Statement length - does "approximately" = "no longer than"
Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2010 4:50 pm
This probably varies by school, but I would like some thoughts on the subject. I'm applying to SMU (rather late... but still waiting on last LOR) so feedback from anyone with direct experience would be awesome.
In a law school app, does approximately really mean approximately... or is there an unwritten rule that it is really a limit?
SMU's app says that the personal statement should be "approximately 2-3 double spaced pages." The diversity statement (required for scholarship consideration) should be "approximately 1-4 double spaced pages."
Mine are both over the long side of the given range by a half page. The personal statement is 3.5 pages, and the diversity statement is 4.5.
Adjusting font/spacing/margins to make them fit would be pretty obvious and I really don't want to do that. I can probably cut them down but it would really hurt the essays (even though they are long, they are lean without any fluff, so I would have to remove real content).
Thoughts?
In a law school app, does approximately really mean approximately... or is there an unwritten rule that it is really a limit?
SMU's app says that the personal statement should be "approximately 2-3 double spaced pages." The diversity statement (required for scholarship consideration) should be "approximately 1-4 double spaced pages."
Mine are both over the long side of the given range by a half page. The personal statement is 3.5 pages, and the diversity statement is 4.5.
Adjusting font/spacing/margins to make them fit would be pretty obvious and I really don't want to do that. I can probably cut them down but it would really hurt the essays (even though they are long, they are lean without any fluff, so I would have to remove real content).
Thoughts?