I'm about to be done with mine, but I was just wondering how long it should be? The school I'm applying for doesn't list any restrictions. I have a page and a half so far (single spaced), and I'm pretty much done. Is this good, bad, what?

Thanks a lot.

1/27/2007 12:17:46 AM

Mine was zero pages long

1/27/2007 12:26:35 AM

Length is really up to you. Faculty are looking for a brief, but informative statements the outlines your research goals, perspective areas on interestn and any long term career plans that you might have.

Note: The admissions people couldn't care less about your personal statement. It's more a tool for faculty to pick potential students to work for them.

1/27/2007 12:30:29 AM

ohhh gotcha. i think i might try to cut mine down to 1 page. thanks

1/27/2007 12:38:56 AM

be sure to tell them you like long walks on a moonlit beach. research professors eat that shit up.

1/27/2007 12:39:31 AM

keep it no more than a page long
if you have any research experience at all, play that up.
if you have any weaknesses that need to be adressed, address them and tell how you overcame them.

[Edited on January 27, 2007 at 1:08 AM. Reason : ed]

1/27/2007 1:07:56 AM

The one I did for UF law was about 3 1/2 pages...I guess it depends on what topic you discuss. They had a 4 page limit and I could talk about whatever I wanted within it

1/27/2007 2:35:54 AM

Mine was one paragraph... about 4 or 5 sentences. no joke.

1/27/2007 2:50:11 AM

Mine for the PhD was two full pages, single spaced. One page is not enough for you to properly introduce yourself and show the department why your research or interests are relevant.

1/27/2007 3:12:45 AM

Quote :

"keep it no more than a page long if you have any research experience at all, play that up. if you have any weaknesses that need to be adressed, address them and tell how you overcame them."

Also, make sure to pick out at least one professor who matches your research interests closely, talk about how you could enhance their work, etc.

One page IS enough space. Learn to be concise and to the point. I fully addressed everything in one page.

1/27/2007 11:02:59 AM

It doesn't matter, they take you for what you've done not what you want to do more often then not. Let you're academic record do the talking.

1/27/2007 11:33:37 AM

most schools i've applied to said 2-3 pages. mine was almost 3 full pages. i really don't see how you could fit all the necessary points into a 1 page paper, especially double-spaced.

1/27/2007 11:59:30 AM

mine for the PhD was really brief, about a page and a quarter. I had already been interviewed and unofficially accepted into the school, so the whole application process was just paperwork. I wasn't too concerned with the SOP.

1/27/2007 12:26:42 PM

I'm actually a grad student and on the admission committee for my program. Personal statements are actually very important: for my program anyway, almost everyone has stellar GPAs and test scores, so letters of recommendation and the personal statement are key to weeding out people that probably won't fit in. A very good personal statement won't get you in if your scores are bad, but a bad personal statement will definitely keep you from getting in if your scores are good.

One page is definitely short for a personal statement, but if you can address why you want to go to grad school and why you will succeed that is all that's really important.

Oh, and if you mention professors in your statement, it is a very good idea to contact them first. They will most likely be selected to review your application and some of them (not all or even many) get pissed off if someone mentions working with them without talking with them first. Grad school is very self-directed and failure to take the trouble of shooting off an email asking about the status of their lab/projects may be looked down upon.

1/27/2007 2:04:50 PM

Quote :

"Let you're academic record do the talking."

It really depends on the program you are applying to. Some want more focus on research, others on development, and in my case, ambitions. Usually the application should indicate "no more than xxxx" number of words. Go with that ... they want it to be focused and concise to what they are asking. They'll get more about your life once they talk to you / bring you up for visits.

1/27/2007 3:31:39 PM

I think a reasonable length is approx. 2 pages dbl spaced. This way you can say a little about why you have interest in the field, a little about research interests/past or on-going research, and explain how you plan to benefit from taking on their program.

1/27/2007 9:02:22 PM

yes...when i said 1 page i meant single-spaced

1/27/2007 11:18:18 PM

Ok, finally got it done, now I have a question about the statement heading. Should I do it like a cover letter heading on a resume (like this):

My name, contact info

Date

School/department name, contact info

....Then go into the introduction, body etc....

Or should I just jump straight into the introduction and put some contact info at the bottom? Some help would be great cause I've googled for it and found nothing so far. Thanks a lot!

1/28/2007 10:39:36 PM

Do you also want us to write it for you?

1/29/2007 6:34:56 AM

^^
The personal statement should be a part of the application. There usually is no reason to include any additional information on the personal statement (formatting, contact information, etc.) other than what they ask for, a concise answer to their prompt.

1/29/2007 7:21:43 PM

Ohh gotcha. thanks

1/29/2007 8:24:33 PM

Quote :

"test scores"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

1/30/2007 1:49:49 AM

Mine said "short" 1000-2000 words. I ended up with about 1500 words and 2.5 pages single spaced.

1/30/2007 7:27:13 PM