<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>I'm trying to submit my Part 2, but one of my "challenge" essay is 280 words, and I physically can't cut it down any further. When I click "validate application," it won't let me submit my application unless it's strictly under 250. Is there any way to circumvent this, or do all essays have to <em>strictly</em> be inside the word limit? Thanks!</p>
<p>As you’ve noticed, your essay needs to be strictly inside the word limit. You’ll have to cut the extra 30 words. Good luck.</p>
<p>Learning to pare down your writing is a useful skill. </p>
<p>For example, your original question has 62 words:
</p>
<p>Here’s an edited, streamlined version, with just 43 words:
</p>
<p>That’s a 30% reduction, with the meaning intact.</p>
<p>Keep trying. You can do it! :-)</p>
<p>
26 words. :D</p>
<p>some colleges understand if you go a little over, but it just depends because when your essay is transferred into pdf, it could be cut off</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Even better!</p>
<p>OP: To learn to strip your writing of extraneous words, read William Zinsser’s book, “On Writing Well.”</p>
<p>The limit is NOT 250 words. It’s 275. I know because my essays were all over 250 but under 275.</p>
<p>I submitted my MIT app yesterday and many of my essays were 10-20 above the limit. I validated and had no issue. I checked the PDF and every word I wrote showed up, along with some blank space, so I could have even written more if I wanted.</p>
<p>Cisasteelersfan thanks for that! I had all mine down to 250 on the first pass but the extra 20 words improved them. :)</p>