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hen I applied last year, I suggested a length of 400-500 words. I thought that I could not express my argument in such few words and basically ignored the limit. I ended up with 2 pages (~1000 words).
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<p>Eh, I basically tried to fight for words. I was around a 100 words short on my UChicago essay, but I still got in.</p>
<p>Just follow the directions.</p>
<p>So you're saying that if my essay was 526, 557 words, 583 words or 612 words that that would be frowned on?</p>
<p>What cant be said in a few words is probably not worth saying. In general, it is a guideline but a hard guideline.</p>
<p>Unless the word limit is recommended (which some are), I would make every effort to follow it explicitly. Usually I advise writers to draft the essay without concern for the word limit and then edit it down until they reach it. This will force you to use words economically <em>after</em> deciding what you really want to say and will even force you to consider the value of each point you make. Most writing contains a lot of extra verbiage anyway.</p>
<p>Good Luck!
NateLab
<a href="http://www.the-writing-center.com%5B/url%5D">www.the-writing-center.com</a></p>
<p>Remember, the Gettysburg Address was 272 words. Short can be brilliant.</p>
<p>When I was working on my short answer questions for college apps it was very difficult for me to cut them down to only 250 words or so. When I made my essays more concise I forced myself to think about what I was trying to convey and cut out anything that didn't make my point. As a result, my essays got MUCH better in the process. I've read a lot of essays where applicants claim there is nothing they can cut and they are almost always wrong. I would recommend trying to cut it down to the word limit if only to improve the quality of the essay. It's also shows that you respect the admissions officers requests and their time. If the limit is 500 words and your essay is 514 words if it can fit in the space provided you're fine. But I think 600 or 700 words is too much. It won't keep you out of the college, but I think you will both improve your essay and show respect by cutting it down as much as possible.</p>
<p>Wait, I'm confused. The common app says they'll stop you after 6000 characters. I have 567 words in my unedited essay right now and its only about 3500 characters (with spaces). What's going on?</p>
<p>They technically give you room to write about 1000 words.</p>
<p>700 words--princeton didn't mind.</p>
<p>iv4me, what was the recommended limit?</p>
<p>They have to read hundreds of apps, so the guidelines they give you are just that, guidelines, not hard and fast rules. They want to know what you have to say, not how much you have to say. They definately don't count words.</p>
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<p>i dunno who's already said this but.... i think its ok if ypu go over a little bit bu being concise is key to being a good writer; it shows you know your stuff and thar you can articulate it as well</p>
<p>Let's put it this way:
Quality >>>>> Length of Essay
Period. Don't stress if your essay is 100-200 words over the limit...for the most part. It depends on who is reading your app as well. Admissions officers are people, and some people are more irritable than others. </p>
<p>If after, several drafts and a two to three reads by other people, it is still over 500 words, two things are possible:</p>
<p>The essay is great; stop scratching your head to find 20 more words to cut.</p>
<p>-or- </p>
<p>The essay is bad and no matter what you do, you can't save it. It's probably full of fluff and doesn't have enough substance. </p>
<p>Anyway, the point is, there are plenty of people who get in to great schools each year who write slightly less, exactly around or over the word limit.</p>
<p>Less is more. :)</p>
<p>it honestly depends on the school. more elite schools will actually know what a 500-word essay will look like.</p>
<p>One of my friends knows someone who was once an admissions officer and she said that if you apply online, they actually will definetly stop reading at 500...</p>
<p>I too am having this same problem, my essay is 548 words. Now that we're getting closer to the actual admissions deadlines, does anyone else have any thoughts?</p>
<p>Why don't you try to cut out those extra 48 words? You can do it. You will sleep better!
After I did my 6th revision, my essay was 821 words. I thought I could not cut it any more. It seemed perfect. I read it after a week and started deleting some things and rewriting a few sentences. When it came to be 506 words, it was the most perfect essay I ever wrote!</p>