Can someone confirm the UCAS PS boundaries?

I'm quite sure the 'cutoffs' for writing your PS are 4000 characters w/spaces and no more than 47 lines at size 12 on Microsoft word?

Does that sound about right with regard to UCAS guidelines? I've got about 3800 characters and 47 lines exactly but keep seeing examples of personal statements on TSR under 4000 characters but with 55 lines etc?

Reply 1

Sophiestudies

Original post by AdamCW

You're right about the count, but when you actually put it into UCAS it goes on the characters and not on the lines. I think the line guide is just there to give you an idea of the length :smile:

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Reply 2

Adam W96

Ah okay I seeeee. I don't want to get 'punished' by writing too much so thought I'd ask.

I have another couple hundred words then :smile:

brilliant.

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Reply 3

Juno

Original post by AdamCW

Some fonts, like Verdana, are bigger than others. So saying you have 47 lines is difficult to assess - you could have found the smallest font in existence! It also depends on the margin size, because some people try to cheat and stretch the margins when they're writing it, but you can't do this in the UCAS form. And word choice will make a difference, because some people will end a paragraph when there is only one word on a line, but that counts as a whole line. Sometimes you'll find a huge gap at the end of a line because the next word is too big to fit there - you're using more lines, but not using characters because it's just empty space.

Ignore Sophie above, because they do look at the number of lines. It's just that the limits are 4000 characters or 47 lines, and some people will hit one before the other.

You can find a personal statement length checker if you google, and this will format it to UCAS standards and tell you if you'll fit or not. This is easier than trying to adjust everything yourself.

Reply 4

Plagioclase

Original post by AdamCW

4000 characters (including line breaks) or 47 lines is indeed the limit but there does seem to be a discrepancy between the way UCAS counts things and Word, I've heard quite a few people who had their personal statement just under the character limit in Word but just over in UCAS so make sure you do copy it into UCAS from time to time to check you've not gone over.

Reply 5

Clearing and Applications Advisor

3,400-3,600 characters will usually hit the line limit with paragraphs.

If you aim for that range before your final edit then you're less likely to end up with panicked editing.

Reply 6

Good bloke

Original post by AdamCW

I have another couple hundred words then

No you don't. You are already at the upper limit of what you can include and will probably have to trim back a bit. See my profile for some valuable advice and reasons why the line limit is by far the most important one. A properly formatted 47-line PS will usually be between 3,200 and 3,800 characters long.

Reply 7

Adam W96

Thanks all for the help. It really is an extra needless thing to worry about in this whole process. Should just say 700 words or something surely? But anyway, I'm quite happy with mine as it is at the moment and I'm within the limits currently, but will definitely check the parameters before submitting it

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