<p>On the common app, my daughter is having trouble cutting down her personal statement to match the 500 word limit. The specifications for this essay say 250 to 500 words, however at the bottom of the box where you input the essay it says that no more than 6,000 characters will be allowed. The amount my daughter is at right now is a little over 1,000 words and 5,000 characters. So could she technically put the essay in if it is over 500 words, but less than 6,000 characters?</p>
<p>In other words, 6,000 characters allows for more words than 500 words does... So which limit does she adhere to?</p>
<p>Also, is there a word limit set for the additional information essay? It states 6,000 characters but does not state a word limit. 6,000 characters seems very generous.</p>
<p>1000 words is way too much. If it says 500, you shouldn't double the amount of words. You can have more than 500, but be careful not to be repetitive and add unnecessary detail. If you cannot fit the char limit, you have written way too much. I would say try to cut it to 750 and leave it at that. Colleges will never sit and count words, but if it is clear that the student wrote way more than 500, they may stop reading or take note of it. If the essay is pulitzer prize worthy, they wont care how long it is. If it is nothing special (and it takes a lot to be considered special) then 1000 words is going to hurt.</p>
<p>Both my kids submitted essays that were well over the length specified in the common app instructions to their various colleges. My son's essay was around 1000 words and he was admitted to 8 out of 9 colleges that he applied to; my daughter was admitted to 9 out of 12 college and her essay was around 700 words. I don't think it's that big of an issue as long as the essay is well written and and flows easily.</p>
<p>Others disagree with me and place great importance on following instructions. My kids placed importance on writing something they were happy with. But its probably a good idea with a long essay for your daughter to get someone else to read it to give an opinion as to whether there are parts that can or should be trimmed or cut out.</p>
<p>The biggest problem with individual experiences with the length of essays is that outsiders will NEVER know if a candidate was accepted because of his or her essay or accepted in spite of them. I have read essays of students who were accepted at every one of the schools they applied to and submitted essays of ... 2,000 words. Of course, they had perfect tests scores and all the bells and whistles one might imagine. </p>
<p>My theory is that it is safer and .... much better to stay WELL within the maximum number of characters and words. Simply stated, there is no reason that something that is written in 1000 words could not be made BETTER in fewer words. No reason whatoever. </p>
<p>Unless a student has the talent of a future Pulitzer prize winner, I would advise to display some humility and some concern for the poor readers who have to slog though thousands of well-meaning but pretty horrendous essays --all submitted by people who placed too much importance to each of their words. </p>
<p>I remember a Yale adcom saying something to the effect of that 'we will definitely read everything submitted, but we'll wonder why it took so long to make your point, when the competition can do it in half the space'. For 99% of kids, 1,000 is just too long, IMO. As Calmom suggests, ask a counselor or someone else to read it and make suggestions for shortening.</p>
<p>If I recall, the character limit also applies to the "Other" section, which is useful to highlight EC's, awards, etc.</p>