Mine's currently 811 words, but I'm still tweaking the future goals and final paragraph. I've asked one of my CD professors about which style (essay or story; academics or experience) would be better for my letter, and he said that he personally would rather see a story about what you've experienced, because it gives a better indication of why you want to go into the field, why you care about people, and is overall a better window into who you are as a person. However, I've also heard from peers that another CD professor said to cut the stories and focus more on the academics...so perhaps try and find a balance between the two if you're stuck on that. As far as length goes, from what I've read, most school cut off length at about two pages, so maybe keep that in mind for the schools that don't explicitly state a limit. For me, one school has a limit, the other doesn't, so I'm basing length off of the limit I was given.
My letter is very experience-based and story-like, including how an SLP inspired me in the first place, and specific strong examples from my job, research, and classes to show how they all intertwined to strongly prepare me for grad school. CSUF has a small set of SOPs from SLP students that they have accepted that I've already read, and honestly, the only thing they've helped me with is determine how I DIDN'T want my letter to read like, since they all were all written in the same, boring essay format. Also, I've been told to limit the SOPs that you read, because you don't want your letter to end up sounding like letters they've already received. I started to figure out how to write my letter after reading this sentence from a SLP blog regarding what a letter of intent is: In my opinion, it’s like a first date with a total stranger. Only you are trying to convince them to marry you, blindfolded, based on a test score, GPA, and resume. With that, I chose to write my letter as if it were a first date on paper. While it's good to tailor each letter to each school, I think that you might have a better chance of standing out if you let your personality flavor your letter. Sounds like a no-brainer, but based on my peers' letters that I've read for this year's cycle, it's not always something that is automatically thought of and included. If you aren't feeling 100% about your letter in general, craft a second one using a different perspective or style, and if necessary, combine the best parts of both to create a third one. No matter what approach you end up taking, remember that your ultimate goal is ensuring that your letter sticks out in the grad committee's mind and is the one they remember out of the seas of letters they'll read.
If you haven't already, I'd strongly recommend that you take your letter to your school's writing center or have a professor take a look at it. I've taken my letter to my school's writing center and had a English grad student look at it (I wish a CD grad student was available, but hey I'll take it), and the biggest thing she mentioned was condensing experiences and deleting details that don't immediately relate to the point of your story and your letter as a whole. Also, reorganizing your letter may naturally shorten it as well. Then, after you've gone through it with someone, give it to someone else to read. The more opportunities you allow for constructive criticism, the better your letter will become.
Good luck!
