<p>How much over the usual 500 word "limit" can you go without arousing suspicion or affecting admissions chances?</p>
<p>It depends. If doing the app electronically, some systems will cutoff after so many characters. So try loading in your long essay, then reviewing the pdf output of what the school would get. I wouldnt try to push more than 600 words, even if there is no other electronic limit, but that is just me.</p>
<p>There technically isn’t a word limit on the commonapp essay. 500 words is a good essay though. As long as you don’t go overboard (1000 words+), you should be fine if the essay is good. On the essays that have word limit (many supplements), try to keep those as close to 500 as possible.</p>