Common App word limit- is this new?

Applying to College Common and Coalition Application
1

<p>In the Common App 2012 preview, the directions state:</p>

<p>Please write an essay of 250 – 500 words on a topic of your choice... blah blah blah</p>

<p>250-500 words? I always thought that it was just 250+? Considering that the "250-500 words" is highlighted, I'm assuming that this is new for the class of 2016?</p>

2

<p>Yes, it’s a new addition. However, the 500-word “limit” is a suggested cap.</p>

3

<p>are you sure it is a “suggested cap” though? It states pretty clearly that the essay should be between 250-500 words; it doesn’t say it should be around 500 words.</p>

4

<p>Yes, it is a suggested cap, not a hard limit. You can go over 500 words, but don’t write an 800 word essay, for example.</p>

5

<p>[Common</a> Application sets 500-word limit on main essay - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post](<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/common-application-sets-500-word-limit-on-main-essay/2011/06/02/AGZg7WHH_blog.html]Common”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/common-application-sets-500-word-limit-on-main-essay/2011/06/02/AGZg7WHH_blog.html)</p>

<p>This article suggests that the word limit is a maximum. I would play it safe and not go too much over 500 words.</p>

6

<p>What was it before?</p>

7

<p>I think before it was just a minimum of 250 words…most people tried to keep their personal statements around 650 words or so. Now, I guess there are a lot of applications for every school, so admissions officers don’t really want to read that much.
I have a couple of drafts for my personal statements, the longest is 530. I wouldn’t go over too much. Chances are, you can probably omit a lot of unnecessary things.</p>

8

<p>It’s not a hard limit:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/12495293-post21.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/12495293-post21.html&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>The poster is a representative of the Common App organization.</p>

9

<p>Official guidance on this question can be found in the Common App Support Center: “Because the essay is an uploaded document, the online system cannot enforce a word count. Nonetheless, applicants are expected to adhere to the instructions specifying a range of 250-500 words.”</p>