I think they just changed the requirement for this year, because I am pretty sure they said "no more than 3 pages, double-spaced" on their homepage last year.
If I were you, I would follow what "the prompts within the online application portal" says, which is up to one page, single-spaced.
I'm in the same boat. I've got rejected from all programs, and it is truly hard to keep believing in myself... I think the worst part of my application was a writing sample, and honestly, I don't know how to make it better. sigh.