Word limit...do or die?

[quistyliz]

Let's say a program asks for a statement of interest, but notes that it cannot be more than 500 words long. Said statement is to be printed out and sent in along with other supplementary materials. As such, would it make a huge difference if this statement were, say, 583 words, instead of the prescribed 500? I still have a couple of days to pare this thing down, but I feel like I've cut out so much already (down from the 1,200+ words from my other SoI) that any more will make it seem too choppy and just plain ineloquent. Do you think they would make a point of counting how many words I wrote, and refusing my application based upon the excess?

I hate word limits :(