<p>Cornell asks for a 500-750 word limit. My essay is a little under 800. Will this hurt me if I feel the need to elaborate on my familiarity with and interest in the school?</p>
<p>heck no</p>
<p>i did my essay with one of the more reputable college application helpers (i scoured my mind for about 2 minutes to try and think of a better word than helpers, you get the picture though), who said it didnt matter if you went over the limit...mine was a couple hundred words over the common app. limit and, pardon my lack of modesty, it was one of the better essays sent in for transfer admissions and i got into my school...so long as you find a way to keep your essay onto a single page (you can play with the margins a bit to make it fit), they won't care...if you go much over that one page though, it could well look like you are unable to convey your ideas in a pithy manner...</p>
<p>Admissions is quirky to say the least. I read a thing about Penn admissions where a kid from Kansas wrote a GIANT essay and they liked him for that because it showed that he loved Penn. 800 is fine! That's what a page? Don't worry about it.
Here is the piece I referred to if you're interested:
High</a> drama in the office of admissions | csmonitor.com</p>