personal statement format (double space?) Forum

[chris0]

Do i need to double space or separate the paragraphs or anything? what is the suggested format. or does it not matter?

[USC2009]

I'm going with:

Between 11 and 12 point font
Double spaced (2 pages, except for Berkeley)
1 inch margins
Times New Roman

[chris0]

man my PS is like 2.3 pages double spaced...is that too long? i know some schools have a 2 page double spaced limit i'll probably have to shorten it for those schools.

[USC2009]

man my PS is like 2.3 pages double spaced...is that too long? i know some schools have a 2 page double spaced limit i'll probably have to shorten it for those schools.

2.3 pages with 11 font? If so, then yeah, it needs to be shorter, at least for most of the applications I've seen.

[kritiosboy]

Why is 11 point font acceptable for ps's?

[USC2009]

Why is 11 point font acceptable for ps's?

Some schools say it is. Texas (which I'm applying to today or tomorrow) requests a minimum of 11 point font and no more than 2 pages.

[bulldog4574]

It seems like shorter is better with adcoms, so i'd go with 12 point font always and strictly adhere to the page limits

[tjb]

You should really check each individual school's instructions on formatting. I have a few different versions because some schools will allow 3 pages double-spaced as well. Good luck!!

[kiwislug]

I kept 12pt font and made the margins a little smaller to fit it all in exactly 2pages do you all think that works?

[valleygirl]

I think that should be fine - I did "1.9" spacing instead of making the margins smaller.

[bulldog4574]

That's nifty

[valleygirl]

A little sneaky but I do what I can

[summertimechi]

I kept 12pt font and made the margins a little smaller to fit it all in exactly 2pages do you all think that works?

i did the same and fit everything neeatly into two pages without it looking cramped. Seemed perfect to me.

[UFMike]

For most schools, 11 pt font is acceptable and in my opinion looks very professional. My PS was 11 pt font, 1 inch margins, double spaced, Times new Roman, and was exactly 2 pages. The only one I had to change was UCLA which specifically required 12 pt font with 1 inch margins and 2 pages (double spaced).

As long as the school doesn't give any specific requirements, you can fudge the style to look however you like. I think going to 11 pt font is less sneaky then changing the spacing or going below 1 inch margins, but I don't think it really matters. Schools seem to notice when you try to sneak things in on them because they have seen it all in the past before.

[AZisHOTgetmeout]

i don't know, i had a convo with an adcomm from indiana who looked over my ps and made comments. i had sent it to him single spaced and i had just slightly changed the margins to fit more on a page and he noticed it and really didnt like it. he said that they (adcomms) mark up your ps and will notice if the margins are smaller and they hate it. also, he said that you should really double space and keep the font at 12 and times new roman. he was an older gentleman, and i would assume a lot of adcomms are older, and he said he had a really hard time reading the small font and the single spacing left no room for notes and was also just daunting to look at. those are all bad things. you dont want the person reading your ps to be frustrated or intimidated before they even begin reading. he said that whatever i could do to make it easy to read was good. plus, you can always shorten a ps. people use far too many words to say simple things most of the time. just read this post...