mattg Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 Do you guys count the verifiers [e.g. (12) ] as words in the U of T essay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiderpig Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 I just use the word count that MS Word gives me... not sure if it includes them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HBP Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 This is an extra word (1). This is not(1). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattg Posted September 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 so you just attached the (#) right to the word? Did you do it at the end of the sentence, or right after the word... for example, when I shadowed Dr. Bob(4) OR when i shadowed Dr. Bob, I learned how to tie a bowtie(4) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 mattg you disappeared off the map, strange Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattg Posted September 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 what do you mean, i disappeared off the map? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeeha Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 I was confused by the fact they said 1000 words, yet they had a character counter, not a word counter... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micro Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 so you just attached the (#) right to the word? Did you do it at the end of the sentence, or right after the word...for example, when I shadowed Dr. Bob(4) OR when i shadowed Dr. Bob, I learned how to tie a bowtie(4) I don't think this really matters. Do whichever you prefer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micro Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 I was confused by the fact they said 1000 words, yet they had a character counter, not a word counter... That's because it is not a strict limit. Plus, I think the way the OMSAS server is set up, a character counter is the only way to physically limit space, and not with a word counter. The physical limit of 8,000 characters generally far exceeds 1,000 words but it also takes into account the variety of words (and therefore characters) that can be included in the essay. That said, I doubt anyone who actually adhered (closely) to the essay limit would have an essay approaching 8,000 characters....mine is approaching 7,000 only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeeha Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 That's because it is not a strict limit. Plus, I think the way the OMSAS server is set up, a character counter is the only way to physically limit space, and not with a word counter. The physical limit of 8,000 characters generally far exceeds 1,000 words but it also takes into account the variety of words (and therefore characters) that can be included in the essay. That said, I doubt anyone who actually adhered (closely) to the essay limit would have an essay approaching 8,000 characters....mine is approaching 7,000 only. Ya, I was a bit over the 1000 word limit because the character counter said there was more room, so I went back and undid all my word saving techniques, like combining the verifier number with a word. Plus, I added a few sentences here and there. Hopefully it's okay... I'm sure they would have come up with a mechanism to count words if they were really fixed on the actual word count, or at least explained their rules of counting words (ie, if they go by microsoft word count or some other method which might disregard 1-2 letter words)... oh the wishy washyness... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micro Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 Ya, I was a bit over the 1000 word limit because the character counter said there was more room, so I went back and undid all my word saving techniques, like combining the verifier number with a word. Plus, I added a few sentences here and there. Hopefully it's okay... I'm sure they would have come up with a mechanism to count words if they were really fixed on the actual word count, or at least explained their rules of counting words (ie, if they go by microsoft word count or some other method which might disregard 1-2 letter words)... oh the wishy washyness... Hmmm...well UofT stated that a few words over the limit (e.g. 20-30 words) is fine and would probably go unnoticed, but an essay approaching 1,100 words would be a (negative) factor in the evaluation process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeeha Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 Hmmm...well UofT stated that a few words over the limit (e.g. 20-30 words) is fine and would probably go unnoticed, but an essay approaching 1,100 words would be a (negative) factor in the evaluation process. I added a pre-note to my essay saying that I sent some info to the admissions office by regular mail. I described what the info is so that they would know what to look for and if they didn't receive it, to contact me. This note sent me over the limit (by quite a bit). But, I do feel it was necessary because the stuff sent to the admissions office was about the essay and if they didn't receive it, parts of my essay wouldn't make sense. Hopefully they won't count the note as part of the essay (ie. part of the word count)... I wonder if I should call them or just let it be (I already submitted it)... I should have just hyphenated the entire note to make it count as one word! LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiderpig Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 I added a pre-note to my essay saying that I sent some info to the admissions office by regular mail. I described what the info is so that they would know what to look for and if they didn't receive it, to contact me. This note sent me over the limit (by quite a bit). But, I do feel it was necessary because the stuff sent to the admissions office was about the essay and if they didn't receive it, parts of my essay wouldn't make sense. Hopefully they won't count the note as part of the essay (ie. part of the word count)... I wonder if I should call them or just let it be (I already submitted it)... I should have just hyphenated the entire note to make it count as one word! LOL. I would call them just in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HBP Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 I added a pre-note to my essay saying that I sent some info to the admissions office by regular mail. I described what the info is so that they would know what to look for and if they didn't receive it, to contact me. This note sent me over the limit (by quite a bit). But, I do feel it was necessary because the stuff sent to the admissions office was about the essay and if they didn't receive it, parts of my essay wouldn't make sense. Hopefully they won't count the note as part of the essay (ie. part of the word count)... I wonder if I should call them or just let it be (I already submitted it)... I should have just hyphenated the entire note to make it count as one word! LOL. Err... this makes me very curious as to what this info could possibly be... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeeha Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 Err... this makes me very curious as to what this info could possibly be... just some supporting documents about my past health problem. I made reference to it in my essay because I felt it is something that provided me with insight to the medical system (since I was a patient at the Cross Cancer, they wouldn't let me volunteer, so I have no health care volunteer experience - but, I gained so much experience from being a patient). I am nervous that they might think I am too sickly to go into med school... I wanted to ensure them that I am now healthy *knock on wood* -- Also, last year, UBC sent me a letter saying that my situation didn't make sense because my marks had improved during my health problem. So, I wanted to make sure there was no ambiguity... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 contact the disability office perhaps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panda eyes Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 so we can actually go over the 1000 word limit? (the box doesn't just delete the extra words..) Has anyone actually gone over 1000 words...? 20-30 words will let me include an extra sentence or two Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takashi Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 just some supporting documents about my past health problem. I made reference to it in my essay because I felt it is something that provided me with insight to the medical system (since I was a patient at the Cross Cancer, they wouldn't let me volunteer, so I have no health care volunteer experience - but, I gained so much experience from being a patient). I am nervous that they might think I am too sickly to go into med school... I wanted to ensure them that I am now healthy *knock on wood* -- Also, last year, UBC sent me a letter saying that my situation didn't make sense because my marks had improved during my health problem. So, I wanted to make sure there was no ambiguity... Hey I hope you stay healthy and have won the battle with whatever sickness you had. Was UBC questioning your sickness? I find that a bit despicable... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HBP Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 so we can actually go over the 1000 word limit? (the box doesn't just delete the extra words..) Has anyone actually gone over 1000 words...? 20-30 words will let me include an extra sentence or two I've made mine read better and I'm at 1021 I will leave it like that. Submitting in an hour or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 Good luck guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hastin11 Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 I submitted mine with 1045 words. I called them and they said, "there is no way we would notice that. We do not have an actual electronic word counter." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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