<p>Today I was filling out the Common App and I came to the essay writing section. It had several topics or I could pick my own. It had a 500 word/ 1000 character limit so I was wondering is this the "standard" college application essay that we write? 500 words seems realty short. I know schools have supplements but still, is this THE essay?</p>
<p>When I started writing my college essay, which I now have a rough draft of. I actually found that I had trouble filling the 500 word limit with good substance. It’s one thing to write an essay where every word adds to the overall piece, and another to write an essay where a lot of words are meaningless.</p>
<p>When you sit down and start writing it, you may understand what I mean. If not, good for you and more power to you!</p>
<p>Going over 500 isn’t exactly an issue, just don’t go overboard. The other essay with 1000 character limit, however, is actually a limit that you have to follow.</p>
<p>I think most admissions officers will read every word on the application, even if you go over. But you also might irritate them if it’s excessive, and usually the really, really long essays don’t say anything meaningful in the extra pages. Just keep it concise, and don’t worry about the word count until you have a draft completely done.</p>
<p>And also lacrosse is awesome.</p>
<p>Don’t write your essay yet! The essays for students applying to colleges for the fall of 2013 are not released until August 1st! Unless you just want to do a practice one, of course.</p>