<p>Okay... I am having many, many essay problems.</p>
<p>First of all (and yessss, I realize that this topic has probably already been covered extensively, but I'm going to be that annoying person who asks a common question again instead of using the search bar), how important is the 500 word limit? Other applications seem to suggest the limit rather than set it as explicitly as MIT does. My essay is 580 words...</p>
<p>Secondly, I had always thought that my essay fit prompt #2. It's a bit humorous, and this experience obviously didn't feel like the END of the world... but it was still a somewhat scary experience. My mother, however, read my essay, and told me that "there's no way that I'm getting in" if I use this essay. Could anyone read my essay and tell me if it is as terribly off-topic as my mother says it is? I realllllly don't want to rewrite my essay three days before the EA deadline, but I also don't want to submit an essay that is completely irrelevant to the prompt.</p>
<p>Aaaanyway, I was just hoping to get a second opinion on all of this. Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>i can help you out. i actually had that problem but fixed it :]
and i dont really think that an essay within 100 words of the limit is much of a problem</p>
<p>MIT isn't too strict about essay lengths. Obviously if you write 5000 words for a 500 word prompt, there’s something wrong, but 80 words isn’t ridiculously off. A teacher once told me that 10% over or under the limit is usually ok, but if you can’t cut those extra few words, it’s not the end of the world. When you give it to others to look at, ask them if they see anything that can be cut – if they do, cut it. If not, don’t worry. Speaking of other people editing it, you can pm me if you want, but keep in mind I’m also applying his year, so if you don’t feel comfortable giving it to me, don’t worry.</p>
<p>i got my friends to look over my essays today, mainly for small mechanics like grammar and spelling. It definitely helped since I been staring at my essays forever and it is nice to have someone else look at it. My essays definitely flow a bit better now that my friends had a look at it.</p>
<p>btw they are also applying this year, but they are friends and we have very different subjects and experiences. so yeah. do keep that in mind though!</p>
<p>The wordl limit is just a guidance. Do not write an off-topic essay. If you like the essay and it is coherently written based on your perception of the prompt, you should keep the essay. This way you are writing to reflect your true self. You do need peer proofreading, though, before you send the essay.</p>
<p>A good guideline for essay length: can the reader tell that the essay is over the limit? If it's close enough that the reader would say it's about 500 words, that's fine. If it's noticeably longer, that's too long.</p>
<p>Thanks for answering what is probably an annoyingly common question!</p>
<p>Both my English teacher and my friends liked my essay... My mother thinks that I should answer the prompt in a more literal way, though. I mean, yes, my approach to the question is a bitttt risky... but I feel as if it sounds more like me.
(I suppose that I just answered my own question).</p>
<p>I think being considerably under the limit is almost certainly better than being considerably over the limit. As long as you're saying everything you need to say, being concise is rarely a handicap.</p>