How long is too long? Personal Statements.

[PapaPetrovitch]

I am just wrapping up my personal statement and about to submit my application. My personal statement clocks in at between 5,000-5,500 characters depending on the school. 

I have generally read that two pages double spaced is the ideal length. Mine is currently sitting at three pages double spaced. Can the statement being that long hurt my chances?

(of course the topic of the PS  plays a major rule but I am asking generally).

I am applying to McGill, Western, Queens, Ottawa, and U of T. 

[goosie]

I've never heard of an ideal length for a PS. Unless something has changed since I was applying, as long as you were under the character or word limit for the particular school you were fine. I applied to all of those schools and got into Western, Queen's, and Ottawa.

[scooter]

If those schools wanted it to be shorter, they would set the character limits accordingly. What you have heard is probably advice for US schools. Many schools in the US don't set a limit and you are expected to use your judgement.

[Piffle]

For schools with an objective /word count, the answer is: anything above the expressly stated limit is too long.

For schools without a hardline limit (e.g., Dalhousie), the answer is: be reasonable. Keeping it within the ballpark of 5000 characters, which is par for the course for many schools and thus a sensible benchmark, is perfectly acceptable. Submitting a novel as if you were the next Tolstoy is not.

OP, you seem to be in good shape with your character count. So, some minor trimming for schools if necessary (like for UofT for example, where you need to keep it strictly below 5000) is probably all that’s needed if you weren’t already within limit.
 

Edited November 2, 2021 by Piffle

[PapaPetrovitch]

19 hours ago, scooter said:

If those schools wanted it to be shorter, they would set the character limits accordingly. What you have heard is probably advice for US schools. Many schools in the US don't set a limit and you are expected to use your judgement.

This makes perfect sense. 

 

OUAC doesn't let you go over the word count so that's hardly a concern. I had to spend 45 mins last night before the due date trimming one of my option essays down to 2,500 characters. Losing some of my favourite extra-detail sentences was painful.

 

Thanks for the input, and good luck to everyone applying this cycle!