Personal Statement and transcript

Hi guys,

I’m almost done writing my personal statement and then I’ll be able to type on my application. It says your essay is up to 400 words but I feel mine will be a little bit over. Does your statement have to be exactly 400? Also how does Msu admissions deal with transfer students who had to repeat courses in order to receive a better grade? I heard that they take the average of the two grades in whatever course you repeated. Is that true? Hoping someone can answer this.