this is a personal statement for my phd application at schools such as columbia,

this is a personal statement for my phd application at schools such as columbia, harvard, cornell, uc berkeley. The word limit for these schools is 500 word. In addition to personal statement editing, I am off the word count by about more 1000 words, and I can’t seem to make it 500 as I am not sure what to keep and remove. here are some insights from their prompts:
Prompt 1:
“we ask that you provide a statement that explains how your personal experiences and history will allow you to contribute to the wealth of perspectives in the entering class of the school and the university in large.”
Prompt 2:
“The personal statement should give concrete evidence of your promise as a member of the academic community, giving the committee an image of you as a person.
This is also where you represent your potential to bring to your academic career a critical perspective rooted in a non-traditional educational background, or your understanding of the experiences of groups historically under-represented in higher education and your commitment to increase participation by a diverse population in higher education.”