How long with no length limit?

[Steph<3Chem]

Several of my schools have no length specified for the SOP. The past prompts have been specific about how much they want you to describe past research experience, so I've kept my statements to 1.5-2 pages without the detailed research descriptions and 2-3 pages with detailed descriptions. However, it seems that the higher ranked the school the less detail they give you in the prompt - feels like some kind of test.

The current one in question is CalTech: Please provide a brief statement of your scientific and professional interests and objectives. Include a description of your past accomplishments that are not evident from the examination of other documents submitted. Report, if applicable, on any research in progress.

Please provide a brief statement...that reads 1-2 pages to me. But then that short killer sentence: report on any research in progress. Well, I'm currently working on two separate research projects, one of which is an 11-person student-driven team project tackling a multidisciplinary question.

How to keep it brief and report?

What's a good guideline for length when there's no specification (especially in physical/life sciences)?

[jacib]

Several of my schools have no length specified for the SOP. The past prompts have been specific about how much they want you to describe past research experience, so I've kept my statements to 1.5-2 pages without the detailed research descriptions and 2-3 pages with detailed descriptions. However, it seems that the higher ranked the school the less detail they give you in the prompt - feels like some kind of test.

The current one in question is CalTech: Please provide a brief statement of your scientific and professional interests and objectives. Include a description of your past accomplishments that are not evident from the examination of other documents submitted. Report, if applicable, on any research in progress.

Please provide a brief statement...that reads 1-2 pages to me. But then that short killer sentence: report on any research in progress. Well, I'm currently working on two separate research projects, one of which is an 11-person student-driven team project tackling a multidisciplinary question.

How to keep it brief and report?

What's a good guideline for length when there's no specification (especially in physical/life sciences)?

If they give you no limit, I feel they will not punish you for three pages. Four would be pushing it, more than that unheard of. The longest limit for an SOP that I've seen is 2,500 words (at the most prestigious school in this particular field of the humanities). By short, they mean not 10 pages I think. If there's no limit, 2 or so would be the average probably. If they wanted it shorter than that, they would have said so. If you have more to say, I think they give you the space to say it. I would definitely go detailed. But I'm humanities/social science and the protocol might be different in the hard science (but I don't know why it would be... they want to know your research interests and your experience in both).

Edited December 27, 2009 by jacib