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Increasing PS Length for Certain Schools

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 5:58 pm
by andrew1024
Most of the schools I'll be applying to require the typical 2 pages, double spaced personal statement, so the statement I've written conforms to those guidelines. However, a couple of schools I'm interested in (Berkeley, Davis) allow up to 4 pages, which leads me to believe they want more than the typical 2 pages.

Should I go through the effort of modifying my PS to make it 3 or 4 pages just for these schools? Or should I just submit my 2 page statement (seeing as there is no minimum length requirement, and with the realization that they'll be reading thousands of these things and might appreciate the brevity)? My PS would not be easy to expand from the current two pages (because of its flow and how it's set up to fit in such a short space), and I think I might weaken it if I try to incorporate additional info without completely rewriting it - something I would like to avoid if possible.

Is it worth rewriting? Should I just try to slip in a school-specific "this is why I want to go here" paragraph somewhere in my current PS? Just submit as is?

Re: Increasing PS Length for Certain Schools

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 6:00 pm
by bk1
I think a 2 page statement is fine for schools that give you the option of going up to four. Some schools don't even have a limit fwiw.

Re: Increasing PS Length for Certain Schools

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 6:21 pm
by beleaguer
I've also had this same question and would be grateful for further advice on the matter. My personal take on it was that these schools aren't stupid and know the usual 2-page limit, meaning they'll probably think you didn't bother taking the time to modify your PS and thus, don't care enough about attending the school to put in the effort. Not really sure though...the point about their potential appreciation for brevity also makes sense.