This varies so greatly between schools. My basic one is around 300 words, but can be cut down to around 170 (1000 characters) or expanded to 500 words (like....3500 characters?). A couple schools require less than 500 characters...Basically, just have a core set of bullet points and transitions that you can make between them to vary the lengths. This is honestly what I do. A bunch of interchangeable sentences and stories that can be plopped in and out.
The least amount of words needed for you to convey your talking points. Being succinct is an appreciated skill. You don't want the important stuff to be glossed over because of the fluff.
