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I have noticed that a lot of schools ask that you limit your PS to a certain amount of pages, however their are no specifications on what formatting to use. Is there a general rule of thumb for what font/size to use for admissions essays?

I have been using Times New Roman 10 for my PS.

I have been using Times New Roman 10 as well since that's what I use for my resume. Sounds reasonable to me, but others can correct me if I'm wrong

blueberrycrumble wrote:I have been using Times New Roman 10 as well since that's what I use for my resume. Sounds reasonable to me, but others can correct me if I'm wrong

The standard format should be:
1. Times New Roman, minimum 11
2. Double Spaced
3. 1 inch margin
4. 2 pages limit (this varies, for example, Berkeley has a 4 page limit, but the majority require a maximum of 2 pages)

MadagascarYX wrote:

blueberrycrumble wrote:I have been using Times New Roman 10 as well since that's what I use for my resume. Sounds reasonable to me, but others can correct me if I'm wrong

The standard format should be:
1. Times New Roman, minimum 11
2. Double Spaced
3. 1 inch margin
4. 2 pages limit (this varies, for example, Berkeley has a 4 page limit, but the majority require a maximum of 2 pages)

a draft around 900 words if double spaced will extend to 3 pages with font size 11. which goes against the 2 pages limit.

janborn wrote:
a draft around 900 words if double spaced will extend to 3 pages with font size 11. which goes against the 2 pages limit.

Which means you need to limit your word number to 700.

Definitely no smaller than 11, Times.

And I'm sure there are areas to shorten your essay. Take a look at some of Brian Garner's writing books for advice on editing if you need some help.

MadagascarYX wrote:

blueberrycrumble wrote:I have been using Times New Roman 10 as well since that's what I use for my resume. Sounds reasonable to me, but others can correct me if I'm wrong

The standard format should be:
1. Times New Roman, minimum 11
2. Double Spaced
3. 1 inch margin
4. 2 pages limit (this varies, for example, Berkeley has a 4 page limit, but the majority require a maximum of 2 pages)

According to who?

oshberg28 wrote:

MadagascarYX wrote:

blueberrycrumble wrote:I have been using Times New Roman 10 as well since that's what I use for my resume. Sounds reasonable to me, but others can correct me if I'm wrong

The standard format should be:
1. Times New Roman, minimum 11
2. Double Spaced
3. 1 inch margin
4. 2 pages limit (this varies, for example, Berkeley has a 4 page limit, but the majority require a maximum of 2 pages)

According to who?

Most if not all schools

Don't go smaller than 11. Some schools specifically say that but nobody really wants to read something smaller.

jerseymike wrote:

oshberg28 wrote:

MadagascarYX wrote:

blueberrycrumble wrote:I have been using Times New Roman 10 as well since that's what I use for my resume. Sounds reasonable to me, but others can correct me if I'm wrong

The standard format should be:
1. Times New Roman, minimum 11
2. Double Spaced
3. 1 inch margin
4. 2 pages limit (this varies, for example, Berkeley has a 4 page limit, but the majority require a maximum of 2 pages)

According to who?

Most if not all schools

Hm - if they explicitly say it on the application instructions, then there's no question.

Times 12 seems pretty credited, maybe 11 if you want to go nuts. But whatever you're putting that needs to be in 11 point font instead of 12 is likely fluff TBH. Whatever you're writing is probably better if it's shorter.

Garamond (I think it's Garamond, not at my computer right now) still looks decently professional and is smaller than Times