How strict is the SoP word limit

[kphd]

Several schools have said do not exceed 1000 words or maximum 1000 or 500-1000 words.

 

I am left with choosing between deleting one or two important ideas or good lines and meeting the exact word limit. What should I do?

Is it OK to go up to 1100 words? 1050?

 

 

Thanks,

[Sio68]

I have no experience in this (that is to say: I have submitted applications, but received no feedback/decisions) so this is just guess work based on previous grad and teaching experience:

 

Usually I'm terrible for pushing word limits to their max. At my institution we are always allowed a 10% margin, and I always use it. I've been known to exeed this 10% too. I also know that tutors rarely count your words when marking. It's obvious it you have massively exeeded a word count, but never a concern if you go over 10-20%.

 

This being said, I did not risk going over word count on my SOP. I was tempted, but didn't. Applications are a different beast, and submitting things electronically make it much easier to check word counts. Additionally, I suspect that the word count isn't just in place to aid committees in getting through as many SOPs as quickly as possible, but also as a test of whether you can succinctly convey ideas and follow instructions.

 

If I were you I wouldn't risk it. I know how frustrating it is to delete what you believe to be important sentences, but I'd rather do that than have someone dismiss my SOP because I couldn't even follow their instructions. This is not to say that an extra few words (up to 20) would be an issue... I honestly can't see them being precious about that, but an extra 100? Personally, I wouldn't, but there may be others here who see it differently.

[anthropologygeek]

The way I look at it when doing apps is I put myself in their shoes. Since it is all done electronically they know how many words there is. And first impression of not following directions would make me think twice about an app so I stayed bellowed limit

[kphd]

Thanks guys!!

 

seems obvious now..why take the risk..

I will keep it below the limit.

[acher]

I've been in this boat before and even though you submit online, some applications will automatically trunk your statement.

[aaiiee]

Oh I absolutely hate word limits! I always tend to go beyond the prescribed limit and not just by a few hundred words, but thousands. The biggest and the most excruciating challenge for me was to cut down my sop rough drafts to the given limit of 2 pages.

 

okay. Hang on so when Stanford anthropology mentions that they do not want the sops to be more than 2-3 pages, I hope they don't mean 2-3 double spaced pages! yikes! Because I have submitted a 2 and a half single spaced SOP. 

[anxiousanthro]

Oh I absolutely hate word limits! I always tend to go beyond the prescribed limit and not just by a few hundred words, but thousands. The biggest and the most excruciating challenge for me was to cut down my sop rough drafts to the given limit of 2 pages.

 

okay. Hang on so when Stanford anthropology mentions that they do not want the sops to be more than 2-3 pages, I hope they don't mean 2-3 double spaced pages! yikes! Because I have submitted a 2 and a half single spaced SOP. 

 

It says on their website "Please submit a 2-3 page, single-spaced paper..." You're fine.

[PhDreams]

I think the safest best is to ask the admissions office. I've heard some schools just trunk the statement, others get annoyed, and others don't mind as long as it's not noticeable. My school has a strict word limit on coursework. People get papers kicked back all the time for going over the word limit- even one word. They have the philosophy that you have to learn how to succinctly talk about you subject matter and learn to follow directions. We don't get wiggle room. It's interesting to hear that many schools let you push 10-20% past word limits. It's also a lot more work for professors. Imagine if everyone pushed past just 100 words on a 1000  word limit assignment for a 50 person class, that's tantamount to having to read an extra 5 papers. Not. Fun.