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Length of Why Michigan
Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 5:02 pm
by 313D313
The application says it should be about 1 page. Anyone know if its a bad idea if its more than a page??
Re: Length of Why Michigan
Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 6:32 pm
by 313D313
somebody?
Re: Length of Why Michigan
Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 6:56 pm
by chicubs88
I doubt they will reject you simply because your essay ran over the desired length. However, it is usually a good idea to follow directions. If you absolutely have nothing left to cut from the essay then i suggest you tinker with the margins and font to get it to fit. If you are only slightly over the limit I don't think it is a big deal, but it definitely doesn't do you any favors.
Re: Length of Why Michigan
Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 7:08 pm
by bdubs
chicubs88 wrote:I doubt they will reject you simply because your essay ran over the desired length. However, it is usually a good idea to follow directions. If you absolutely have nothing left to cut from the essay then i suggest you tinker with the margins and font to get it to fit. If you are only slightly over the limit I don't think it is a big deal, but it definitely doesn't do you any favors.
One page is pretty short to say something substantive so I had to adjust my fonts and margins as the poster above suggested.
I was sure to adjust the font/margin on my PS and addendum in the same way to ensure they looked uniform.
Re: Length of Why Michigan
Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 7:58 pm
by canuck
Definitely keep it to one page and in uniform and readable fonts. 1 inch margins are also appropriate. Going over looks sloppy and it suggests you didn't read or don't respect the application instructions. They are there for a reason.
Re: Length of Why Michigan
Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 8:02 pm
by existenz
Keep it to one page. Single-space it if you have to (mine was).
Re: Length of Why Michigan
Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 8:40 pm
by cortnf
existenz wrote:Keep it to one page. Single-space it if you have to (mine was).
Single spacing is not a good idea. They give guidelines based on double spacing, so I really don't think they'll appreciate circumventing these rules.
Re: Length of Why Michigan
Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 8:50 pm
by birdlaw117
Cutting is your friend. It will make your essay more concise and more powerful.
Edit: This is not a pro-suicide post. I swear.
Re: Length of Why Michigan
Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 9:49 pm
by canuck
birdlaw117 wrote:Cutting is your friend.
Finally someone tells us what law school is really like
Re: Length of Why Michigan
Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 9:55 pm
by bdubs
cortnf wrote:existenz wrote:Keep it to one page. Single-space it if you have to (mine was).
Single spacing is not a good idea. They give guidelines based on double spacing, so I really don't think they'll appreciate circumventing these rules.
+1 -- The app says the Michigan finds that anything less than double-spaced 11 pt font is "unreadable".
birdlaw117 wrote:Cutting is your friend. It will make your essay more concise and more powerful.
Edit: This is not a pro-suicide post. I swear.
My "Why Michigan" first draft was 2 pages double spaced 11 pt font. Aside from normal improvements through editing, I don't feel like the content was much better after cutting (Yes, I had to remove substantive content) but ultimately saying what you intend within the allotted space is the most important thing.
Re: Length of Why Michigan
Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2010 11:04 am
by ahduth
Yeah, I had too much stuff for one page, but I realized you really only need to hit the high points. If you have points that are different from all the other "lol Michigan has great international law lol" essays, then mention those first.
Just make sure the damn thing is well written mainly.
Re: Length of Why Michigan
Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2010 5:32 am
by DreamShake
Mine had about 3 lines on the second page. I figured it wasn't too big a deal since my second supplemental essay was barely 2/3 of a page.