What is the maximum length of PS which would not annoy the adcoms?

[libraryismyhome]

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So I recognize that adcoms dislike reading 😀, so I would like to know the maximum length, which would be within their tolerance level. Because my rough draft is going to be around 1300~1500 words if I want to use "everything" significant in my primary ps. I will shorten it, but I don't think it would be 500 words. About 1000 I guess..

(I am aware that the standard is one page single space)

 

[Total180]

Mine was right at the maximum which is 5300 characters I believe. If you feel like you can say all you want to say in a shorter amount of space, do it...but if you need the room to explain why you want to be a doctor than use it. They make the maximum for a reason...but you would be doing yourself a disservice if you took relevant information out to make it shorter because adcom members "don't like to read".

 

[OrangeandMaroon]

The max is 5300 characters.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=808125

I personally was about one sentence under 5300.

 

[deleted357625]

write as much as you can, i mean your applying to med school

when they set a character limit use all of it, i understand some people can write short but very good statements but add anything you want you make it better

 

[KING3]

I was too characters short of the max and was complemented on my PS at all my interviews. Apparently it's all about content.

 

[Torr]

I was exactly at the character limit. I had to look around for areas where I could get rid of a comma etc just to make it fit. Being at the max is not annoying but make every character count.

 

[FrazzleSnazzle]

Like most things in life, focus on quality over quantity. Don't overstress about if your PS is too long or too short, just make it whatever length it is ideal for you to be able to communicate all the points you want to the adcoms. Long essays can be interesting quick reads and alternatively, some short essays can still be unbearably boring.

For what its worth, my PS was long at almost exactly the entire 5300 character limit. Result: 12 interview invites out of 19 schools applied to. So based on my anecdotal evidence, adcoms can't be that annoyed by it.

 

[eli20]

I was at 810 words/5000 characters with spaces and also received quite a few compliments on my ps at interviews. Avoid rambling/repetition and look for spaces to tighten. Unless you are using very tiny words there is no way your 1300-1500 words is under the character limit.

I agree it's about content, but brevity and conciseness also have a place. Use your space wisely rather than shotgunning the page with words.

 

[libraryismyhome]

god... 5800 characters with spaces and no room for intro and conclusion. 🙁🙁

 

[bookfreak89]

Who cares? Write the best PS that you can possibly write. If it ends up being 5300 characters, then so be it.

 

[Ride Big Sky]

Use the whole length, but only if you actually have some decent experiences/motives to discuss. It's wicked easy to write way more than the limit if you've actually given medicine some thought and shadowed/volunteered/yada yada.

Oh and fluff is bad. That's usually what annoys people.

 

[gravitywave]

2000 characters of pure substance beats 5300 of blathering, every time. mine was around 4800 i think and i too got many compliments at interviews. so, long can be good. it can also be ****.

 

[NickNaylor]

The length at which you're still providing useful information and not writing obvious fluff and repeating stuff.

 

[Pons Asinorum]

The right answer has been repeated - use 5300 if you use them all well. Mine was somewhere between 5297-5300, after multiple minor changes. Felt like the world's longest tweet. The place to be efficient is in your activities section; that's where most people, me especially, espouse being succinct. Some people want to try to write 1300 characters for each of their 15 EC blocks. Please don't do that. PS, sure use the full length if you make each word count.

 

[waitlist22]

I used almost all of my alloted characters and struggled to keep it that short. Think of it this way... if you only have 1300 characters about why you want to be a doctor, do you even know why you want to be one or why you would be good for the profession? If I was on the adcom of a school it would worry me to have someone use about a fifth of the maximum characters on a statement that asks why you want to go into medicine. Just my thoughts though. Use as much as you need to convey your point without rambling on and repeating yourself, but maybe look more deeply and thoughtful about why you are applying to medical school and how your experiences have shaped that.

 

[chiz2kul]

quality > quantity. write one that wld make any adcom not want to stop reading it

 

[Alpha Male]

quality > quantity. write one that wld make any adcom not want to stop reading it

Your avatar gets me everytime lol

 

[Torr]

Your avatar gets me everytime lol

Me too