<p>Today I was filling out the short answer section of the common app and when I wrote it on word I had exactly 150 words. Now, the common app is telling me that it won't fit. I read somewhere else that it could be the character spacing which it is, but then I am forced to use smaller and unsophisticated words to get all of my ideas across. I even previewed the common app on pdf and it was fine, it didn't cut any of my words off. I just don't want to submit the app and then it may not go through because of this. Will it still be okay?</p>
<p>I found this on the Common App support center: </p>
<p>"We strongly advise all students to follow the short answer essay instructions by limiting the response to 150 words. Since the online system cannot enforce a word count for technological reasons, the Common App has imposed a 750-character count maximum, but that does not precisely correspond to 150 words since words vary in length.</p>
<p>Please do not add any special formatting or unnecessary spaces since these will be counted in the character count.</p>
<p>A character limit counts the letters in a block of text, as opposed to the number of words. Characters include letters, numbers, punctuation, spaces, and anything else you can type into a text area. You can check the character count in some word processing programs. In Microsoft Word, highlight the block of text you wish to count, select the Tools menu, then select Word Count. Look for the character count <em>with</em> spaces."</p>
<p>I would say if you just change a couple of words, you’ll be able to condense your answer so the app doesn’t have a problem with it and you can still get your point across.</p>