meow Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 UC Berkeley's graduate admissions webpage says 1-2 pages, single-spaced, 12pts. Department's admissions webpage says 2 pages max, double-spaced (had to dig pretty deep to get this information... it's not on the online application). Which guideline do I need to follow in terms of formatting? And length? I'm finding it very difficult to cut down to 2 pages double-spaced, but at the same time, I don't want to give the impression that I don't know how to follow instructions. Emailed the department but no response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edotdl Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 If you don't get a response I'd go with the one on the online application Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brown_eyed_girl Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 I'd follow the department guidelines over the graduate school's, but I'd call the department to verify. 2 pages double spaced sounds like a standard SOP length to me - mine was about that length. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edotdl Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 (edited) Maybe mine was just longer but 1000 words was just slightly shorter than 2 pages single spaced, but calling is probably a good choice if you're worried. Edited November 23, 2015 by Edotdl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brown_eyed_girl Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 18 hours ago, Edotdl said: Maybe mine was just longer but 1000 words was just slightly shorter than 2 pages single spaced, but calling is probably a good choice if you're worried. I think most of my apps asked for ~500 words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthrostudentcyn Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 My UCB app is asking for 2000 words. I'm kinda scared haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
random_grad Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 When the school had confusing guidelines, I picked the interpretation which suited me best. My letter of intent was about 900 words, and not once did I have to trim it, thank goodness. I didn't get into Berkeley though. Maybe I should have dug deeper into my department's website, hmmm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svent Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 I applied to grad school years ago and recently looked at my old SOP. It was around 1000-1200 words. I realized while it was a well-written piece, if was way too long. I don't know if this affected my admission results or not. This time around my statement is around 500-600 words. Much much better. I don't think professors want to read something so long. It's best to be concise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amolang Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 On 11/20/2015, 10:16:26, loveor said: Department's admissions webpage says 2 pages max, double-spaced (had to dig pretty deep to get this information... it's not on the online application) Where did you read this guideline? I just read this page and thought that I was going to write 1-2 pages, single-spaced because they were not clear about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meow Posted November 27, 2015 Author Share Posted November 27, 2015 9 hours ago, amolang said: Where did you read this guideline? I just read this page and thought that I was going to write 1-2 pages, single-spaced because they were not clear about it. Go for it. I am applying to engineering programs, so obviously the requirements will be very different. amolang 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
czhong4 Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 On 11/19/2015, 7:16:26, loveor said: UC Berkeley's graduate admissions webpage says 1-2 pages, single-spaced, 12pts. Department's admissions webpage says 2 pages max, double-spaced (had to dig pretty deep to get this information... it's not on the online application). Which guideline do I need to follow in terms of formatting? And length? I'm finding it very difficult to cut down to 2 pages double-spaced, but at the same time, I don't want to give the impression that I don't know how to follow instructions. Emailed the department but no response. Did you get any response from the department yet? I have the same kinda issue, but the office is closed now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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