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I'm about a month away from applications due date and trying to work out how much time I should devote to writing my Personal Statement. Is it something that takes weeks of work or is it possible to write it in a few days/hours let's say? I'm in my 4th year UG and have tons of Mid-terms and Papers coming up. I need to make myself a schedule. How long did it take you to write yours?

Varies greatly from person to person. A few hours to a few weeks.

It totally depends on the person, their topic, their writing skills, the weather, how many sunspots there have been so far this year, and whether the Packers won last week.

(It totally depends.)

I would guess that most people take a few weeks and several drafts. I've heard of people getting it done in a few hours. Those people might be really awesome writers, or they might have turned in crap essays, or something in between.

I personally spent the 3 weeks between the LSAT and getting our scores working on my essay.

For applicants who really dedicate time to the PS, I'd say it takes between 4-6 good drafts to have a quality PS. I've seen applicants compress these edits into one week, but most take 3-4 weeks. Usually it helps to write and edit a good deal, and then to take a breather and come back to your draft (s) in a few days with fresh eyes (at least once or twice).

Best, Dani

I'm interested in knowing why you are only a month away from the due date? Schools usually stop accepting around March/April. Some even later.

Diiizzzzoooo wrote:I'm interested in knowing why you are only a month away from the due date? Schools usually stop accepting around March/April. Some even later.

To have a decent shot at decent schools, you need to get your apps in before Christmas. Ideally, before Thanksgiving. Applying after Christmas puts you at a huge disadvantage for both admission and scholarship money.

rinkrat19 wrote:

Diiizzzzoooo wrote:I'm interested in knowing why you are only a month away from the due date? Schools usually stop accepting around March/April. Some even later.

To have a decent shot at decent schools, you need to get your apps in before Christmas. Ideally, before Thanksgiving. Applying after Christmas puts you at a huge disadvantage for both admission and scholarship money.

Agreed - it's best to be complete by November during rolling admissions.

Diiizzzzoooo wrote:I'm interested in knowing why you are only a month away from the due date? Schools usually stop accepting around March/April. Some even later.

Also, the OP could be meaning EA/ED deadlines.

nsaini wrote:I'm about a month away from applications due date and trying to work out how much time I should devote to writing my Personal Statement. Is it something that takes weeks of work or is it possible to write it in a few days/hours let's say? I'm in my 4th year UG and have tons of Mid-terms and Papers coming up. I need to make myself a schedule. How long did it take you to write yours?

It depends on how quickly you work, and how much time you have available. Be sure to leave enough time to edit it fully-- meaning, to work on at least 2-3 full draft revisions. Ideally, diligent work over the next month should be enough time, but extensive revision is absolutely necessary.

I just don't understand how a 2-3 page personal statement can take THAT long. I mean, I'll spend as much time on possible on it, but I just really don't know how I could spend a month on it. My guess is I'll do it in 2 hours / e-mail it to couple people who are good editors and the writing center to catch any mistakes... Idk what else I can do really

ThreeRivers wrote:I just don't understand how a 2-3 page personal statement can take THAT long. I mean, I'll spend as much time on possible on it, but I just really don't know how I could spend a month on it. My guess is I'll do it in 2 hours / e-mail it to couple people who are good editors and the writing center to catch any mistakes... Idk what else I can do really

Seriously, it all depends on the person. For some, a month is enough/almost too long but others need even more time. It's all about whatever works for you, really.

Writing the PS? Maybe 2-3 hours. Editing the PS? Done over the course of months. But this doesn't mean you read it intently for hours on end each day, but rather come back to revisit it, get feedback from others, and edit as you spot errors.

theadvancededit wrote:

ThreeRivers wrote:I just don't understand how a 2-3 page personal statement can take THAT long. I mean, I'll spend as much time on possible on it, but I just really don't know how I could spend a month on it. My guess is I'll do it in 2 hours / e-mail it to couple people who are good editors and the writing center to catch any mistakes... Idk what else I can do really

Seriously, it all depends on the person. For some, a month is enough/almost too long but others need even more time. It's all about whatever works for you, really.

Yea +1. I did mine in about an hour and a half, then spent a week revising it. But I was always a pretty strong writer and already knew what I wanted to write about. The people who spend over a month on it are either taking breaks in between revisions (think like 3-4 day breaks) or are going all Jeffersonian and obsessing about a comma.