<p>My main essay is 566 words long, and my two short ones each 136. How much need I shorten these essays? </p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>There was a discussion a few weeks ago about essay length: you can find the entire thread here:
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=84935%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=84935</a></p>
<p>In that thread, Ben Jones said,
[quote]
In my blog I did say "50 words over the limit isn't a big deal, don't worry about it. People who totally ignore the limit and submit 1000 words, however, are telling us something about their ability to write a concise essay..." In other words, it's not a strict limit, but don't abuse that policy - the reader(s) won't appreciate it if you do.
[/quote]
so you might take that as an OK to submit a 566-word "500 word essay". :)</p>
<p>I speak as a former editor for a magazine company: a good round of editing can almost always take 10 percent off the length of an essay while improving the quality. </p>
<p>(I'm sorry I didn't edit this before I posted it. :) ) </p>
<p>Good luck on your application. Don't worry about the essays once you're sure they are saying something meaningful.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>