personal statement question... yes, did search, couldn't find answer

[UDbiochem]

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so i did a search and found a max limit for personal statements... but what about how short? I'm a concise writer to begin with... so my personal statement is pretty much done and is about 4,000 characters. is it bad to have it that short?

 

[XCanadianRagwee]

Originally posted by UDbiochem
so i did a search and found a max limit for personal statements... but what about how short? I'm a concise writer to begin with... so my personal statement is pretty much done and is about 4,000 characters. is it bad to have it that short?

no. As long as you said everything you wanted to say it's fine. Mine was less than that and got accpeted...

 

[TRUE]

I would add something to it. I am concise as well and I thought I would never fill the necessary limit, but I ended up doing so. The personal statement is one of a few chances to get your self across to the school. Take full advantage of it.

 

[mlw03]

first off i have to say that the dr. romano avatar is pretty odd... and cool. way to pay homage!

to answer your question, let me propose another one. what do you think is better? leaving part of the page blank, or filling it with drivel? my vote is the former. if you say what you wish to say in a short span, so be it. if anything you add will be poorly written filler (think, "screw flanders" from the simpsons), then your essay is better off without it.

 

[UDbiochem]

thanks guys!

everyone comments on dr. romano avatar. strange, but he was my favorite character on the show.. made life interesting, had a heart underneath being extremely unpolitically correct.

besides, bald men are hot.

 

[Lochmoor]

You've got plenty of time before you have to submit your PS. Take it to some people to proofread it and maybe they'll have some suggestions on where you may want to elaborate. Also, just keep thinking in the back of your mind about what things you've done/experienced that will show you are a good person and will be a good doctor. This is not to say that you havent put enough thought into your esssay. I just think you should try to use the next few months to keep tweaking your PS. This will not only improve your PS, but will also get you thinking about why you want to be a doctor ect and stuff to talk about during your interview.

It took me several months of just pondering before i wrote anything. So, you're ahead of the game and keep rolling with it.

Best,
Lochmoor

 

[Sharkfan]

I highly urge you to pass it around to as many people (preferably english and liberal arts majors) as possible. They may see something that you have left out. Better to be safe than sorry!! Other than that, no problem if it's a tad short.

 

[Amy B]

Defintetly, if you have said all that you want to say in your PS, then there is no reason to add fluff just to make it longer. That limit is just that... a MAX limit. Don't feel like yours is bad because it is short. This subject actually came up once during a conversation with a dean of admissions. She said she hated when applicants add fluff to their PS. She said she had rad some great PSs that were short, direct and to the point that had won the committee over and had read ones that dragged on and on and didn't say much that had lost the committee's votes.

And I would agree with the above posters, always have others read and review your PS. It is a VERY important part of your application. Since we all have great grades and great MCATS and lots of ECs, the personal statement is our chance to shine and shoe the schools why they should interview us rather than someone else.

Make it great. Good luck

 

[Neuronix]

As a student interviewer, please please don't feel like you need to fluff up your PS. I see these personal statements sometimes that have alot of fluff in them and they annoy me because they take me extra time to read no information. What I'm looking for when I read your personal statement is your motivation and preparation for medicine, what you're about as a person, and any unique or interesting things I should know about you.

Two resources I found useful at UDel were both the English Writing Center (down in the basement of the English building), which reads statements for professional schools for grammar/structure, and Dr. Schmieg. If you set up an appointment with her to review it, she's helpful because she's got a pretty good handle on what adcoms are looking for.

Good luck!

 

[celticmists18]

Don't worry about the length . . . mine was a grand total of 3600 characters. Remember you don't have to say everything related to the topic you picked, just what is important and helps to further your point. I wouldn't recommend giving your ps to a bunch of people (too many cooks in the kitchen syndrome). Find someone who is really good at the grammar/english lang thing and have them read it over. Then give it to a FEW people who know you really well and someone who knows you less well (personally I gave it to a lit prof, my parents, and my 2 roomates).

 

[2112_rush]

Mine was short, only 2 moderate-sized paragraphs. One of my interviewers told me how glad he was that he didn't have to read through all the fluff found in a typical personal statement. For the record I was waitlisted at that school.