Silly question but please help it's about PS

[Premedtomed]

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Is it necessary for your PS to be about 5300 characters ? How many characters long was yours? Of course you write as much as needed, I feel that I have lots of reasons to write a 5300 character long interesting essay. But then I feel I shouldn't be "character length conscious". What do you all think?

 

[Mr. Rosewater]

don't play mind games w/ yourself. shoot for around 5300.

 

[Grumpy Bear]

Well, you know it can't be longer. And I honestly felt 5300 characters to be incredibly short. So write what you want, get it all out, and then worry about the length. Shortening my PS was actually more trouble than writing it, but I'm very attached to each and every one of the words that come out of my head 😀.
If you find that what you wrote was too short, I would consider deepening what you wrote or adding more vivid detail to fill out the 5300 char length. I'm sure no one is going to penalize you for a short PS, but it seems like a waste to forgo this opportunity to let your personality shine through.

 

[kels]

In my opinion, the shorter the better. In math, someone who knows what he's doing only needs a couple lines. It's the same for writing. If you write it well, you won't need too much space.

Anyway, just write what you want to get down, and if it's less than 5300, who cares. The only part of your personality that will shine through if you write more is that you need a lot of words to explain yourself. I'd say anything over 4,000 won't really be noticed.

 

[AlternateSome1]

My personal statement was only 3400 characters long. Remember the old saying about quality over quantity. You don't need to discuss everything that anyone could possibly want to know about you and your pursuit of a medical degree, that is what the interview is for.

 

[Bones2008]

In my opinion, the shorter the better. In math, someone who knows what he's doing only needs a couple lines. It's the same for writing. If you write it well, you won't need too much space.

Anyway, just write what you want to get down, and if it's less than 5300, who cares. The only part of your personality that will shine through if you write more is that you need a lot of words to explain yourself. I'd say anything over 4,000 won't really be noticed.

The difference is that in math there is a correct answer. When you find it, you're right....not so in writing. By not using as much of the character allottment as you can, you're missing out on a valuable opportunity. Most of the application you'll submit is very numbers-based. The PS is your major method of standing out; why squander it? Try to make yourself stand out. There's always more to say. Best of luck.

 

[LaurieB]

If you can make an impression in less words, then by all means go for less. My PS was about 4000 characters. It had originally been about 6000, but as I pared it down to 5300 I realized that I need to pare it down further so that each topic was given the same amount of scope. I could have added more to it after paring it down, but I was happy with how I'd presented myself and didn't feel compelled to present more. I also really took advantage of the space in the "Experiences" section of the AMCAS to go into detail on certain experiences beyond what I'd mentioned in my PS. This way my PS and my "Experiences" sections really complemented each other.

 

[Amy B]

Is it necessary for your PS to be about 5300 characters ? How many characters long was yours? Of course you write as much as needed, I feel that I have lots of reasons to write a 5300 character long interesting essay. But then I feel I shouldn't be "character length conscious". What do you all think?

If you have less but have said all you want to say in a great well written statement then I would say don't worry about the length unless it is really short. Anything over 3500 should be long enough. Don't put in a bunch of filler just to get it to 5300. But don't sell yourself short make sure you included everything that is important and can show adcoms why they should chose you over all the other applicants.

Good luck

 

[Neuronix]

I'm confused by this whole argument. Write what you have to say. If it hits the limit, get it under the limit. The adcoms don't care if it's 3,000 or 5,000 characters. It's a non-issue.

 

[oudoc08]

5300 is fairly short. The DO personal statement is even more difficult as it only gives you about half that space. I wrote my DO statement first, then actually had to try to find some filler material to make it longer for the AMCAS statement. In hindsight, I probably should've left it the way it was, but it didn't really matter in the long run as I got in to all the schools I wanted DO and MD.

 

[Premedtomed]

Thanks you guys

I am almost around 3320 characters and still have a few things to explain. I am so happy I am almost done.

Have a great day 😀

 

[kels]

The difference is that in math there is a correct answer. When you find it, you're right....not so in writing. By not using as much of the character allottment as you can, you're missing out on a valuable opportunity. Most of the application you'll submit is very numbers-based. The PS is your major method of standing out; why squander it? Try to make yourself stand out. There's always more to say. Best of luck.

Sorry to bump this, but I wanted to add that there is a difference: adcoms don't like reading essays all day. As long as you get your point across, they'd prefer a shorter essay.

 

[Medikit]

You didn't write the maximum amount of words! What an underacheiver, everyone should be attaching a subprogram to their application that opens up a supplemental! CROSS HIM OFF THE LIST!

 

[Premedtomed]

Wow I didn't realize that my thread would be brought back for discussion.

BTW 5300 characters isn't a lot of reading 😉

 

[UCLAstudent]

My PS was 5300 characters exactly! 🙂

 

[Medikit]

My PS was 5300 characters exactly! 🙂

Clenched buttocks of anality!

 

[Jason110]

Clenched buttocks of anality!

A must read (if you haven't done so already):
http://theunderweardrawer.homestead.com/twelvemedstudents.html

 

[Blake]

A must read (if you haven't done so already):
http://theunderweardrawer.homestead.com/twelvemedstudents.html

Hahaha, I haven't laughed like that in years I'm sending it to all my med buddies 👍

 

[chinkemon]

hey grumpy...

i'm also cornell (A&S) student. applying to schools right now; took MCAT this past april. wondering if we know each other? laurel southard is my advisor.

btw, do you mind sharing your stats? and is it true what we hear about grade deflation at cornell and that med schools are aware of this as well? thanks for your input.

 

[UCLAstudent]

Clenched buttocks of anality!

Not exactly ... it was a little too long, so I cut words and rephrased things until it was short enough. I got it to 5300 on the nose, and that was that.

 

[Cydney Foote]

In my experience, you're better off using every opportunity to provide more information about yourself. That means using as much of the AMCAS essay as you can, plus writing any of the so-called "optional" essays. Admissions committees only have two ways to judge you - your quant scores (GPA, MCAT) and your qualitative submissions (LORs and your PS). The PS is the piece that you've got the most control over. If you want to stand out from all the other applicants, then write something honest and compelling about yourself. Give them a reason to like you, and therefore pick you over the next schmo with the same (or even higher) scores.

And I can't believe that anyone doesn't have enough interesting stories from their life to fill up 5300 characters!

Good luck!

 

[Tippy007]

My PS was 4300 characters or so. Given that the adcoms have to read so many essay, it would seem unlikely that they would be disappointed with an essay that was less than the max. I would say what you think is appropriate then stop writing. It shows that you can write concisely about yourself, which is not necessarily a bad quality.