<p>They say a minimum of 250 words, but they leave you hanging on a maximum. Left to my own devices, I am in severe danger of (as one great mind put it) "giving myself too much rope" and ending up hanging myself in the excess of my words (see also: this post). Anyways, I know that its the quality, not the quantity, but seriously, these admissions officers have to read soooo many essays, I'm sure that no matter how well written an essay, there is a point at which it is simply too long. What is that point?</p>
<p>Am I hanging myself with 1,250 words?</p>
<p>I've heard 250-500 words is a good amount to put in an application essay.</p>
<p>Yes, 1250 is immediate suicide. I heard they throw those out.</p>
<p>Place 500 as your limit, and if you really MUST write more limit it to 550.</p>
<p>I was taught 250-500, 500 being an absolute max.</p>
<p>going by what the common app says, who recommend 600 words i think? that ought to be around your max. plus ten percent, 650 (i think) should be your upper upper limit if you have anything *more*meaningful to say and cannot be described with less than the word count you have</p>
<p>Twelve fifty? Two pages plus? Way too much. 500 to 600 is right on.</p>
<p>The essay I used for Brown, JHU, CMU, two scholarships, and a BS/MD program was 750 words even though all of the essays said 250-500 words. Unfortunately I couldn't express myself in 500 words and the result: I got into all the colleges and I got the two scholarships. So if you feel like your essay will be ineffective if you adhere to the word limits then by all means go beyond them because an essay reader will not care about length if the essay is truly amazing. Then again I would say for a "250-500 word essay" don't go over 750 words unless you feel your essay will keep the reader's eyes glued to the page. </p>
<p>Also make sure to show your essay to others (especially your english teacher) because they can help you reduce your word count by getting rid of unnecessary wordiness.</p>
<p>I'd say don't go over 1,000 words, period. I think 1,000 words might be too much, in any case. If you absolutely need 1,000 words, you might be trying to convey too many ideas in one essay.</p>
<p>But other than that, there's quite a lot of "breathable room" when they give you word limits. I know the essay I submitted to MIT, Columbia, and Brown was 770 words and I'm fairly certain there were some recommendations about not going over 500, but I thought that if I tried to cut it down any further I couldn't get it to work right (it was more of a narrative than an expository essay). </p>
<p>Wordiness is generally a factor to be considered...and think of selection of detail - what details in your essay are absolutely necessary, and what details can be skimmed over without too much detail? Those need to be defined.</p>
<p>theyre not going to kill you for even being a couple hundred over. The standard rule is at MAX, one page.</p>
<p>the moment it becomes a drag to read for the adcoms. I would definintely not go voer 1000</p>
<p>Wait...the long essay can't be 1000 words? I thought that if they didn't give you a limit like the ones that are less than 500 words, you can write a longer essay...</p>
<p>I'd cut it in half it I were you.</p>
<p>around 500 is a good number to aim for. or just go for one page. you really shouldn't use more than 1000 ever.</p>
<p>Yeah, my English teacher said not to go over 500 unless it's absolutely necessary.</p>
<p>I don't think 500 is exactly the max, but just be concise, and you'll be fine. But yes, going over anything more than 750-800, is just a;lkdsfj;laksjdf.</p>
<p>JULIA CUT DOWN THE NOOSE I can't believe you've written an essay.</p>
<p>just make sure it all fits into one page; do not go over a page. this will usually give you room for 800 words. this should be your max. leave all the other details for other parts of the application and/or interview.</p>
<p>Most high schoolers can't write concisely over 1,000 words. No offence, but it's true. I think 500 words is so that people who really can't write well don't feel pressed to. Read it out loud and see how long it takes. some writers are very fluid, or use many short words, so 1,000 words may only take 5 minutes. Others(most) have a rigid, thick style, so it would be best for them to keep it short. If you're not Capote keep it under 750. If you are, keep it under 1,500.</p>
<p>
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If you are, keep it under 1,500.
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definitely never go over 1,000 if it asks for 500. these are high school seniors applying to colleges. at least let them know you can follow directions.</p>