How long is too long for the common app essay that’s supposed to be 250-500 words? Mine’s just over 600, and I can’t really think of a way to cut it down without taking anything interesting out. Will anyone care if its 100 words over?
<p>Mine's about 590. It really shouldn't be that big a deal. No one is counting the number of words in your essay. Quality, not quantity.</p>
<p>Mine's 680. Doesn't seem to be a problem...it fits and all...counselor said it's alright as long as it fits on one page.</p>
<p>same- mine was 682</p>
<p>and those who say it shouldn' be longer than 50 words over can go shove it</p>
<p>Yea, honestly. people are far too uptight about this -_-</p>
<p>It's not a matter of being uptight, it's a matter of following instructions. I think if you are over by that many words, you just are not giving them the type of piece of writing that they are asking for. I don't read these for a living, but I could see how aggravating it would be to read piece after piece where the basic instructions were ignored. If it's 250-500 then 500 is clearly the absolute maximum. HS essays just are very repetitive and not too interesting to read.</p>
<p>If it said limit than you'd be right... but it says approximately. I agree that if you can cut it down do so, but if you cant, dont! All the admissions officers I have heard say "Are we going to count every word? No. But if it is over 1000 words we'll notice" I think anything around 700 is fine. THere are even people on these boards that got into their first choice college with a an essay of 750 words. You can do what you want- but don;t say that other people are wrong for having more</p>
<p>mines 850 and u can actually still fit maybe another 50 words, but im very confident about it.</p>
<p>I would stick as closely as possible to 500 words. Shows you can follow directions <em>and</em> write good, tight copy.</p>
<p>Last year, the on-line Common App warned that essays would be "truncated" (i.e., chopped) is they went too long.</p>
<p>I will post this again (from commonapp.org)</p>
<p>The 250-500 word limit is a guideline, and colleges do not count words. They do not mind if it is slightly longer/shorter, and value quality over quantity.
College admissions officers are far more concerned that the essay is well written, proofread (not just spell-checked), well thought-out, etc. Do not get caught up in the micro (words, spacing, font size, color of ink). They are looking for the macro: does the student write well and what can they learn about this person from his/her essay?</p>
<p>Mine is about 700. I didn't realize this at first because it fits on one page. I didn't think they would mind if it was just on one page.</p>
<p>I'm just going to repeat what everyone else said. All I've heard is that as long as it's keeping the adcom interested, it doesn't matter how long it is.</p>