How long is your personal statement?

i think you mean words...?
If not, check UCAS - you're allowed 4000 characters, which is 660 ish words without paragraphing.

doesnt meean everyones lives can be summed up in 3591 words!

also - cut out paragraphing. it doesnt really matter. as long as its structured and written well, its the content that you will be judged on

You may be missing the point of a personal statement. It is not meant to sum up your life. It is intended as way for you to tell the admissions tutor something about yourself in order to convince him/her to give you an offer. If you stray off your interest in the subject you intend to study, your academic credentials to do so, any relevant extracurricular activities, the skills and abilities these have given you, and a little on your non-relevant ECs, you are not doing your job properly.

You should treat this as an entrance test in which the ability to discriminate what is essential and what adds value, together with the ability to communicate, are paramount.

It was a quicker way of saying what you said- of course i get the point

Also, as you're here - surely writing about huge unrelated achievements (if you have any, that is) can work in your favour? It separates you from the crowd, and shows you arent just writing typicaly: "what they want to hear"

It was a quicker way of saying what you said- of course i get the point

Also, as you're here - surely writing about huge unrelated achievements (if you have any, that is) can work in your favour? It separates you from the crowd, and shows you arent just writing typicaly: "what they want to hear"

I would argue that paragraphing is integral to a good structure...

Unrelated events are just that. Unrelated. Unless you can relate them to your subject then in my opinion they're not worth putting in

Why would wasting space (in a PS for an engineering course at a top university) on a description of how you won the local swimming gala help you?

You might well stand out, but not in the way you seem to expect.

i didn't mean winning the local swimming gala - i meant representing the country and winning national awards.. don't tell me they don't count for something.