<p>what do you guys think?
i just love it so much and I can't put it into 250 words lol... so many things to talk about</p>
<p>just edit it down, maybe 300 words is ok, but 500? what are you doing? thanking professors?</p>
<p>mine's about 450...but I put a lot of heart into it. I'm sure it won't detract from the application if it's a bit long as long as it isn't filled with meaningless stuff.</p>
<p>mine's like Ladros': 450 words full of heart. if it's good, i say leave it.</p>
<p>mine's about 400, and it's like... 3/4 full of heart. </p>
<p>I say, just as long as you can fit it on one page!</p>
<p>I really advise against going beyond 250 words. If you do, one, it shows that you're not a disciplined writer, and writing is essential for a school like Duke. Two, people using the online app can't go beyond 250 words at all, a pop-up will show up at your 251st word and any word you type afterwords will cause the first word of your essay to disappear. I don't think Duke would give the paper apps people an advantage by letting them go over the 250 mark.</p>
<p>Reeze, dude, I wrote a 450 word one. It's cool. They really don't care. Word limits are more like guidelines anyway.</p>
<p>The Common App supplement only says that you should write 1-2 paragraphs. There's nothing about word limits.</p>
<p>No, read the instructions. "No more than 250 words" is what it says on the supplement. Have you tried going over 250? It's physically impossible.</p>
<p>As long as it's good, and actually has heart, they do not care. I printed off my app supplement, attached my essay, and sent it in.</p>
<p>I think a school like Duke will care if it's potential students can manage to do one of the most basic tasks that makes a successful individual: following directions.<br>
There's also a smaller issue of trying to become a disciplined writer, one who can express what she means with the fewest words. That depends on how much Duke values students who can write. Well if you can't even follow directions, I suppose you shouldn't worry about this just yet.</p>
<p>Anyway, do whatever you want, it's your app, I'm just trying to help.</p>
<p>"a. (REQUIRED) If you are applying to Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, please discuss why you consider Duke a good match for you. Is there something
in particular at Duke that attracts you? If you are applying to the Pratt School of Engineering, please discuss why you want to study
engineering and why you would like to study at Duke. Please limit your response to one or two paragraphs. You may use the space provided or
attach a separate sheet."</p>
<p>If you want to go over 250 words, send it by mail. But if they cut you off online, they definitely don't want you to go over by too much.</p>
<p>450 words? That's really crazy. My "Why Duke" statement was only 137 words... my common app essay was only 441 words!</p>
<p>I was accepted ED into Duke.</p>
<p>yeah, i wasn't aware there was a word limit. It just said limit it to a page, so i did. But i did the Duke app.</p>
<p>Never saw a word limit on the paper app, only a box which mine would fit in if I played with margins and size. I'm sure an extra 30 seconds of reading isn't gonna be the end of the world. I want to go there. It just took 450 words.</p>
<p>Do you guys think it is beneficial doing the Duke app. I did their own and I hae had several people tell me it was a waste of time...</p>
<p>^ technically, you're not supposed to have an advantage one way or another. I hear they prefer online, though. I only did it on paper because i didn't have any other common app schools at the time. </p>
<p>And yeah, on my paper essay i did some major margin cutting, and i think i did 1.5 spacing. huh.</p>
<p>I just did the Duke app and it does not cut off after 250 words. At least not in the common app supplement, I don't know if it has a different possible online form. I typed 251 words, nothing happened. But I cut it back down to 250 anyway.</p>
<p>it has a 1500 character cutoff, not 250 word cutoff. Usually, 1500 chars is about roughly 250 words. In my case, i had to go below 250 words, because on my essay, 250 words was greater than 1500 chars.</p>
<p>Ya,, I turned my 500 word essay into 250 words EXACTLY and it cuts it off at 1500char on the common app.</p>