<p>kflames, I would agree, the essay is definitely the most important part of the application at GS. </p>
<p>i agree, the essay will carry the most weight. start early and spend a lot of time on that. but youll still need a solid or high 3 gpa. if you cant get that at a community college then you wont survive at columbia. </p>
<p>Need advice ASAP. My essay is 2810 words and it is very difficult for me to cut out words because I am covering from when I was born to age 21. And I need to cover this time period - my essay is based on what happened to me in this time period. If I take 1 word out, my essay will crumble. Is 2810 words OK? If you were me, what would you do?</p>
<p>Hey Stein, if you want, message me your essay. I’ll read through it and see if I can give a better opinion on what you should do.</p>
<p>Can you PM me your email?</p>
<p>Just submitted part 2, let the waiting game begin</p>
<p>Dz11375, I actually did a lot of revising and my essay is now 2020 words. What do you think with 20 words over the limit?</p>
<p>And h201991, did your recommenders submit everything as well? Is everything submitted and processed? </p>
<p>I’ve read through numerous posts on the subject of going over the word limit on the entrance essay. The consensus, and this is backed up by the a lot of the applicants receiving admission, is that it is OK to go over. The important thing is getting your story across. I think 800 words might’ve been a little too much, but you will be fine at 2020 words. </p>
<p>I have heard that people have gone over the 2000 word limit. However, I just received an email from an admissions manager at Columbia GS, and now I am not so sure. The email is below:</p>
<p>The autobiographical essay should be no longer than 2,000 words. It is best to be respectful of this requirement. There is a 500 word optional essay. This may be helpful if you wish to include additional information you were unable to cover in the autobiographical essay.</p>
<p>Question regarding Extracurriculars: Long story short is I do not have any, so my Service, Honors or Awards, and Activities sections of my Part 2 are basically empty.</p>
<p>Long story long: I work full-time, but was never in the military, do not have children, and the only volunteering I did, I quit after less than a year volunteering for them due to differences with the organization. I have been out of high school for 11 years and have been going to school at night after work for 8 of those years and everyone knows that all the award type stuff at community colleges is only really available to people who are lucky enough to attend school during the day. And to be quite frank, realizing it was time to transfer kinda snuck up on me because I did not think I would ever transfer.</p>
<p>I’m not whining and it’s not like I can change what I have done (or lack thereof, at this point), but how much will this affect my chances of getting accepted? I would hate to come off as lazy in my essay. There were some semesters in my community college career that I had personal issues to deal with and to be quite honest, I am an introvert, so I guess that’s why I don’t have many extracurriculars.</p>
<p>oldtransfergirl, its not a death sentence. totally fine as long as you can balance your lack of extracurriculars with perhaps strong grades and test scores. the most important elements are the essay and academic statistics, then the recommendations. extracurriculars arent all that crucial. at least in my opinion. </p>
<p>Thanks for the vote of confidence, @pocketsqman! I was hoping for that. I have a pretty decent GPA and recommendations. I am taking the GSAE later this month and have been studying for it for about a month. Here is to hoping my essay makes up for my GSAE, just in case I don’t do too well. HA!</p>
<p>Hey guys! Current GSer here,</p>
<p>Stein614, the 2000 word limit is a wet-concrete kind of point.
A few words over to finish your sentence and close your thought is okay but anything over an additional 100 or so words and I would recommend revising the essay.</p>
<p>Believe me when I say there are numerous professors on campus that will give an assignment with 500 words or less and if one were to go over they would be penalized.</p>
<p>Oldtransfergirl,
The EC portion is really just to a way for an individual applicant to highlight another aspect of themselves. Countless applicants have been in your same positions and that’s okay. The admissions team is really just trying to learn more about yourself.
Obviously academics (and the propensity to do well academically once transferred…) are superior to everything else. Your story will speak for itself as we are all unique. :)</p>
<p>Please let me know if you have any other questions. It seems like yesterday I was where you are and now i’m out the door. </p>
<p>-JNC :(|)
*CA Native
*PoliSci Major
*Active in Extra Curriculars @ Columbia</p>
<p>How many LOR are you all sending?</p>
<p>My essay was ~2900 words, plus I had another 400ish in the supplement. At the time I felt I needed it all, but now that I’m a better writer (thanks Columbia!) I’m sure I could get it to be a better 2000 word essay. </p>
<p>JNC, you’re not out the door yet! Just one foot ;)</p>
<p>Guys, which part of the application can I send my resume?</p>
<p>@Stein614 ! Yes all the recommendations have already been submitted. It still says processing for two of my transcripts and the application fee but it takes them a while to update the files so I’m hoping they have everything by the end of this week.</p>
<p>@Stein614 Part 1</p>
<p>Did anyone take the GS exam? Or did most take the SAT/ACT within the last 8 years? If so, how did you do?</p>