How long is too long?

[travelgirl125]

Hi!

 

I am new to this site as a college senior getting ready to apply to graduate school!  I am really glad I found this place to read about other people's experiences (and also to stress out with all of you!).

 

I am applying to quite a few programs (7 MA's and the Fulbright), but only one of them has no limit to how long the personal statement should be.  They only ask that I explain my academic training, area of expertise, scholarly interests, and the project I'm planning to work on.

 

I wrote what I think is a very compelling personal statement, and I'm very proud of it.  However, it's 2.5 pages single-spaced, 12 pt. font.

 

Does anyone have any advice about that?  Will the person reading it say "This is too long, I'm not going to bother reading the whole thing?" or should I worry more about quality over quantity?

 

Thanks so much!

[Dedi]

Generally, well-written statements are between 1-2 pages, if not given a limit. I'm sure you don't have to cut back on any experiences, but extra words do add up. You might want to restructure your sentences so they are shorter, yet convey the same message. What program are you applying to?

[travelgirl125]

That is a good point!  Maybe I am being too wordy and can consolidate a bit.  It's the Italian program at Rutgers University.

[TakeruK]

I agree that you should try to stay under two pages. I think going onto a third page, even if it's only a half page, will make you stand out as having a longer SOP.

 

My typical SOP was 1.75 page but one school wanted it in less than 1 page! I did have to remove some experiences but I also found that removing adjectives and adverbs tend to help cut down my sentence length quite a bit. Also, if you are leaving a blank space between paragraphs, watch out for wasted space when you have your last sentence spill over to the next line with just two or three words. Sometimes rewriting the sentences can save yourself a line!

[travelgirl125]

Those are great tips! Thanks

[Edge]

I think my longest was about 700 words according to MS Word 'word count'.  The shortest was just shy of 500 (as requested by the application).  The rest were about 650 words.