Personal statement: recommended length?

[deschutes]

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For those who've been through the process - what would be a reasonable length for a personal letter? 1 page? 2 pages?

(Or is there a character-limit on ERAS which I haven't found yet?)

- me.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

For those who've been through the process - what would be a reasonable length for a personal letter? 1 page? 2 pages?

(Or is there a character-limit on ERAS which I haven't found yet?)

- me.

I haven't logged onto ERAS yet so I'm not sure about any character limits. However, my initial personal statement draft was about one page and then 10 lines on the next page. I was encouraged to shorten it and limit it to one page. What does everyone else think?

 

[Matte Kudesai]

I have been told that often less is more. If you can capture "who you are" in less than a page, (12 font double space) it would be optimal.

 

[yaah]

For those who've been through the process - what would be a reasonable length for a personal letter? 1 page? 2 pages?

(Or is there a character-limit on ERAS which I haven't found yet?)

- me.

There is a character limit. Not sure what it is, offhand. It's about one page, although it's longer than a traditional typed one page, because it's not double spaced and there are different margins. ERAS has the info when you log in I think. I would ask your deans office, they would know.

 

[deschutes]

There is a character limit. Not sure what it is, offhand. It's about one page, although it's longer than a traditional typed one page... I would ask your deans office, they would know.

I cut and pasted and though longer than I would like by other estimates, it seems to fit fine. Did anyone have a problem with question marks showing up in red?

I would ask my "dean's office", if it weren't that they were 2 time zones away...

 

[skoller]

Hey everybody--I just uploaded my personal statement to eras, and I too had many red question marks. Apparently they indicate special characters that need to be replaced with regular punctuation marks. Seems like this problem could be avoided by turning off Autoformat if you're using Word, or by creating a text file instead of a Word document in the first place. Otherwise, you just have to click "edit" and then replace each question mark with your original punctuation.

Based on the examples I've seen, four to six paragraphs seem to be the norm as far as length goes.

BTW, as a long-time lurker, I really should thank the regular posters for all their helpful info. I especially enjoyed the "poo" thread.

 

[deschutes]

I didn't have any special characters... just a "?" which got turned into red in ERAS. I edited it and it still turned up red. Anyone had that problem?

Re: length
I know about short-and-sweet and I'm working on it - but I'm just wondering if in the greater scheme of things, the extra 1/2 page in a 1 1/2-page statement matters all that much.

Thoughts? (I'm trying to calibrate my level of uptightness here.)

 

[yaah]

I didn't have any special characters... just a "?" which got turned into red in ERAS. I edited it and it still turned up red. Anyone had that problem?

Re: length
I know about short-and-sweet and I'm working on it - but I'm just wondering if in the greater scheme of things, the extra 1/2 page in a 1 1/2-page statement matters all that much.

Thoughts? (I'm trying to calibrate my level of uptightness here.)

If you can print it out, off of ERAS, I wouldn't go over one page. I am not sure if they let you - perhaps the limit is whatever fits on one page. But people don't like to have to turn the page. One is fine. They might ignore your last couple of sentences if they end up on page 2.

Try printing out your PS once you post it in ERAS.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

shoot i gotta do that sh1t this weekend. blaah.

 

[yaah]

OK, because I care so damn much, here is the straight **** about your ERAS personal statements:

This is a famous quote that you may want to study!

Personal Statements
You can create one or more personal statements; however, only one personal statement can be assigned and sent to a program. You can create and send different personal statements to different programs. Each personal statement is limited to 32,000 characters (approximately 5 pages). If a program requires information that is not included in your transcript or CAF, you can create a personal statement including these details and assign it to that specific program.

We recommend that you create your personal statement(s) in your word processor and cut and paste the text into My Documents. All personal statements are formatted using standard ASCII characters. Do not use bold, italic or special characters. Also, be descriptive in the title of your personal statement. Since residency programs will not be able to see the titles of your personal statements, use them to help you identify the personal statement when you are assigning them to programs later in the process. When you've completed the personal statement, don't forget to print copies of your personal statement(s) for your own records.

To create a new Personal Statement, click on New Personal Statement. To edit a personal statement in progress, click on the personal statement's title. You will be able to edit any personal statement that has not been transmitted to a program. Once you have transmitted a personal statement to a program, it will become locked. If it contains errors, you will need to create another personal statement and assign the newly created personal statement and assign the newly created personal statement in it's place.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson, in The American Medical Scholar

JK of course. - ERAS

So perhaps, as Emerson says above, your statement can be longer than a page. Shut my mouth! Type on, you fearless applicants! Type on!

 

[SLUsagar]

deschutes,
I was in the same situation as you...my PS dipped into the second page (7 paragraphs long), but from whom i have spoken with - attending pathologists and PD's - it's no big deal. Key is to have the "gooder grammer..."

another thing you can do that i did is shrink it so it fits on 1 page. I shrunk mine by adjusting the margins a bit and using size 10 font. But as long as it doesn't look TOO scrunched up, i think it's fine. Important to note that this shrinking method is really only key for when you hand in your PS to people. When you copy/paste into ERAS, you obviously can't do anything about the size. BUt still, 1, spilling over onto 2 pages is okay from what i have been told.

 

[drjones]

Five pages -might- be ok... If you're applying for a job in an English Lit. dept. PD's get a quadzillion applications, so I'd wager a cold beer than a statistically significant majority would clearly prefer one (1) page, not too tightly squeezed. Don't know if a Novella would hurt you, but doubt it'll help your app. Guess that the chance of your carefully crafted prose being skimmed and put away is pretty big.. (then again, maybe a 5 pager is fine in Internal Med., provided you provide 25 references...) ;-)

 

[b&ierstiefel]

Perhaps this calls for a study.

Groups will be split by length of Personal Statement. They will otherwise be equal in terms of grades, board scores, other accomplishments ("risk" stratification)

Outcome will be overall success in the Match (by whatever criteria).

P values are a must. CI's will do as well.

The EBM addicts will love it!

 

[yaah]

Too bad you guys and gals aren't applying for surgery. That's an easy personal statement to write.

Me want be surgeon.
Me like cut people.
Me like to helping people.
Me want heal people with hands.
Surgery challenging.
Will work hard.
Me is enjoying the pressure and time kommetment.
Already know how doing one handed tie.
Wound C/D/I. No erythema.
(+) flatus.
Advance to full liquid diet.
? D/C planning.

I think they would appreciate if you starting writing your daily notes in the personal statement. Don't want to be too wordy, now.

 

[Gut Shot]

I think they would appreciate if you starting writing your daily notes in the personal statement. Don't want to be too wordy, now.

Thanks for making me shoot beer out my nose. What a waste!

My PS is currently weighing in at a little over a page. I really don't think I can slim it down to a single page, as (on top of the usual stuff) I have this whole Ph.D. before med school to sorta explain. They're just going to have to somehow find the strength to make it through the whole thing.

 

[yaah]

Thanks for making me shoot beer out my nose. What a waste!

My PS is currently weighing in at a little over a page. I really don't think I can slim it down to a single page, as (on top of the usual stuff) I have this whole Ph.D. before med school to sorta explain. They're just going to have to somehow find the strength to make it through the whole thing.

Well, say what you need to say. Don't leave something important out and regret it. But that being said, don't go overboard. If you have concerns, I would show your statement to an advisor or someone whose opinion you respect.

I always thought it would have been fun to really mess with them. Either by writing my "surgeon's pursennel statemint" as I did above, or by starting my personal statement, "I was born a poor black man" like Steve Martin in The Jerk (Steve Martin is white). Either that, or start my personal statement off with a obviously ludicrous but inflammatory phrase like, "Women should not be doctors" or "The day I married my dog Patches was the greatest day of my life so far," or even "My former porn career prepared me better than anything for a future in medicine."

Other great openers:
"I killed that ninja with my bare hands."
"I refuse to argue with anyone about whether The Karate Kid was the greatest movie of the 20th century."
"There are two kinds of people in the world: Those who have a secret life as a commercial sex worker, and those who want one."
"That aggravated assault conviction was the best thing that ever happened to me."
"I once found a mouse in a box of crackerjacks."
"The voices in my head have told me that I must begin with a story. Thus, I shall:"
"They told me not to ****ing swear on my ****ing personal statement. So I'll try not to."

I kind of like Homer Simpson's college admission essay too, which ended with, "It was the most I ever threw up, and it changed my life forever."

 

[b&ierstiefel]

Thanks for making me shoot beer out my nose. What a waste!

My PS is currently weighing in at a little over a page. I really don't think I can slim it down to a single page, as (on top of the usual stuff) I have this whole Ph.D. before med school to sorta explain. They're just going to have to somehow find the strength to make it through the whole thing.

I'm in the same situation. Thank goodness Microsoft Word has as its default setting left and right margins of 1.25''. After I changed that to 1.00'' I was able to scrunch it down to 1 page and 1 line on the second page. Now...all...I...gotta...do...is...get...rid...of...one...long...word...in...paragraph...two........must...hit...something...

 

[b&ierstiefel]

Well, say what you need to say. Don't leave something important out and regret it. But that being said, don't go overboard. If you have concerns, I would show your statement to an advisor or someone whose opinion you respect.

I always thought it would have been fun to really mess with them. Either by writing my "surgeon's pursennel statemint" as I did above, or by starting my personal statement, "I was born a poor black man" like Steve Martin in The Jerk (Steve Martin is white). Either that, or start my personal statement off with a obviously ludicrous but inflammatory phrase like, "Women should not be doctors" or "The day I married my dog Patches was the greatest day of my life so far," or even "My former porn career prepared me better than anything for a future in medicine."

Other great openers:
"I killed that ninja with my bare hands."
"I refuse to argue with anyone about whether The Karate Kid was the greatest movie of the 20th century."
"There are two kinds of people in the world: Those who have a secret life as a commercial sex worker, and those who want one."
"That aggravated assault conviction was the best thing that ever happened to me."
"I once found a mouse in a box of crackerjacks."
"The voices in my head have told me that I must begin with a story. Thus, I shall:"
"They told me not to ****ing swear on my ****ing personal statement. So I'll try not to."

I kind of like Homer Simpson's college admission essay too, which ended with, "It was the most I ever threw up, and it changed my life forever."

I think I read in a previous post that one can write different personal statements and assign them to different programs you're applying to. If so, which version above did you use when you applied to Michigan?

Lemme guess...you used the ninja one. Speaking of which, check out the site:
www.realultimatepower.net

 

[yaah]

I think I read in a previous post that one can write different personal statements and assign them to different programs you're applying to. If so, which version above did you use when you applied to Michigan?

Lemme guess...you used the ninja one. Speaking of which, check out the site:
www.realultimatepower.net

I used the Karate Kid opener, of course. My essay was a well worded critique of Daniel-San and Johnny's final battle, using plenty of symbolism and guided imagery. I used Miyagi as the narrator, which was difficult in retrospect because I had to decide just how good a grasp of the english language he actually had.