<p>Are they very strict with the word count? My current essay is 512 words, will that be a problem or should I try to shorten it?</p>
<p>Your word count should be okay. The purpose is so that students don’t write a long, crappy essay. Common app doesn’t actually check the word count, so you’ll be fine. my essay is about 610 words, so I hope I’ll be okay.
Oh, and try to shorten it as much without losing content even if you’re not worrying about the word count.</p>
<p>Thanks for answering! :’) It ended up being 515 words, and I really couldn’t shorten it anymore.</p>