Personal statement questions:

[joshwake]

I am currently sitting at 4984 charachters with spaces. Is this too many? I have heard that you should not exceed 4500, but I am having a very difficult time cutting anything out of my current essay.

also, are there any big DONTS in the essay? I have had several people critique my essay and what one person likes, the other dislikes, so I have to take everything with a grain of salt. If there are any out there with personal experience of narrowing down applicants based on personal essays i would very much like for you to read mine and give me your professional opinion. thanks in advance.

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[midwestboy]

I am currently sitting at 4984 charachters with spaces. Is this too many? I have heard that you should not exceed 4500, but I am having a very difficult time cutting anything out of my current essay.

also, are there any big DONTS in the essay? I have had several people critique my essay and what one person likes, the other dislikes, so I have to take everything with a grain of salt. If there are any out there with personal experience of narrowing down applicants based on personal essays i would very much like for you to read mine and give me your professional opinion. thanks in advance.

They wont let you submit anything beyond 4500, so 4900 would be too much.

 

[OceanBlue]

I am currently sitting at 4984 charachters with spaces. Is this too many? I have heard that you should not exceed 4500, but I am having a very difficult time cutting anything out of my current essay.

also, are there any big DONTS in the essay? I have had several people critique my essay and what one person likes, the other dislikes, so I have to take everything with a grain of salt. If there are any out there with personal experience of narrowing down applicants based on personal essays i would very much like for you to read mine and give me your professional opinion. thanks in advance.

make sure you have at least 2 people reading it...one of which should be a dentist. I don't know if the personal statement matters that much...some schools read it just before they interview you. Gluck

 

[AdidasPete]

You'd be surprised a) That the adcoms DO read those PS's with a good deal of precision. (At least for the applicants that got up to the interview process, because aside from #'s, they really don't have THAT much to distinguish people on besides that) and b) the memory some of these adcom members have.
Exhibit a) During one of my interviews, one of the interviewers (one that had just finished interviewing someone else... not my personal interviewer) introduced himself to everyone and asked us about ourselves. When I replied with my name and the school that I attended (it is a school I'm guessing they rarely see come their way) the guy was like, "Oh! You were the one who wrote about _____. " He then went on to talk to me for about 5 minutes about various parts of the thing. My essay had alot to do with the school I attended, but regardless, the fact that he was able to pick that up and then rattle on about it kinda floored me. I'd like to think that kinda thing helped my chances, as I had one more person on my side. So put some effort into those suckers.