How many pages did your SOP have when you submitted your app?

[kant]

I have prepared 3 versions of SOP

1. 2 pages length - 1400 word limit

2. 1000 word length

3. 500 to 600 word length

 

i have submitted 2 pages SOP approx 5 universities, before i have applied to other universities they needed 500 to 700 words only so i have shortened my SOP to that word limit, i have prepared separate SOP for each and every university where as my 1st 3 paragraphs information is same only last 2 paras are tailor made to according to the applied university  

[starofdawn]

4/6 SOPs were 700 words; 2 had a limit of 4,000 characters, they were ~ 600 words. Just one page... short and to the point. I have no research experience, and didn't have much to talk about. All my paragraphs were the same except for one paragraph, which was tailored toward the university.

[SgtP3pp3r]

The first time i wrote my SoP I did it on a whim, before I actually applied. I did it a day I felt inspired, and I figured that I might as well write it out for when the actual time to apply came up. Problem is, I wasn't exactly scant on words... so I ended up with a whopping 3000 word monster. So I shortened it. I shortened it a lot. 

 

But by the time I had trimmed it down to 1500 it didn't make sense anymore, so I rewrote it. This time it measured up precisely 1499 words. But then came the Unis with 1000 word limits, so i trimmed it down. But it happens that when you have to trim it down so much, it's best to simply find yet another angle and so I got down to it, and left it at 650 words.

 

Finally came the 500 word limit Unis, so, I rewrote once more. Condensed at 499. 

 

So counting back, I have roughly 6 versions. I only ended up using two though, the 650 word one and the 499 one. I figured they say what I really wanted to say.

[skylarking]

About 1,200 words max. My base one (without schools or POI mentions) was about 950, and that was because one of my schools had a 1,000 word limit so I had to be judicious in how I described my background and research. The hardest part was trimming it down again for the school with the 500 word limit, which basically meant cutting out a good chunk and then rewording the last bit of my first paragraph, really shortening my background, and again shortening the bit about my potential project (though I cut the least from this one), and then being really crafty with describing fit in the fourth. I think that one ended up at 498. I still feel like that one kind of cut out everything I really liked about my SOP but it was short and to the point and still conveyed my clear direction in my research and where and why it can contribute to the discipline. 

 

Though with every day that passes with no word from programs, I feel less and less confident about it D; 

 

ETA: though really, in my experience, it's less about words and pages than it is about being succinct and clear in describing your plan of study and all that. My SOP was about the same (probably longer) last year and said basically nothing because my projects weren't as clearly defined as this one is now (I applied to multiple disciplines last year, and that was to my detriment because I couldn't really clearly address either project and had twice as difficult a time describing fit and all that).

Edited February 5, 2014 by skylarking

[unbrokenthread]

The version I was most comfortable with came in at about 1500 words. There was one school that required <1000, and I made it happen, but it felt like pulling teeth.

[kant]

The version I was most comfortable with came in at about 1500 words. There was one school that required <1000, and I made it happen, but it felt like pulling teeth

 

I was very confident about my 2 page SOP, i edited it so many times(n no) and peer reviewed and it took me a month time to prepare the 2 page SOP,  until i come across the 500 words limit of the SOP and i condensed my SOP still it have the essentials of my 2 page(1400 word limit) i think so.

[ereissoup]

1.3 pages, even for the places that had longer word limits. No point in needless loquacity, especially regarding things already covered on my CV and application form.

[doobiebrothers]

1050 words; double spaced 3 1/4 pages. It was interesting because at first I insisted on 1500 words and was willing to risk being auto-rejected for length, (I HAVE TO SAY ALL THE THINGS) but now looking back the shorter version is concise, polished and much better. Thank god for adamant friends and excellent editors

[Boba felt]

Neither of my schools had any rules about length of SOP, just that I needed to submit it.  So I wrote a full 2 pages.  Could have trimmed down if needed, but felt I got more of a narrative about my life done in 2 pages.

[EccentricAcademic]

I gave two pages for most. I'm a wordy, wordy person.