How Long Should A Personal Statement Be (And Why)?

How Long Should A Personal Statement Be (And Why)?

Exact Answer: 200- 500 words

The length of the personal statement depends upon the guidelines given by the universities and colleges. Generally, the word limit of the personal statement should be between 250- 500 words. The word limit can be extended or reduced by the authorities. So, before sitting for writing down a Personal statement.

Make sure to go through the directions and criteria of the respective college, university. It will help you in knowing about the word limit. Note down all the instructions and frame a good and engaging personal statement within the given word limit. Hence, you will be able to get a comprehensive and attractive personal statement for yourself.

How Long Should A Personal Statement Be

How Long Should A Personal Statement Be?

Personal Statement is given by the students in which they write about their expectations from the university. In simple words, it gives the concept of the student and his chosen course. It is an impending way for the college or university to know about the student’s expectations from the respective authority. Also, gives an idea about the potential and expertise level of the student. Personal Statements are not only meant for colleges or universities. It is also meant for high profile jobs, trappings.

Usually, Personal Statement is of two types. It has two categories under it. General Personal Statement and Designated Response Statement. General Personal Statement is the one in which you are given complete freedom to write about your life and personality. It is a freestyle of writing. On the other hand, Designated Response Statement is the one in which you are required to give your opinion on the set of precise questions based on your course, learning institution, and future.

Make sure you provide the correct information in the Personal Statement. It is important to write your personal statement carefully because it is going to work as a medium between you and the university. Those 300-500 words will go to express your personality, vision, and passion regarding the course. A good statement can help you in getting some benefits from the authority as well. It is not a long essay that you can write anything about yourself. Summarise yourself and your academic plans as well as your capabilities to know you a little more closely.

Put logical facts in it so that the writing can narrate your growth entirely. Use headings to separate the paragraphs. Try to write hooking introductions of your headings. It will stick the reader with your writing. You can use quotes, inspirational lines, and facts. Make sure that there are no grammatical and punctuation mistakes in between.

ObjectiveSpecifications
Word LimitBetween 250- 500 words
SpacingDouble or 1.5
BreakSpaces After Paragraph
FontTimes New Roman/ Arial
Font Size12-14 pt.

Why Should A Personal Statement Be This Long?

A Personal Statement should be comprised of all these steps. A way of writing style for personal statement. Prepare a blueprint or note down some points for your personal data. Try to write your life journey in a way that motivates and tells unique nurturing aspects of your life.

When you prepare a rough structure it. It will eventually make your writing more easily. Add these points like – What makes you different from others? What is your vision for the future, and how you are going to achieve those goals? What aspects make you choose this particular field or cause? What do you think that how can you grow over the years?.

Once you are done with the collection of the information and data. Now, move forward to the next step. Accumulate all the information in a series of steps. Create an outline for the statement. Decide what you want to tell in the introduction part, what will go in the main body, and what will go in the conclusion.

Put all the information in such a manner that it narrates all the growth and learning experiences very smoothly. Introduction, Main Body, and Conclusion are the three major alignment steps of your writing. On the contrary, if you have to prepare a designated response statement then you have to follow these steps.

You have to answer all the series of questions which you will receive from a company or university end. Answer them with the best of your knowledge and potential. You can use this method while framing your answers to the questions. Use all the ideas from your rough writing. Begin to write your final draft. Add all the points which you noted earlier. Use simple and effective words while writing. Once you completed it. Read it as a reader and find out which points are lacking and where you need to do some changes.

Conclusion

It may seem easy to summarise yourself in just 500 words in general. But it is not that easy. When you sit down to write about yourself and your experiences. It is very difficult to compile all the things in just limited words. Always give more importance to the things which can make your writing stand out. 

Unnecessary things can make it dull. It will make a bad impression on the reader. Create your personal statement based on a balance of three things – Profile, Skills,  Qualification. Follow the right advice and a certain set of guidance while drafting your statement. After writing it, don’t forget to evaluate it. Reviewing will provide you feedback regarding the changes and your mistakes. After making changes, consult once again.

Reference

  1. https://labnodes.vanderbilt.edu/data/document/biosketch/931V0qbcAEXYMgLsGKoWn1KqzmBlArbzl2lbjneK.pdf
  2. https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=F5z1B5SwGUEC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=personal+statement&ots=SN8NAruueN&sig=UTq_BB6hSW8nSJBmnpv3dUsG4Gg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=personal%20statement&f=false
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