Getting under the limit was really hard for me too. Some of the things I did that were helpful:
- Look for any phrases that you can replace with a single word, like replacing "it is clear that" with "clearly" or "due to the fact that" with "because" and so on.
- Get rid of adverbs like "truly", "definitely", "really", etc.
- Get rid of any repetitious phrases like "off of".
- Avoid passive voice. Usually this is indicated by the use of "was" or "were" in a statement. For example, a passive statement would be "The kittens were fed by me every four hours" (43 characters). This same sentence in an active voice would be "I fed the kittens every four hours" (34 characters).
- Try and get rid of this is, there are, and it is at the beginning of your sentences. Usually they aren't necessary.
- Remove phrases like "I think that" and "in my opinion". Since it's a personal statement, this is a given.
I also only put one space after periods instead of two, because I was just shy of the limit and couldn't find another word to cut.