SOP Word Limits

[Pamphilia]

Hello!

I'm wondering how strict those pesky "word limits" for statements of purpose really are. Most of the programs I'm applying to suggest the the SOP should be 2-3 pages in length (regardless of line spacing, margins, etc.), but Northwestern indicates that it should be 400-500 words. Yikes! That is...er...really, really short. I don't think my SOP is that long--it's well under a page and a half single spaced, and is shorter than most of the sample statements I've seen. I think it's nicely concise. Nonetheless, it's almost twice as long as the Northwestern word limit. UC Davis requires a 4000 character limit (with spaces) and my SOP for that school is still well over 500 words.

The Northwestern SOP doesn't physically have to fit in the 400-500 word limit (not like Davis's, which requires you to paste the statement into a text box which can only contain so many characters). So, I'm wondering how "liberal" I can be with the word limit...I mean, I will cut it down, but I like the way it sounds, and I think it reflects me well. I just don't want to have to chop it in half. Does anyone here know how strict word limits tend to be? In particular, does anyone have experience with Northwestern's teeny tiny word limits? Will they toss me if I go significantly over the limit?

Thanks!

Happy apps to all.

[rainy_day]

Personally, I would not risk it. I am planning on giving each school exactly what they ask for, because I don't see the benefit in pushing the limits, you know?

It's frustrating, how everyone makes you jump through different hoops, but I'm still going to jump.

[Pamphilia]

Sigh. Yes, I figured that would be the case. When they say "jump," we ask, "how high?" When they say "stop," we say, "Hammer Time."

It's not that I'm trying to be lazy. I have already cut the SOP down to those limits. I just worry because I don't think it reflects me, or my work, nearly as well. Such is life, I suppose.

[JennyFieldsOriginal]

I actually spoke with the director of the graduate program at my undergrad university about just such an issue and he said that if you're a little over don't worry about it. He said even with a writing sample that if the limit is 20 pages and you have 23 spectacular pages don't cut out things that work because you're nervous about going over. So if your statement would really suffer as a result of cramming it into a word limit, don't give it too much thought. Or at least that was the advice of this person.

I feel personally really antsy about going over limits because I hate to not follow the rules on something as important as this, so definitely use your own judgment. Hope your apps go well!

[shai]

I've contacted all the school I'm applying to and never got a straight answer about guidlines for the statment of purpose.

My essays are currently circa 1000 words. Is that too long ? How are you people handing in your essays in regards to these criteria ?

- Font & font size

- Margins

- Spacing (single, double, whatever)

[Pamphilia]

My basic essay is about 900 words, so close to yours, Shai. Most of the example essays I've seen (granted, I've seen, like, four) have been around 1000 words, too, and the schools that give guidelines tend to say ~1000 words or 2-3 pages, double or single spaced. Some others don't give guidelines at all. I think I'm going to submit my SOP with single spacing unless the program specifically asks for it to be double-spaced. Generally, I'll use standard margins (1" all around), but the shortened version of my essay is just a couple of lines over one page, so I'll fudge the margins slightly on that one to make it fit on a single page. I'll just be using Times New Roman, size 12.