<p>How much leeway do you think there is going to be on the essays? It says the essays should be approximately 150 words, but mine are all 170ish. Is that too much, or is that what they mean by "approximately"?</p>
<p>the maximum is 2000 characters so mine are all ending up around 300 words…idk.</p>
<p>I think you’re fine with ~170 words</p>
<p>I had very similar discussions with my son when he applied last year … </p>
<p>What I told him was the following: Just ask yourself, what would the college have asked for if they wanted an essay with about 300 words? They’d say “about 300” … this means, 300 +/- x words … when you express “x” as a percentage, you probably can judge it easier … +/- 10 or 15% is absolutely perfect; 50% is probably on the fence, but still acceptable - 100% will probably raise an eyebrow … </p>
<p>With your 170 words you’re perfect - no worries.</p>
<p>My daughter just uploaded her essay into Notre Dame’s supplement and had to re-edit as it was too long. I agree with vikings…it depends upon the number of characters. Good luck!!</p>