<p>I've finished my essay for the common application. The prompt says 250-500 words but mine is 566. I've gone through it a million times and I can't find anything else to take out. It was originally 920 words and if I take anything else out it won't make any sense. </p>
<p>Will this really impact me or should I not worry too much?</p>
<p>Admissions prefer applicants to stick with 500 words. Use contractions when possible. If writing with is/are/etc, restructure sentence using active verbs. Delete unnecessary sentences. You might personally like the detail, but it might not be needed to tell your story.</p>
<p>I read somewhere (I think NYT) that the online site won’t take your application if the essay is over it. If possible, trim…</p>
<p>For this year, the essay is downloaded so words won’t counted. Starting next year, there’ll a strict word limit. However admissions readers won’t appreciate the extra words since they read way too many essays.</p>