MFA Visual Arts Statement of Purpose

[mimoma]

Hi there.

I have just finished my Statement of Purpose for Columbia (MFA Visual Arts), Pratt and SVA.

All three state that the statment should be no more than 500 words. After a lot of editing I got mine down to 680 words. Still 180 over.

Do you think it is ok to be a bit over the limit or should I really stick to the rules?

I would really appreciate some opinions or experiences..

Thank you.

Momo

[michaelwebster]

Hi there.

I have just finished my Statement of Purpose for Columbia (MFA Visual Arts), Pratt and SVA.

All three state that the statment should be no more than 500 words. After a lot of editing I got mine down to 680 words. Still 180 over.

Do you think it is ok to be a bit over the limit or should I really stick to the rules?

I would really appreciate some opinions or experiences..

Thank you.

Momo

I think they just want you to keep it to one page, but they won't count the words.

[frez83]

I would agree they probably will not be counting your actual words, however I think it would be wise to keep it as short as possible. Of course this is pure opinion, but I have heard the shorter the better, and to me that makes sense when you factor in how many statements they have to read in such a short amount of time. If you can make the same points, but with fewer words, I think your statement will be the better for it. So, in the end make your own judgment on if you can really edit it down more, but I would probably get as close to 500 as I can.

[Fool4nine]

680 is quite a bit more than 500. See if you can rephrase passages into fewer words. Many times one word can replace three.

[losemygrip]

And if you can't figure out a way to shorten the sentence, then maybe the entire sentence needs to go. And if you can't figure out how the paragraph makes sense any more, then delete the rest of the paragraph.

Ask yourself this: would you want to be a part of a program that thought a long, wordy statement was better than a short, pithy one?

[cxxxxxx]

I'm having similar problems, which course? I'm on 600 words, assume +10% over is acceptable but really should have it down to 450.

Mine is a mix of artist statement and statement of intent, anyone know if I should go all statement of intent?

[sympatico]

There is absolutely no reason for your artist's statement to be over 500 words.

[Fool4nine]

sympatico, the original poster said his statement of purpose, not his artist's statement. Best to avoid confusing them. My artist's statement was easily under 500. My statement of purpose was 750, which I had to edit heavily for several schools that only wanted 500 words.

[sympatico]

I'm having similar problems, which course? I'm on 600 words, assume +10% over is acceptable but really should have it down to 450.

Mine is a mix of artist statement and statement of intent, anyone know if I should go all statement of intent?

it's totally dependent on the program. what did they ask for?

[sympatico]

sympatico, the original poster said his statement of purpose, not his artist's statement. Best to avoid confusing them. My artist's statement was easily under 500. My statement of purpose was 750, which I had to edit heavily for several schools that only wanted 500 words.

i was responding to clarita

[R. Mutt]

I'm really curious to know how other people are writing their statements - but I really dont think I could handle reading someone elses right now

[cxxxxxx]

I meant for SVA for the 500 work statement of intent, although I need to do an artists statement for SFAI too

[kyurious]

You may have realized this by now, but Slide room won't allow any extra words, so better for you to choose which ones to take out.

[Resendes8909]

I wouldn't worry about word limitations as much as how well-written and sincere your statements are. If it says no more than 500 words, and you've written an extra 100 that are truly necessary for your essay to support why you want to go to that program, I'd leave it. If the extra words don't add anything, edit them out. My statements are 940-960 each. I have friends who've exceeded 1000 words and gotten into their top choice schools. I think that if you can be concise yet compelling you are fine, but a longer essay that is also compelling may suit some schools.

Edited January 4, 2012 by Mindfields88

[cxxxxxx]

okay I'm down to around 520 but thats it now, no more editing as sentences are starting to sounds weird!

[Resendes8909]

I really question schools that want to contain your life's research to "a short paragraph" or a specific number of words. That is interesting about slideroom. The only school I needed to use slideroom for did not have a limit to the wordcount, so that wasn't an issue for me. One school I am applying to wants a short paragraph about my undergraduate study, a short paragraph about my experience, and my artist's statement...... WHY not just let me consolidate that into one essay? Beats me.

[Fool4nine]

I wish all schools used slideroom for applications, essays, transcripts, letters of rec, and portfolios. And I wish that all allowed a unofficial transcript upload until such time as they make you an offer (which is how Yale and Cranbrook do it). Why make you pay to have transcripts sent if you are not accepted. That's stupid, expensive, and very inconvenient.

Also, it would be great if they all allowed standard pdf uploads of 1) Statement of Purpose (of 500-1500 words - your choice); 2) Artists CV; and, 3) Artists Statement for portfolio.

The above would sure make applications considerably easier.

[JBrew]

Hello there!

I am having a similar issue. Somehow I managed to cap myself at 699 words. However, I think my flow might be a little off and some sentences need to be edited out.

My statement of purpose is combination artist statement and goals statement as I feel this will be helpful alongside my portfolio. I'd love to get another read on it! Private message me if you'd be willing to take a look!

- Jessica

www.jessicabrewster.com