<p>I understand that an essay topic should should demonstrate your character and personality, and as an obvious ground rule, be well written and grammatically correct. But I'm not sure how long it should be- I can't seem to find any sort of limitation on the Common Application website. Still, is two pages a fair standing or should it be longer/shorter?</p>
<p>Minimum 250 for the common app. The range for a “good” length varies from 600-800 words. Really it depends. If your essay doesn’t drag on and say unnecessary things, then it can be on the longer side. Keep proof reading it. Maybe you can cut down a bit. Maybe your essay is fine.</p>
<p>this info is basically what I gathered reading around the forums.</p>
<p>In my experiences with taking to admission officers at UT at Austin, UCLA, and BC, they have all said that they would read an essay thats about a page and a half…and rarely up to two pages with interest if it is really gripping all the way. So, if your paper is over a page and a half, around 550 words, I would make sure that each word onwards is really worth it. Thats just my input, but please feel free to make your essay as long as you feel necessary, Galib2011.</p>
<p>The general CC consensus is somewhere between 500 and 750 words. There are essays that are longer and still effective, but be careful–if you have an uninteresting/bad essay that also happens to be a 1000 words, you’re not doing yourself any favors. And generally, even longer essays can be cut down significantly once you get a feel for what you’re trying to say and know how to trim off the excess.</p>