Length of personal statement

[mpp2011]

I'm working on a personal statement right now and the length requirement is 4 pages/1,000 words. Mine is not quite 4 full pages but it is 1,450 words according to MS Word. I'm using the default font, Calibri 11 point (this is the default in the latest version of Word). Is this acceptable or should I pare it down some more?

[rising_star]

without a doubt, pare it down! No one wants to read a statement that's 450 words over. Think of it this way: it'll stand out in a stack of others that are 1000 words long.

[hartshorneBoy]

I think the adcom will want to see why you're 45% better than the rest of the applicant pool if you have 45% more words.

Just one viewpoint. Trim it! I know you can do it!

[UKbound]

My personal statement was one page, around 600 words single-spaced. It probably would have been even shorter if not for the fact that I'm quite a bit older and had to account for a very long break from academia (marriage, kids, work). Short and sweet seems to be the way to go. Just tell them who you are and what you want to do.

[gypsyblues]

I am having some issues with the word limit too. How long should the statement be if there is no specified word limit? Is there an unspoken word limit that I am unaware of? Currently, my statement is 1500 for a school with no word limit. Is that too much?

[rising_star]

In general, no more than 3 pages double-spaced, in my opinion.

[rokxal]

700-1000 words. 1-1.5 pg single spaced. Most of the sample SOPs I've read online pretty much iterate over the same things so unless you have some interesting research experiences to talk about, keep it short and to the point.

[Minnesotan]

Adcoms are generally made up of old folks: they'll appreciate your effort to double-space. =)

As a rule, I try to use 12-point Times New Roman, 2x spaced, for all of my official applications, article subs, etc. (unless otherwise specified). It seems to be the standard among most academics, these days.

I'm sure nobody will track you down if you don't do things like me, but my way of looking at it is this: why distract people with odd or unprofessional looking fonts, spacings, or other formatting silliness? I would rather they paid attention to the content of my piece.

[mpp2011]

Thanks for the feedback. I have the statement down to 3-1/4 pages, 1050 words. I switched to Times 12 pt. since this is the old standard, it is double spaced, and my margins are 1.2" at the top and 1" elsewhere. Should I take it all the way down to 1000 words? I can't imagine why they would say 4 pages if 3-1/4 pages is too long.

[Minnesotan]

Thanks for the feedback. I have the statement down to 3-1/4 pages, 1050 words. I switched to Times 12 pt. since this is the old standard, it is double spaced, and my margins are 1.2" at the top and 1" elsewhere. Should I take it all the way down to 1000 words? I can't imagine why they would say 4 pages if 3-1/4 pages is too long.

That's odd. 12-pt Times with 1" margins normally ends up around 250 words/page. If they said four 2x-spaced pages, I would say you're good. However, if you can easily identify anything to cut, then it is likely not that important, and should be dropped.

To give you an idea of what my process was like, my first draft was around five pages. After many, many edits and some advice from profs., I ended up with about 1.5 pages of text for my SoP, formatted as stated above. Most of my schools asked for "no more than two pages" for the statement. One school did not specify, even after an email bugging them, so I stuck with the same format.

I was never pleased with what I had, but it turned out alright. I guess I can't complain. Of all the things I would have liked to have been more confident about, however, this is the item.

[linden]

mpp2011:

I think I know what program you are talking about. I had the same question, because I also had a four-page essay that far exceeded the 1,000-word limit. I called them a few weeks ago, and I was told that the four-page/1,000-word limits are both general guides. I was told my four-page essay would not get dinged for being nearly 400 words over the 1,000-word limit, if I chose to leave it at that length.

Good luck.

Linden

[Ferrero]

Columbia says 500 words, this is a totally ridiculous requirement for someone in liberal arts. What should be the focus here? I am thinking of devoting most of it to future research and professors I can work with.

[Nofia]

Columbia says 500 words, this is a totally ridiculous requirement for someone in liberal arts. What should be the focus here? I am thinking of devoting most of it to future research and professors I can work with.

thats absolutely exactly what you should focus on, so they know you'll be a good fit with them...man 500 words is super short!

[mpp2011]

Linden,

Are you also applying to the MPA program at Princeton? If so, that's what I figured as far as it being a general guideline.

Thanks for the tip - and best of luck to you as well.

[Minnesotan]

500 words (or two pages) was standard for my apps in the humanities. You really have to focus on what's important to the program with such a short essay.

[rising_star]

500 words (or two pages) was standard for my apps in the humanities. You really have to focus on what's important to the program with such a short essay.

Agreed. I wrote a couple of 500-word ones, and found that it really helped me clarify my interests and present them succinctly. I also presented a bit of my background and some info on my master's thesis.

[vahid]

I have the same problem. Purdue says the length should be 300-500 words. Do you think it is a bad idea to submit sth around 800?

[linden]

Linden,

Are you also applying to the MPA program at Princeton? If so, that's what I figured as far as it being a general guideline.

Thanks for the tip - and best of luck to you as well.

mpp2011:

Hello. I just saw your post from almost a month ago. Indeed, those guidelines are for the MPA program at Woodrow Wilson. As I mentioned, my statement ended up being about 1,400 words. (Hopefully, my rejection won't be due to the length of my personal statement. ) Good luck to you as well.

Linden