<p>hi folks,</p>
<p>this question was inspired by the "review my essays" thread - as some commented about the length of the SOP posted there.</p>
<p>the school i'm applying to has a set 12 000 character limit on one's SOP submission. no additional resume/CV are required, so i assume all that info is to be presented along with the SOP.</p>
<p>my question is - they give 12 000 character space. is it expected that we basically use up all the 12 000 characters? what have most of u done? i find the space will allow a roughly 3 page SOP, along with an abbreviated CV. does that make the SOP too long? </p>
<p>what would u do? would u rather have a longer SOP and fill the 12000, or have a shorter SOP and have unused space? is 12000 intended as a limit, or as a benchmark?</p>
<p>of course, the obvious reply is to emphasize "quality" over "quantity" - but would u make an effort to try to produce at stellar SOP that is 3 pages long? or just stop at 2? </p>
<p>thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Just write it for quality, regardless of whether that makes it two pages or three. If you try to stretch it out, it will be obvious. Don't fill the SOP with fluff.</p>
<p>Expanding on what Dirt McGirt said, just write the SOP. If it comes out two pages, if it comes out three, it doesn't matter as long as you say what you intend to say. Brevity is generally a good idea.</p>
<p>I think my basic SOP was about 2.5 pages at one-and-a-half space (1000 words). I shortened it for schools which asked for a shorter SOP, but did not lengthen it for schools which allowed a longer essay.</p>
<p>I would not include a CV inside the SOP -- send a separate CV. Many online applications have a space for "anything else you want to say"; I would upload your CV there. In the event that the application does not have a space for additional information, mail the CV in separately.</p>
<p>Am I the only one applying to schools who have asked for 500 words or less? Maybe it's an art school thing...</p>