<p>A really effective way of determining the word limit (if you are submitting electronically, there is a word limit for absolutely everything) is by repeatedly copy and pasting a good sized paragraph into the text box given. Eventually, a pop-up box will come up indicating the character limit. For each of the Barnard essays, there is a 1750 CHARACTER limit, including spaces. Make sure you are clear on whether the limit is for words, characters w/o spaces, or characters w/ spaces. This applies to all common app. applications.</p>