<p>This was the response I received after asking if my application would still be reviewed if my SOP exceed the word limit:</p>
<p>"Your statement should be in the vicinity of 600 words, though you should not shorten your statment if it will disrupt the integrity of your statement."</p>
<p>How would you interpret this? At what point is it too long? My original essay was around 930 words, and I'd prefer to leave it how it is, but then again, I feel like I'm pushing it. What have your experiences been with this? Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>I would interpret this as “930 words is fine if anything less would disrupt the integrity of your statement.”</p>
<p>Being succinct is a very valuable skill once you start writing academic papers.</p>
<p>Cut it down. You can do it! Get your paper looked over by someone who’s really good at English to help you revise it.</p>
<p>Yours is 50% longer than the stated desired length- it takes more skill to answer the question more succinctly. Distill the essence down into less verbiage. A language heavy field would expect good writing and I’ll bet the math/science fields don’t want to read so much.</p>
<p>I was having the same problem with mine. A few schools I applied to wanted 500 words for SOP. Mine was somewhere around 600. I thought one hundred more shouldnt be a big problem as long as it is a good SOP and tells the admission committee about who I am.</p>
<p>It sounds like they dont care if you exceed the limit. Just make sure that your SOP is interesting. i think it is most important that your SOP makes you stand out from the rest of the applicants.The contents are the key. The length is relative.</p>
<p>I am surprised they are giving you ANY latitude - many schools seem to view your ability to follow application directions as a measure of how well you will handle the routine requirements of grad studentdom, and of how much time you will spend peititioning for exceptions to the rules. Regardless, I would not consider 930 to be in the vicinity of 600 in any problem not considered on a log scale. 10%, 20% at absolute maximum, so 660-720 words. Be concise.</p>