<p>OMG!! Why are all the limits like 300 characters? Is it okay if I add my essays to the additional info part?</p>
<p>I'm guessing they value eloquence.</p>
<p>heh I remember that one.. I spent more time editing my why columbia 5 sentence answer than my essay due to the limit / line quota...</p>
<p>"OMG!! Why are all the limits like 300 characters? Is it okay if I add my essays to the additional info part?"</p>
<p>because the ad officers need to also sleep between january and april.</p>
<p>if it's a problem then, approach it differently, look at the word count before you write your high school thesis in that box, and accordingly explain one or two specific ideas meaningfully and succinctly.</p>
<p>Every school has similar issues with the apps.</p>
<p>GAH!!!!!!!!! (this is an expression of empathy.)</p>
<p>***!!!! (this is frustration.)</p>
<p>*%!#$%TA)(R %Q54orew& (this is the Columbia app, in brief, under 300 characters, with no hard returns.)</p>
<p>Yes, this is a painful application. I don't know what half the questions are asking (or if I do, I can't work out how to answer them).</p>
<p>"Please do not fold" is also annoying. Too bad I didn't realize we could do everything electronically until after my counselor report/recs were mailed in.</p>
<p>i heard they do not want another essay for the additional info......</p>
<p>Don't use extra essay space. There are limits for a reason - they want to see how succinctly you can say what you mean (and they don't want their time to be wasted.)</p>
<p>Too bad I didn't realize we could do everything electronically until after my counselor report/recs were mailed in.</p>
<p>You can still do your app online. They expect that things like counselor reports and recs will be on paper and mailed. Your part of the application, however, can be submitted online.</p>
<p>news flash... all apps are extremely annoying... thank God for january</p>
<p>I thought the Columbia online app was surprisingly easy to use, especially compared to Brown.</p>
<p>I feel that Columbia's app gives you the least room to elaborate on things, seeing as how the only want ONE essay and their short answers are all well, extremely short.</p>
<p>Use additional info if needed. I did, it's not a big deal.</p>
<p>Otherwise, I'll make sure I walk to Admissions and let them know of your distress.....</p>
<p>Would it be reallyyy inadvisable to attach a resume?</p>
<p>Do not attach a resume.</p>
<p>It sounds like they don't want anything beyond what they give you lines for regarding extracurriculars too.</p>
<p>Yeah... I hate to say it, but it really sounds like they're just judging you based on whether you were president of a club, or member of an honor society-- not based on how passionate you are about things-- because of the limited space.</p>
<p>Kristina:
Quite the opposite. They limit you BECAUSE they are judging you on your passions. How can you have more than seven activities which you are DEDICATED to and PASSIONATE about? It's pretty darn hard. A laundry list of your activities doesn't tell them about your passions; a concise 7-space activity list does. Columbia doesn't really care, for example, if you went to your school's chess club once every month; they care, for example, if you've been doing 20 hours a week of research in a cutting-edge field, or if you spend 20 hours a week volunteering at a local soup kitchen. Because passion is almost always a function of time invested in the activity, there's no way you could be serious about pursuing and dedicating yourself to more than seven activities on a regular basis!</p>
<p>What the bloody hell are you talking about?
They don't even ask how many hours you've committed to each activity!</p>
<p>wait so don't attach a resume???</p>