Personal Statement and Optional Statement Lengths

Christina Walton

Northeastern states that your personal statement should be no longer than 2 pages and that your optional statement should be no more than 1. My personal statement is currently 2 and a half pages and my optional statement is one page and a few lines on to a second page. Will it look bad for me to not follow the directions and submit these, or will admissions people not care?

Law and Yoda

Just my two cents, but imagine if every student had the same thought...then admissions would be reading every PS and optional statement beyond the limit they set out. They'll care and I think it reflects poorly on the applicant to not follow the guideline. Might even show you don't pay attention to detail or don't follow rules correctly.

sarakimmel

Short answer: yes, following directions is hugely important. If you are really stuck and don't feel you can shorten your essays without losing the essence of your writing, ask someone in the admissions office at NE, that way you can get the answer straight from the horse's mouth before sending your app.

LOWERCASE EVERYTHING

yes. you should always follow their directions. they've set their guidelines for a reason and i'd imagine that they'd care about the stuff that they wrote.

good luck!