<p>The essay is an uploaded document, which means that–technically–a student will be able to submit an essay of any length (as long as the file is under 500KB). But just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. The new limit of 500 words is provided to offer guidance to students who ask, “How long should my essay be?” The real answer to this question is, “Long enough to help colleges learn something about you but short enough to make sure they read it.” The recommended length really does give you plenty of room to do just that.</p>
<p>To put this in perspective, 500 words, using 12 pt Times New Roman and 1 inch margins is just shy of two pages, double-space. And two pages is a perfectly appropriate length for your essay.</p>
<p>Not to say otherwise but I just wrote a letter to a friend that was 590 words in Times Roman and it was just a bit over a page. I write weekly articles for a website and to stay under 500 words requires some careful editing.</p>
<p>Correction above, this was not a double spaced letter (I forget students usually write double-spaced). However, if I had had to reduce the letter by 90 words, it would have changed my intended message.</p>
<p>Haha, about time USC got on the bandwagon. I’m not sure how I feel about it, though. While a part of me wishes they joined this year, another part of me is grateful they didn’t.</p>
<p>Yea, I hate it as much as you do. 
A limit, despite the fact we can ignore it, puts an invisible, subconcious pressure. More is not always good in essays, but still as a general rule, ideas are best expressed when given their capacity to flourish. 500 words doesn’t seem quite enough room to muster an unharried sampling of an applicant’s personal qualities…</p>
<p>It’s more than a subconscious pressure, it’s a rule all applicants are expected to follow. A two page double-spaced essay is ample opportunity for a good writer to demonstrate their writing ability. If you can’t write a strong 500 word essay, that is something a college will want to know in evaluating your writing proficiency.</p>
<p>In addition, many colleges will ask for additional writing samples with their supplement. If they want to see a longer essay, they’ll ask for it there.</p>
<p>But the common app represents a major factions of apps to over 200 colleges and such, it seems politically incorrect that a preconceived notion that a good writer must write an outstanding personal statement in 500 words should exist. If you can enlighten me on the reason why writing less than 500 words necessarily demonstrates writing proficiency, I will fill my app with less bitterness in my mouth. So, for example, why not 700 words for a cap? The 500 word thing is loosely rationalized, we do it, “because it is”.
Also,
Many colleges are resorting to multiple short essays" for their supplement. It used to be one could expound about more word-consuming topics on the Common App. Now applicants lose out on opportunities to elongate on personal statements. Effectively, a cap is a lose-lose for an applicant. Thus, I am unhappy.
I hope this isn’t the case that I am right and this IS a loss for applicants.</p>
<p>Why do we have to self report AP exam scores? </p>
<p>I don’t think that’s fair. It’s not required by any colleges for admission.</p>
<p>You can choose to omit any that you don’t want to put.</p>
<p>That would be lying. It asks if we’ve ever taken AP exams and what the scores were. </p>
<p>Then after accepted and I want to get credit, I wouldn’t be able to use junior year AP exams because I said “no” on the app</p>
<p>It is not dishonest to not record AP test you’ve taken. For example, Let’s say I took the SAT I twice and got a better score on the second on all sections but chose arbitrarily not to put the worse one on the CA. If you report a valid score, you’re done. You are required to be honest about WHAT you got on the exam if you put it down.
It’s only dishonest if your school says all testing must be sent to them and you don’t send all of them.</p>
<p>Only if that school uses score choice ^^</p>
<p>But if the question asks “have you taken AP exams. If so, which ones and what were the scores” leaving something out would be dishonest.</p>
<p>Then I’d go an email the admissions office of your colleges of choice to check if it’s okay omitting AP scores on the CA, if you won’t redeem them for credit. If it is a widespread policy (to report all AP scores), please please PM/post again to tell me.
Please understand that I wasn’t trying to seem dishonest playing the supposed “Devil’s advocate”.
Truce?</p>
<p>Yeah, I apologize if it seemed like I was attacking you lol. I wish the OP would respond. But yes I’ll email.</p>
<p>@JoonBug8120: The easiest answer to your question about why you should limit yourself to 500 words is this: Common App colleges DO NOT WANT essays of more than 500 words.</p>
<p>Keep in mind: this is not about The Common Application. It’s about your colleges and their expectations. You can argue all you want about how 500 is an arbitrary number (why not 700, as you ask). And, to an extent, you’d be right; no one is going to take the time to count how many words are in your essay, particularly if the physical length is in the 1-2 page ballpark . But without a recommended limit, students who now feel frustrated and restricted by the ne limit would probably wind up writing far more than necessary–in fact, far more than is helpful. There is a law of diminishing returns when it comes to essay length, which is why the 500 word limit is more useful than you think. A little bit over or a little bit under won’t make a difference. But students who do not stop writing until they feel they have given full justice to their stores–without any regard to length–are almost always the ones whose essays will get skimmed rather that read. And that is not what you want.</p>
<p>WinstonWolfe, Let me ask a different but related questions then. </p>
<p>I had thought one of the purposes of the Common App was to streamline applications so that students could express themselves but feel that they had were able to give a complete picture of their individuality for colleges. The new common app only has 10 places for Extracurriculars instead of 12 and now the essay is capped at 500 words. </p>
<p>Some students create “resumes” to further define themselves to colleges because they feel that there is not enough room to do so on the common app. I think the resumes are kind of redundant since they end up repeating some of the same info.</p>
<p>Doesn’t reducing the EC list to 10 and reducing the essay encourage more students to keep adding these resumes instead of feeling there is enough space on the common app to get their accomplishments highlighted? Colleges end up receiving more, not less to read.</p>
<p>Lakemom–</p>
<p>First off, you should know that representatives of Common App’s 414 (soon to be 461) member colleges are the ones who debate and ultimately approve any changes to the application. (We also include school counselors in the review process to make sure that the student perspective is not lost.) Therefore, the changes that The Common Application association releases each year are ones that the colleges themselves want to see. So to answer your question, colleges do not think that reducing ECs from 12 to 10 or inserting guidance about maximum essay length will significantly hinder a student’s ability to present himself or herself, and neither do the counselors we consulted.</p>
<p>As for whether or not the reduction in EC fields will prompt more students to send resumes, I would suspect not. A student who is inclined to send a resume would probably send that resume regardless of whether the app itself had 10 or 12 or 20 or 5 fields. I also think students would benefit from comparing what colleges are asking for with what they feel compelled to send. I know a counselor who, back in the days of paper, would sit down with a student and his or her completed application and separate the pages into two piles. Then he would point to each pile and say, “This is what the college is asking you to send. This is what they are NOT asking for but you are choosing to send anyway.”</p>
<p>More is rarely better. Sometimes it’s just more.</p>
<p>Thanks! I think resumes are fine if you have something special to share but I agree, more info isn’t necessarily better. </p>
<p>What I have trouble determining with the Common App is what a student who does not have rigid club membership or sports with X numbers of hours a week as their ECs are supposed to do with the limited space. How to show strong interest or passion even if they are not putting in 5-10 hrs every week, Fall, spring and summer. It is those “soft” interests such as photography or woodworking that one doesn’t do every week that seem harder to list.</p>
<p>I agree with lakemom, I have many ecclectic community service projects that are interspaced throughout the year. Im not entirely sure how ill list that.</p>