to anyone putting together their PS. Thanks aPD for great info!
 
Why does ERAS print with those margins? Wouldn't that cause really long sentences for the PD's to read? Courier New 10 is also an ugly font lol.

I assume the guidelines in this thread are how it actually prints out? Wouldn't make sense to copy and paste into ERAS only to print in Times New Roman with 'regular' 1" margins or something like that.
 
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I'm sorry I'm asking the same question again but when I used aProgramDirector's specification, my PS fit perfectly in one page (730 words) but when I printed it out from my ERAS account, it's 1.3 page. I'm confused. When I printed it out from the ERAS, the margins on left and right were definitely NOT 0.3 inch (close to one inch) - is there a difference in format between what applicants print out and what the program director prints out? I have seen previous applicant's PS printed out (by residency programs) and I remember the margins to be definitely close to 0.3inch. Does anybody have the same problem? I asked people who matched last year and one told me that her PS was 750 words and it did fit into one page... FYI I used Chrome on Mac if that makes any difference.
 
Part of the problem is that ERAS has changed since this thread was created. Personal statements now look different than they did beforehand.

Personal statements now appear as PDF's with the following settings (approximately!):

Times New Roman font, 8 point.
Left margin: 0.5 in
Right margin: 1.8 in
Top margin: 1 in
Bottom margin: 2.3 in

This is +/- one line or so. Yes, the margins are asymmetrical. That's just the way it is.

I would be really amazed if it wasn't the same as what you see in your web based system, since now we're all using a web based system.
 
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aProgDirector said:
Part of the problem is that ERAS has changed since this thread was created. Personal statements now look different than they did beforehand.

Personal statements now appear as PDF's with the following settings (approximately!):

Times New Roman font, 8 point.
Left margin: 0.5 in
Right margin: 1.8 in
Top margin: 1 in
Bottom margin: 2.3 in

This is +/- one line or so. Yes, the margins are asymmetrical. That's just the way it is.
Click to expand...

Did you ever create a thread with these changes? must of missed it. Size 8 font? Now my PS is half a page lol.

Thank you for the update!!
 
aProgDirector said:
Part of the problem is that ERAS has changed since this thread was created. Personal statements now look different than they did beforehand.

Personal statements now appear as PDF's with the following settings (approximately!):

Times New Roman font, 8 point.
Left margin: 0.5 in
Right margin: 1.8 in
Top margin: 1 in
Bottom margin: 2.3 in

This is +/- one line or so. Yes, the margins are asymmetrical. That's just the way it is.

I would be really amazed if it wasn't the same as what you see in your web based system, since now we're all using a web based system.
Click to expand...
It's much, much different from what we see on our web based system. It ends up being almost twice as long in ERAS in our view as in yours.
 
How are any PDs planning on reading a PS in 8-pt font? :p
 
I was able to test this out today, and you are correct that the format you see when you print your PS is nothing like what we see. Before anyone goes bananas and thinks that somehow I can see applications already (which I can't), I checked one of my resident's PS's in the fellowship ERAS system, which is identical.

And the solution to 8 point font is zoom!
 
aProgDirector said:
I was able to test this out today, and you are correct that the format you see when you print your PS is nothing like what we see. Before anyone goes bananas and thinks that somehow I can see applications already (which I can't), I checked one of my resident's PS's in the fellowship ERAS system, which is identical.

And the solution to 8 point font is zoom!
Click to expand...
Thanks for confirming aPD - just curious, do you only read PS on screen and not print it out? (for the interviewers?)
 
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