My personal statement is sitting at 530 +/- words and I'm going to have a hard time cutting any further. Is the 500 word limit super strict, or should I be okay going a little over?
Sorry if this is a dumb question - I did search beforehand but didn't find anything.
randomised
Oct 28, 18 6:40 pm
What about asking the people you are writing your personal statement for? And if you don't want to do that you could always send them a JPG of your statement instead.
proximity
Oct 28, 18 7:38 pm
You mean calling the schools themselves? Maybe not a bad idea I suppose.
randomised
Oct 29, 18 4:08 am
You didn't even think about that, oh my...
citizen
Oct 28, 18 9:09 pm
Editing our own writing is hard. Every word that springs forth seems like gold... but it's not. We don't know if they'll count. Plan that they will if you hope to get accepted.
citizen
Oct 28, 18 9:11 pm
^ 33 words doing a lot of work up there, btw.
randomised
Oct 29, 18 4:38 am
'It's', 'don't' and 'they'll' count as three words only? (serious question)
citizen
Oct 29, 18 10:15 am
Most software would look for spaces, so contractions would read as single words.
randomised
Oct 29, 18 10:31 am
Good to know, thanks :)
Maybe the OP can just contract 66 words into 33.
citizen
Oct 29, 18 11:15 am
^ Boom!
donutsfordough
Oct 29, 18 4:39 am
Ever read something, even if just a sentence, that just takes an eternity? Or on the opposite side of the spectrum, you blast through a novel because it's so damn engaging.
Go over if you really cannot cut down. But make every word count. They'd be idiots to reject you based on some petty formalities if you had something of substance to say. But if you write another trite self-absorbed my-dream gibberish, cut it short.
Non Sequitur
Oct 29, 18 10:22 am
Should have aimed to write 75% of the max. Then you would not this problem with the added bonus of a little self-imposed editing.
Bloopox
Oct 29, 18 12:22 pm
Nobody is going to count your words, or disqualify or mark down your application because you go a few words over the limit.
But, your reviewers are going to be familiar with how much space a 500-word essay usually takes, and if yours is a lot longer they're going to notice and think that you need to learn to be more concise.
The program where I teach has a "one page" limit for SOP, and we get some good laughs out of the ones that shrink their margins to nothing, and/or use 8 pt text, and/or shrink up the line spacing so that the letters nearly touch from one line to the next. We can only assume that these students feel that whatever it is they have to say is so important that it's worth stretching the rules. The irony is that when the page becomes that dense and difficult to read we tend not to read it at all.
( o Y o )
Oct 29, 18 3:53 pm
Reason for rejection: Inability to follow basic instructions.
proximity
Oct 30, 18 5:45 pm
Yes because architecture is all about doing exactly the most basic and absolutely nothing else.
donutsfordough
Oct 30, 18 6:52 pm
If you really believed in not giving a crap about the basics, you wouldn't be asking this question in the first place. Based on your own perspective, consider the type of school that would reject someone going over by a few words--would you want to be there?
thatsthat
Oct 30, 18 3:27 pm
If you can find a friend or past professor to review and help you edit it down, that would probably be helpful. I know applying to grad school, I had a few very trusted friends that helped me edit down and make my ideas more coherent and succinct.
Flatfish
Oct 30, 18 7:09 pm
Delete anything about legos or other building toys. Delete anything about video games. Delete references to software. Delete any definitions of or proclamations on the nature of architecture. Delete any references to advice you've ever been given by a relative, teacher, or employer. Delete anything about your undergrad GPA, awards, and anything else that is on your resume. Did that reduce the word count? If so it also reduced the architecture school application cliche count, which is more important.
My personal statement is sitting at 530 +/- words and I'm going to have a hard time cutting any further. Is the 500 word limit super strict, or should I be okay going a little over?
Sorry if this is a dumb question - I did search beforehand but didn't find anything.
What about asking the people you are writing your personal statement for? And if you don't want to do that you could always send them a JPG of your statement instead.
You mean calling the schools themselves? Maybe not a bad idea I suppose.
You didn't even think about that, oh my...
Editing our own writing is hard. Every word that springs forth seems like gold... but it's not. We don't know if they'll count. Plan that they will if you hope to get accepted.
^ 33 words doing a lot of work up there, btw.
'It's', 'don't' and 'they'll' count as three words only? (serious question)
Most software would look for spaces, so contractions would read as single words.
Good to know, thanks :)
Maybe the OP can just contract 66 words into 33.
^ Boom!
Ever read something, even if just a sentence, that just takes an eternity? Or on the opposite side of the spectrum, you blast through a novel because it's so damn engaging.
Go over if you really cannot cut down. But make every word count. They'd be idiots to reject you based on some petty formalities if you had something of substance to say. But if you write another trite self-absorbed my-dream gibberish, cut it short.
Should have aimed to write 75% of the max. Then you would not this problem with the added bonus of a little self-imposed editing.
Nobody is going to count your words, or disqualify or mark down your application because you go a few words over the limit.
But, your reviewers are going to be familiar with how much space a 500-word essay usually takes, and if yours is a lot longer they're going to
notice and think that you need to learn to be more concise.
The program where I teach has a "one page" limit for SOP, and we get
some good laughs out of the ones that shrink their margins to nothing,
and/or use 8 pt text, and/or shrink up the line spacing so that the
letters nearly touch from one line to the next. We can only assume that these students feel that whatever it is they have to say is so important that it's worth stretching the rules. The irony is that when the page becomes that dense and difficult to read we tend not to read it at all.
Reason for rejection: Inability to follow basic instructions.
Yes because architecture is all about doing exactly the most basic and absolutely nothing else.
If you really believed in not giving a crap about the basics, you wouldn't be asking this question in the first place. Based on your own perspective, consider the type of school that would reject someone going over by a few words--would you want to be there?
If you can find a friend or past professor to review and help you edit it down, that would probably be helpful. I know applying to grad school, I had a few very trusted friends that helped me edit down and make my ideas more coherent and succinct.
Delete anything about legos or other building toys. Delete anything about video games. Delete references to software. Delete any definitions of or proclamations on the nature of architecture. Delete any references to advice you've ever been given by a relative, teacher, or employer. Delete anything about your undergrad GPA, awards, and anything else that is on your resume. Did that reduce the word count? If so it also reduced the architecture school application cliche count, which is more important.
Now we're talking. Great tips.