Shorter Personal Statement

[Judajudo]

Hey folks,

I’m on draft 6 or 7 of my personal statement, and I’m finding that my least wordy, much more pithy essay works the best. I’m talking like around 3000 characters. All of my other ones are way past the 4500 character limit that I would have to edit.

Do you all think a short (but still complete) personal statement would be a negative?

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[aj30]

It’s totally fine. In fact, I’d say it’s even an advantage, if you can really get your message across well in 3000 characters (which is certainly possible). ADCOMS have a lot of PSs to read and are probably not very interested in reading 4500 word lectures. Shorter ones often deliver a clearer message in less time. I’d say go for it-I did it (less than 3000 characters) and did very well for myself.

 

[Judajudo]

It’s totally fine. In fact, I’d say it’s even an advantage, if you can really get your message across well in 3000 characters (which is certainly possible). ADCOMS have a lot of PSs to read and are probably not very interested in reading 4500 word lectures. Shorter ones often deliver a clearer message in less time. I’d say go for it-I did it (less than 3000 characters) and did very well for myself.

Nice. Thanks for sharing your experience!

 

[Lane138]

Pithy is good! When I was reading admissions essays I spent more than 2-3 minutes on them, so I appreciate essays that get to the point and tell a good story concisely. That being said, before you let precious space go, consider whether the essay accomplishes what you want it to. Is there a point that needs to be stated more explicitly? A story that you can add 1-2 more sentences to make it more colorful or impactful?