bellejolie Posted January 11, 2021 Report Share Posted January 11, 2021 Are they quite strict? anyone have an issue going 50 over? or is it better to be cautious and ensure you're within the word limits for the ones that are explicit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bread Posted January 11, 2021 Report Share Posted January 11, 2021 Was wondering this too! The counsellor at our school who reviews our letters told me to try to adhere to it as much as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAAmeds Posted January 12, 2021 Report Share Posted January 12, 2021 Just adhere to the word count. It's not worth the risk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted January 12, 2021 Report Share Posted January 12, 2021 Just now, AAAmeds said: Just adhere to the word count. It's not worth the risk yup - don't mess with the rules in this case. You would be surprised out picky people can be. Bambi 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robclem21 Posted January 12, 2021 Report Share Posted January 12, 2021 Would you have more regret if: a) you did not match because you added 10 extra words to your essay, or b) you spent an hour editing your essay down. Nobody likes to read a long essay. Bambi 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellejolie Posted January 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2021 fair enough thank you all! some of them say suggested and aren't strict, others say less than or max xxx words so that's good advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W0lfgang Posted January 17, 2021 Report Share Posted January 17, 2021 I got printed stacks of personal letters. No way I'm counting that. One of my colleagues, however, somehow did word counts, and brought one overcount to our program director. He basically said if you're a little over, it's okay. I still recommend that you adhere to the limit. If you got this far in life, you can wordsmith your way out of 50 words. bellejolie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shikimate Posted January 17, 2021 Report Share Posted January 17, 2021 lol as an aside on the other hand doctors are notorious for writing not enough, like how many times do radiologist get a req for xray with no clinical history? maybe your carms essay can just be: S: me = super cand. (rest illegible handwriting) O: me = >99% other cand. (rest illegible handwriting) A: DC other cand. (rest illegible handwriting) P: me match . (rest illegible handwriting) frenchpress, bread and bellejolie 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_gettingthere_ Posted January 26, 2021 Report Share Posted January 26, 2021 What about if a program has a max word limit of 1500 for the personal letter and you can't think of anything else to say after 900 words? Is this bad? I just feel like after writing the shorter ones (like 600 words max) I can convey the same ideas in much fewer words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callmeswags Posted January 26, 2021 Report Share Posted January 26, 2021 18 hours ago, _gettingthere_ said: What about if a program has a max word limit of 1500 for the personal letter and you can't think of anything else to say after 900 words? Is this bad? I just feel like after writing the shorter ones (like 600 words max) I can convey the same ideas in much fewer words. My instinct is to not dip below ~20% of the word limit, but if you feel like your statements are really strong then it might be okay. It would be helpful to get others to read them and give you some feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambi Posted January 26, 2021 Report Share Posted January 26, 2021 If you are able to say all that is needed in 900 words, that is good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codebar Posted January 27, 2021 Report Share Posted January 27, 2021 OMG 1500 words, are they asking you for an autobiography or an interest letter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_gettingthere_ Posted January 27, 2021 Report Share Posted January 27, 2021 thanks everyone! I just can't think of what else to say so I'm going to leave it (I got to 1100 words though haha) Also, another question - if a program's prompt doesn't ask "why do you want to come here", should I still address that in my letter (if I have space after answering their specific questions)? Or just answer the questions and nothing else Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codebar Posted January 27, 2021 Report Share Posted January 27, 2021 It depends on how strict they are with the essay rules or if they appears to be more liberal with it. In my opinon, if you feel you can, you should definitely speak about them in your letter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellejolie Posted January 27, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2021 12 hours ago, _gettingthere_ said: thanks everyone! I just can't think of what else to say so I'm going to leave it (I got to 1100 words though haha) Also, another question - if a program's prompt doesn't ask "why do you want to come here", should I still address that in my letter (if I have space after answering their specific questions)? Or just answer the questions and nothing else i would always highlight this especially if you have the space. Bambi and _gettingthere_ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambi Posted January 27, 2021 Report Share Posted January 27, 2021 Absolutely! _gettingthere_ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callmeswags Posted February 2, 2021 Report Share Posted February 2, 2021 When a program says "Approximately 500 words" - opinions on what the upper limit here would be? I'm at about 530, really don't want to cut down any more, but also worried about being sent to the reject pile for an extra sentence or two Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bread Posted February 2, 2021 Report Share Posted February 2, 2021 14 minutes ago, callmeswags said: When a program says "Approximately 500 words" - opinions on what the upper limit here would be? I'm at about 530, really don't want to cut down any more, but also worried about being sent to the reject pile for an extra sentence or two I’m going through the process right now too so take this with a grain of salt, but I think if it’s “approximately”, 530 would be okay? Some of them explicitly say “below 500”, or “max 500”, so I think in those cases I wouldn’t want to go higher! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_gettingthere_ Posted February 2, 2021 Report Share Posted February 2, 2021 Sorry one more question to add! Do we need to have salutations and "thank for considering etc" in our letters? I'm not sure if I need to cut some words to include this stuff. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambi Posted February 2, 2021 Report Share Posted February 2, 2021 You are wasting words by saying "thank you, etc.". I can cut words while keeping content. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellejolie Posted February 2, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2021 16 hours ago, callmeswags said: When a program says "Approximately 500 words" - opinions on what the upper limit here would be? I'm at about 530, really don't want to cut down any more, but also worried about being sent to the reject pile for an extra sentence or two i'm reaching for one i'm at like 560 (emailed to confirm going above was ok), and the other they said it really doesn't matter as long as it fits within a page. sticking to 12 pt font and single spaced with spaces between paragraphs to ensure they're both within a page comfortably. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_gettingthere_ Posted February 3, 2021 Report Share Posted February 3, 2021 14 hours ago, Bambi said: You are wasting words by saying "thank you, etc.". I can cut words while keeping content. so you'd recommend not including "dear selection committee" and "thank you for considering me" at the end? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bearded frog Posted February 3, 2021 Report Share Posted February 3, 2021 27 minutes ago, _gettingthere_ said: so you'd recommend not including "dear selection committee" and "thank you for considering me" at the end? Won't hurt or help either way. _gettingthere_ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambi Posted February 3, 2021 Report Share Posted February 3, 2021 ^ Exactly! If within word count, just put in the first part, not the thank you. If you are over word count, I am able to keep meaningful thoughts and cut out unnecessary words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie_m Posted February 10, 2021 Report Share Posted February 10, 2021 In case anyone is wondering, I asked CaRMS staff if there is a word count. I was told that the only way for them to know would be to copy and paste it. The letters are generated as a PDF. bread 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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