[dlg3579]

Simply wondering as although you can use 4000 characters, this seems an impossible task with my own perhaps stretching 3,100. Is this too short as looking at applying to top unis. Any way, how long are yours?

[BJack]

Mine's 3670, give or take a couple of characters. Most of the people in my year who are getting Oxbridge or medical applications ready seem to be hitting 4000 characters almost exactly.

But it's excellent if, in just 3100 characters, you've said all there is to be said. The character limit helps to stop people from waffling, and there's no point in introducing 900 characters of waffle just to pad your statement out to 4000 characters.

[History Rocks]

No it's not to short.

Don't babble on for the sake of it just to fill up some space.

[Good bloke]

Don't worry about it. The more important limit is the 47 line one, and most good personal statements have between 3,000 and3,500 characters. If you wrote a 4,000 character PS in 47 lines it would almost certainly be full of irrelevant rubbish, would be virtually unreadable, with no blank lines between the paragraphs, and would not endear you to the admissions tutors.

[Echolife]

I've used the full 47 lines and haven't got any blank lines between paragraphs unfortunately. Didn't want to take anything out though but thought it might look unreadable but my personal tutor has said today it's really good and I should leave everything in. So that's it finished at last.

[iSimon]

(Original post by Good bloke)
Don't worry about it. The more important limit is the 47 line one, and most good personal statements have between 3,000 and3,500 characters. If you wrote a 4,000 character PS in 47 lines it would almost certainly be full of irrelevant rubbish, would be virtually unreadable, with no blank lines between the paragraphs, and would not endear you to the admissions tutors.

Mines 4000 words and 47 lines (actually it's loads more atm...I have to cut it down... )

[JoeJBB]

Nah that's an ok length. Mine (which I sent off today, wahey ) is 3993 characters and 46 lines (thats what UCAS says anyway, on word its 47 lines and 3887 characters - how odd ).

[Good bloke]

(Original post by Echolife)
I've used the full 47 lines and haven't got any blank lines between paragraphs unfortunately. Didn't want to take anything out though but thought it might look unreadable but my personal tutor has said today it's really good and I should leave everything in. So that's it finished at last.

Perhaps he/she hasn't realised the full magnitude of what he is saying. I've spoken to several admissions tutors and, to man, they leap with joy when they see a sensibly-written PS that does not attempt what you are intending to submit. One even said that she would guarantee an offer to a PS with proper spacing and an absence of unbelievable anecdotes about the candidate's first interest in the subject as a child, in gratitude for the relief to her eyes and patience!

[History Lost in Physics]

Hmm - look up some ones online.

And by the way - you can't really use up the whole 4000 characters because of spacing and sentance lengths etc.

I spend most of my personal statement writing time shortening it and then trying to make it read as well as it had before!

[Sprout_hair]

Mine's 3899..
How does it work out that i have 51 lines?
SO annoying!

[JoeJBB]

(Original post by Good bloke)
Perhaps he/she hasn't realised the full magnitude of what he is saying. I've spoken to several admissions tutors and, to man, they leap with joy when they see a sensibly-written PS that does not attempt what you are intending to submit. One even said that she would guarantee an offer to a PS with proper spacing and an absence of unbelievable anecdotes about the candidate's first interest in the subject as a child, in gratitude for the relief to her eyes and patience!

Really? Well the hyperbolic anecdote thing I believe, but if you're spacing paragraphs with a blank line between each one (UCAS won't let you indent paragraphs), then that takes up a lot of space which could be used for much better things (ie. words)

[Good bloke]

(Original post by JoeJBB)
space which could be used for much better things (ie. words)

You might think that, but I completely disagree - and more importantly so do those admissions tutors.

[JoeJBB]

(Original post by Good bloke)
You might think that, but I completely disagree - and more importantly so do those admissions tutors.

Fair enough, but the admissions tutors I've spoken don't mind it if there isn't a line between each each paragraph, and would prefer it if you used the space more usefully, so long as you're not waffling just to fill space

[Jamsie_853]

You have used 43 of 47 lines based on the preview and 3758 of 4000 characters.

I personally don't like it. I could have done a much better job and will continue to tweak it until I think it is at a good enough standard.

[deazle]

3901 out of 4000 characters
It's paragraphed, but not with lines between each paragraph - does anyone know whether this will actually be a problem for me, or if its just the content theyre looking at?

[-WhySoSerious?]

Around 2000 at the moment

[hannahhi]

Mine is far too long at the minute. The first time I handed it in, the teacher marking it said it was too vague and to add more stuff, so I did. Now it's too long

[abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz]

3200 so far, still need to add a bit on to finish it which i think will bring it to 3600. However, after that i may remove some bits which are deemed irrelevant by teachers

[abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz]

(Original post by Jamsie_853)
You have used 43 of 47 lines based on the preview and 3758 of 4000 characters.

I personally don't like it. I could have done a much better job and will continue to tweak it until I think it is at a good enough standard.

what do you mean by a better job though? using all of the 47 lines? Just remember its quality not quantity, the admissions tutor doesn't want to read a load of waffle just for the sake of using up 47 lines.

[Jamsie_853]

(Original post by abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz)
what do you mean by a better job though? using all of the 47 lines? Just remember its quality not quantity, the admissions tutor doesn't want to read a load of waffle just for the sake of using up 47 lines.

Fair point, sorry, I was slightly vague, what I meant was that I don't think my content will make them go wow!