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Weird personal statement query

I was just wondering would it be OK to use the symbol & for the word 'and' in order to reduce my word count by a few characters (I'm only characters 12 over) or does this look sloppy and informal.
comments please! :biggrin:

Reply 1

Noodlzzz

No, it's bad grammar and won't be received well.

Reply 2

Strangey

Original post by Hannahmay01

You can if you want to - I won't say it looks sloppy and informal, but it certainly looks less formal than saying "and"; if you get a grammar nazi looking at your application, they might be unimpressed. If you're using it in a list then it could be ok ("I improved my teamwork skills by playing sports, and by leading choir rehearsals & concerts") or as a title for a subject ("My essay writing improved as a result of studying Philosophy & Ethics") then it would seem more natural. 12 characters isn't a lot - it's always hard to think of what to remove!

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 3

AspiringGenius

I'd avoid it. if you need to reduce character count, take out an unnecesary adjective or two "I am very passionate" -> "I am passionate". I'd be suprised if you had no words like this floating around that could take the chop.

Reply 4

Hannahmay01

What about the abreviation KS2 for key stage 2? It's a primary education degree I'm applying for.

Reply 5

nicatre

Write what feels good to you & then show it to some of your teachers for their opinions.

Reply 6

Clearing and Applications Advisor

If you're this many characters over then you're almost certainly over the line limit and likely haven't left blank lines between paragraphs.

Given that you're applying for primary education (which is very competetive) I would recommend using your PS as an opportunity to demonstrate to the admissions staff that you're capable of explaining complex information in a simple, concise and accessible way.

In other words I'd suggest you need to knock about 20% out of your PS to make it a strong enough PS for primary education.