<p>Are parenthesis indicating the "word limit" for the common app (250-500 words, or something close to those numbers) absolute? </p>
<p>Am I able to submit an essay with, say, 650~700 words?</p>
<p>you are. but i think the general consensus on this site (you’ll get a lot of conflicting opinions on it) is that 700 words is a bit too long and you should try to cut it down to under 600. the risk is that a longer essay might tell college adcoms that you don’t know how to or care about following directions, and it could annoy them. but some say that as long as it’s somewhere close to 500 you’re fine. in any case, the common app itself won’t prevent you from uploading an essay of any length.</p>