<p>So for the short answer on an EC I know it says 150 words or fewer and it also says 750 characters maximum. My current response is 154 words and 866 characters, so I'm way over, but when i look at it on the pdf version I still have one or two lines of room and it hasn't stopped me typing yet. So does it really have to be that short?</p>
<p>If they say 150 words and 75o characters, then make it 150 words and 750 characters or less. You’re not doing yourself any favors by ignoring the instructions.</p>
<p>Follow instructions.</p>
<p>Colleges have more qualified applicants than they want to handle. Reducing the number of applications they have to consider eases the burden of trying to decide which of 10,000 outstanding applicants (after the bad ones have been removed) should be awarded 1,000 spots.</p>
<p>Failing to follow the instructions gives them an excellent excuse to make their job easier by getting rid of your application.</p>