<p>Approximately how many words should the essay be? Thanks.</p>
<p>Essays plural. You need the common app essay plus the supplementary. Supposedly they should be 500 words, but my sister's kid wrote almost 1,000 words for each and got in!</p>
<p>Edit - your screen name says a lot. Bowdoin wants people who WANT to be there, not people using it as a safety, and they can sniff them out. BTW, I know of people who have turned down Princeton and Dartmouth for Bowdoin, and my sister's kid was a double legacy at Yale but wouldn't even apply since Bowdoin was the first choice (got in ED).</p>
<p>Right, that's why the school's one of my top three choices. There's really no need to be brash about it.</p>
<p>"Brash?" YOU'RE the one who picked the screen name, not me, implying that any school NOT in the Ivy League was a "bust!" :-)</p>
<p>Do you realize he is probably 17-18 years old... which is atleast 20 years younger than you... most likely. I think he just has high hopes and wasn't really calling anything other than ivy league bust, he msot liekyl picked the screenname</p>
<p>a) because it sounds wicked ****ah
b) is a good indicator of his high hopes
c) is clever</p>
<p>I don't think anyone really thinks poorly of Bowdoin jsut because it's not ivy... it beats some of the Ivy's in many ways, which is fairly well known.</p>
<p>Anyhue,</p>
<p>can't we all just get along?</p>
<p>love</p>
<p>Drew</p>
<p>Brash: adjective: definition b. Hard, harsh, rough</p>
<p>(From the Oxford English dictionary)</p>
<p>So maybe he was just saying he felt you were being a little harsh with your criticism of his screenname. </p>
<p>:-p</p>
<p>Actually, you cannot tell tone AT ALL from typed messages. That's why in the 2nd reply I put in the little smiley face. </p>
<p>When I wrote that Bowdoin wants people who really want to be there (and this is an absolute fact that I know first hand), rather than people using it as a safety, I was BEING NICE. I was PROVIDING USEFUL INFORMATION. I really wasn't be sarcastic, rude, etc. I understand the OP may have been a little touchy and quick to put the worst possible spin on what I said, but what I said was something applicants need to hear; it was GOOD, not harsh.</p>
<p>Anyway, in writing an essay or in any other part of the application, it WILL HELP if Bowdoin has a reason to believe that you want to go THERE, rather than to any-and-all top schools. :-)</p>
<p>OK? That is all I meant.</p>
<p>Yeah, don't sweat it. Thanks for the response.</p>
<p>Well, besides the main common application Essay, Bowdoin has the option of one of the two supplement Essays:</p>
<ol>
<li>Letter to your roommate.</li>
<li>What do you like to do for fun?</li>
</ol>
<p>In the prompt it has the words "brief." I don't think 500 to 1,000 words is brief?</p>
<p>I would go with whatever the Common App essay length is. Thats what it was last year (I think 500 words).</p>
<p>Have any of you guys done the letter?</p>
<p>I find it hard to write the letter in a way that shows my personality in a positive light without coming off egotistical.</p>
<p>Any ideas? Past experiences?</p>
<p>I did the, "What do you like to do for fun?" Essay.</p>