Length of parent statement on applications?
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Anonymous
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Apologies if this has been asked before. I searched and did not successfully find an answer to my question.
For application to K at a school with reasonably selective admissions (Sidwell, GDS, Potomac, etc.), with multiple questions on the "parent statement", how long should the answer to each question be? It looks like the expectation might be a single paragraph. What are reasonable minimum and maximum lengths per answer? Thanks. |
Anonymous
| Usually, there is an actual limit of words for the questions. If I remember correctly, it was limited and difficult to answer in such a short amount of space. You need to be very precise in your answer. Once you start the application process, you should be able to see exactly what is required for parent questions. |
Anonymous
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agree with above. usually there is a character limit and it is brief--one paragraph or less.
In general, brief is good. |
Anonymous
| Just do your best and keep it brief. The offices don't pay that much attention to it. |
Anonymous
| I found it useful to start most of my responses "As an alumni...." |
Anonymous
| Many have a word limit of 250 or 500 words. Be precise and specific. Why is your kid/family different and what do you offer school? What do you want out of school? Do not waste words on generic or non-age appropriate goals (if you are applying to kinder don’t talk about college matriculation). |
Anonymous
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I remember a few years back at a Big 3 where there was a stated word limit for kids' questions, but none for parents (although, it did say "briefly state"). A friend used the kids' word limit as the guideline for their answer, mine was much longer than that. Both of our kids were admitted.
Generally, I was thorough in replies and tried to cover what I felt were important in describing my child. There were usually multiple questions and I would find the best place to convey certain information. This meant I couldn't just cut and paste across applications, though, as each school may have covered similar topics but asked them in different ways. |
Anonymous
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OP here. There are no character or word limits in the applications I am currently looking at in Ravenna.
When you suggest 250-500 words, is that total across the three to five questions asked, or is that per question? Thanks. |
Anonymous
You could ask the admissions director and get an accurate more timely answer than a bunch of guesses on an anonymous board. |
Anonymous
| No less than 15 pages. Single spaced. Tight margins. But be succinct. |
Anonymous
| Sidwell last year had a limit to each question. I used that limit as a guideline for all of my applications. |
Anonymous
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Long enough to answer each question well, without being verbose and disorganized in your writing. Be clear and to the point.
If you answer too abruptly, you’ll sound like you’re not invested. Too long, and you’ll annoy admissions officers who have limited time to plow through hundreds of applications. About 1/2 a page to 3/4 of a page MAX - 12 point Times Roman - per question should do it. Make sure it’s well and tightly written. I spent maybe 15 hours on my parent essays. Honed them repeatedly until they read beautifully. DC was admitted at every school to which we applied. |
Anonymous
"According to me, my essays were perfect." FFS. |
Anonymous
 When you think you've read it all.
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Anonymous
| This year sidwell has a limit of 200 words per question for LS applications |