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is it acceptable to have a 2.5 page PS when the prompt says " try to limit" it to 2 pages?

Not really, no.

Going over their limit, even if it's a fairly wishy-washy limit, tells the adcomms one or more of these three things:

1. I don't respect your instructions, and by extension your school, enough to follow your simple rules.
2. I am not capable of comprehending your instructions.
3. I am not a good enough writer to trim my shit down.

99.99999% of essays would actually IMPROVE by getting a trim. If you really can't do it, post it here and let the peanut gallery take a swing. There are actually some very good writers here.

rinkrat19 wrote:Not really, no.

Going over their limit, even if it's a fairly wishy-washy limit, tells the adcomms one or more of these three things:

1. I don't respect your instructions, and by extension your school, enough to follow your simple rules.
2. I am not capable of comprehending your instructions.
3. I am not a good enough writer to trim my shit down.

99.99999% of essays would actually IMPROVE by getting a trim. If you really can't do it, post it here and let the peanut gallery take a swing. There are actually some very good writers here.

I completely agree with this. Treat the recommended page limit as a true page limit. Having just spent the last two days editing my PS down, I know first hand that it's a pain, but it's completely necessary.

not sure i entirely agree---when i was applying to law school i checked with multiple schools and all said they put page limits so that they dont get 14 page essays and that as long as EVERYTHING there is relevant and interesting, not to worry about an extra half page. that said, you absolutely must trim the fat...my ps was like 4 pages and I thought everything was necessary...I edited it down ro 2.5 pages and had success, despite the fact that I was over the limit for many schools.

now i am applying to an LLM program and again, I am half a page over, but will work on trimming it and then not stress if im a little over after that. if you have a good story and a write well, and extra paragraph wont kill them.

When page limits are given, does it mean single or double spaced?

My understanding of the PS is that there are like 3 ways that it can actually hurt you, not adhering to page limit tops the list.

jenlt wrote:When page limits are given, does it mean single or double spaced?

Always, always, ALWAYS double-spaced. This is academia.

rinkrat19 wrote:

jenlt wrote:When page limits are given, does it mean single or double spaced?

Always, always, ALWAYS double-spaced. This is academia.

Thanks! I assumed this was the case but I'm pretty verbose and was hoping for some more room. Time to trim!

Br3v wrote:My understanding of the PS is that there are like 3 ways that it can actually hurt you, not adhering to page limit tops the list.

bs. talk to adcomms at the school and see what they say. if every word is necessary for the story youre conveying, it wont hurt you. if you are verbose and the ps sucks, it will only piss them off further. thus this, like most things in life, does not have any hard and fast rules.

goosey wrote:

Br3v wrote:My understanding of the PS is that there are like 3 ways that it can actually hurt you, not adhering to page limit tops the list.

bs. talk to adcomms at the school and see what they say. if every word is necessary for the story youre conveying, it wont hurt you. if you are verbose and the ps sucks, it will only piss them off further. thus this, like most things in life, does not have any hard and fast rules.

i've heard deans say different things about this. jessica soban at hls says it makes her grumpy. http://www.admissionsdean.com/researchi ... sica-soban

What about font size? Mine falls under the limit at 10, but not 12. I've been out of undergrad for 4 years and I've done a lot of random stuff. Trying to tie it all together in 600 words is tough.

ltb87 wrote:What about font size? Mine falls under the limit at 10, but not 12. I've been out of undergrad for 4 years and I've done a lot of random stuff. Trying to tie it all together in 600 words is tough.

11 is acceptable UNLESS the school requests 12. If they request 12, use 12. Use a serif font like TNR or Garamond (Garamond is slightly more compact, but you must use TNR if they specify it). 10 is too small. Trim yo shit.

jenlt wrote:

rinkrat19 wrote:

jenlt wrote:When page limits are given, does it mean single or double spaced?

Always, always, ALWAYS double-spaced. This is academia.

Thanks! I assumed this was the case but I'm pretty verbose and was hoping for some more room. Time to trim!

If this is the case, you probably have a lot that can be cut.