500 words SOP! What to write?

[JessePinkman]

Hello. So one of my schools requires a 500 words SOP and I'm finding it pretty difficult to cut down my existing SOP to 500 words.

My current SOP has 7 paras as following:

 

1st para - Why I want to pursue my Masters in this field? (122 words)

2nd para - A bit about my background which led me to major in my field. (135 words)

3rd para - What I learnt in and during the course of my Bachelors program and how I tailored it to suit my Masters field. (171 words)

4th para - My final year project. (thought only remotely related to my Master's field) (150 words)

5th para - My work experience in the relevant field, where I work, about my current project, my responsibilities and how it has helped in honing my technical skills (161 words) Note : the responsibilities are repeated in my Resume so i'll cut it out..so it will reduce about 30 words

6th para - My research interests and professors I'd like to work with (85 words)

7th para - why this University suits me (108 words)

 

Now how do I curtail this to a 500 words SOP? What all should I reduce as I think everything mentioned above is an important part of your statement of purpose. Please help. Need to apply within a week to this University. Thanks a lot! 

[SchoolPsych_NYC]

is there any wiggle room or is this a strict word limit? I inquired with all of the programs I am applying to if they didn't specify a word limit or if the application didn't cut off after a certain amount of words/characters. I know how you feel though, I was informed by St. John's University admissions that statements should be within 300-350 words and the program director wasn't even aware of this and had recalled reading longer ones so if it was a bit more, that was fine. I would say as long as its not longer than a page, you're safe. Unless their apps are strict. 

 

I think if you could tie in the 6th and 7th paragraphs, since part of the reason this specific university would suit you is because of the match between you and the faculty (just an assumption here) also, you could choose to highlight only one of your experiences, since your resume can speak for itself, though you did mention you were doing that. Also, weave your background and your bachelors together, unless your background in your prospective masters field began prior to your bachelors, so the first and second paragraph can also be combined and shortened. 

 

I started with a statement of 1250 words and am submitting a 615 word exact page essay. A lot can be saved for the interview (as many have advised me) though I can relate to the anxiety of "but what if I don;t even get an interview?!" 

 

Best of luck

[Texan_Air]

I would reduce the first two paragraphs to two sentences. You don't need a big introduction for a 500 word SOP. You would be wasting half of the 500 word length for it when you could focus more on your research background and interests.

It is hard to say what else is important without seeing your SOP, but try to combine sentences and eliminate extra adjectives. Also acronym your University name if you mention it a lot in the end.

[JessePinkman]

Hey guys thanks for your advice. I was able to bring it down to 650 words which makes it a 1 page SOP which I think wouldnt be a problem as the University only mentions that the SOP should be around 500 words and need not be too long. They do not use any strict words and we have to upload the SOP and not copy paste it. So I guess 1 page would work. I'll PM my SOP to both of you guys. Tell me what do you guys think of it, so I can go ahead and apply! Thanks again.