<p>For my personal statement for admission to the art school within a larger university, there is no word count given as a guideline. It just says "please write a brief personal statement..."</p>
<p>So what does that mean? 300 words? 500 words? One page? </p>
<p>Any help or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>It means, IMO, that you should make sure every word counts. If that means 500, go for it; however, if you are being redundant (really, I know from experience that it is hard to cut "vital" words and phrases, but a lot of what people perceive as necessary is not) then just keep it shorter. I don't suggest going over 500 words though. </p>
<p>Or, you could just call the school and ask how long applicants normally make that essay.</p>
<p>Ok, so I've written it and it's about 480 words. But I think there's some stuff that I could cut if I had to. Do you think I should? Is it possible to be too short? Am I just reading into this too much?</p>