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zzwanforever · 11-20-2006, 10:57 PM

I have a 3-page SOP with around 1,200 words. It it too long?

Will the adcom immdiately trash my SOP since they are sick of reading so many SOPs?

81Ala · 11-20-2006, 11:05 PM

Submitting an SOP of 1200 words when the maximum length is 500 or 1000 might hurt your chances. Quantitative skills are relevant in the admissions process.

Antichron · 11-20-2006, 11:14 PM

Though it depends on the particular school, I would work on creating a draft of your SOP that fits on two pages and is probably less than a thousand words. Some schools may allow a longer SOP, but if I remember correctly, others have a suggested length. It would be nice to have a draft that is able to accommodate those schools with a length limit and another that is more extensive for those schools without a length limit. I definitely recommend reading up on the guidelines for the SOPs at each university to which you are applying, though.

As a side note, if you are putting the name of the institutions to which you are applying in your SOP, be sure to triple check and make sure you are sending each university the correct SOP!

mosfro · 11-20-2006, 11:39 PM

hahah,
i did that twice when i applied, aaaah, good times

another note, some people mention professor names in their SOP, particularly ones they would like to work with....a good idea would be to check if they are still there, or even alive, (yes this is bad, but it has been done)

Starvingecon · 11-21-2006, 02:05 AM

Way too long a lot of Top schools won't even read your SOP. I imagine no one will finish reading it. I say get it down to one page.

viet anh · 11-21-2006, 03:03 PM

Lower-ranked schools will read your SOP, and read it carefully. So be careful with what you write if you want to apply to these schools

veroniquaz · 11-21-2006, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by viet anh

Lower-ranked schools will read your SOP, and read it carefully. So be careful with what you write if you want to apply to these schools

How do you define "lower-ranked"?

user_name · 11-21-2006, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by veroniquaz

How do you define "lower-ranked"?

I guess in this case it would depend on how many applications they receive, not only how high they are ranked.

butler blue · 11-22-2006, 04:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zzwanforever

I have a 3-page SOP with around 1,200 words. It it too long?

Will the adcom immdiately trash my SOP since they are sick of reading so many SOPs?

Columbia and Georgetown are two that I know with a 500-word limit. Standard seems to be somewhere between 500 and 1000 from my experience.

zeira · 11-22-2006, 05:28 AM

Brown's online applications says:
Please limit your file to 50 pages and less than 1 MB. Anything exceeding this limit will be cut off. Be sure to review your file before you submit.

11-20-2006, 10:57 PM	#1 (permalink)
zzwanforever Eager! Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 30	How long should an SOP be?.. I have a 3-page SOP with around 1,200 words. It it too long? Will the adcom immdiately trash my SOP since they are sick of reading so many SOPs?

11-20-2006, 11:14 PM	#3 (permalink)
Antichron TestMagic Guru-in-Training Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Cambridge, MA Posts: 607	Though it depends on the particular school, I would work on creating a draft of your SOP that fits on two pages and is probably less than a thousand words. Some schools may allow a longer SOP, but if I remember correctly, others have a suggested length. It would be nice to have a draft that is able to accommodate those schools with a length limit and another that is more extensive for those schools without a length limit. I definitely recommend reading up on the guidelines for the SOPs at each university to which you are applying, though. As a side note, if you are putting the name of the institutions to which you are applying in your SOP, be sure to triple check and make sure you are sending each university the correct SOP! _ _ _ _ SIG _ _ _ _ MIT Economics, class of 2011

11-20-2006, 11:39 PM	#4 (permalink)
mosfro Within my grasp! Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 284	hahah, i did that twice when i applied, aaaah, good times another note, some people mention professor names in their SOP, particularly ones they would like to work with....a good idea would be to check if they are still there, or even alive, (yes this is bad, but it has been done) _ _ _ _ SIG _ _ _ _ Attending: George Washington University Interests: International Finance Please add some Reputation for me if you like what you read........

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11-20-2006, 11:05 PM	#2 (permalink)
81Ala Eager! Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 36	Submitting an SOP of 1200 words when the maximum length is 500 or 1000 might hurt your chances. Quantitative skills are relevant in the admissions process.

11-21-2006, 02:05 AM	#5 (permalink)
Starvingecon Within my grasp! Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 125	Way too long a lot of Top schools won't even read your SOP. I imagine no one will finish reading it. I say get it down to one page.

11-21-2006, 03:03 PM	#6 (permalink)
viet anh Trying to make mom and pop proud Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 6	Lower-ranked schools will read your SOP, and read it carefully. So be careful with what you write if you want to apply to these schools

11-22-2006, 05:28 AM	#10 (permalink)
zeira Within my grasp! Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 121	Brown's online applications says: Please limit your file to 50 pages and less than 1 MB. Anything exceeding this limit will be cut off. Be sure to review your file before you submit.

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