<p>It says "essay may not exceed 500 words" on the application, but how strict are they on this word count?</p>
<p>mine is about 850 and it would be impossible for me to get it down to 500...</p>
<p>that's kinda too much. if it's like 600 it would be okay.</p>
<p>anybody else got an opinion?</p>
<p>If it says not to exceed 500 words, you're really pushing it to have 850. The people who read all the apps don't have the time or inclination to read close to twice as much as is supposed to be submitted. I think that would be a negative for you. I don't know how much it weighs, but if you are borderline on GPA or SAT scores, you'd be better served to cut it down. Ask a friend, parent, or English teacher to read your essay and make suggestions for cutting it down.</p>
<p>that makes sense, but it also says in various pages for it to be 2-3 pages, and mine is 2.5 pages double spaced size 12 font.</p>
<p>this is the reason why i think it might be ok, but im still not sure</p>
<p>I called up and asked them, and they kind of gave me a reserved "yeah thats fine", but just warned me to send it as an attachment or it will get cut off in the text box</p>
<p>Ok, so you're saying that if you send the essay as an attachment then it can be longer than 500 words? Just wondering because mine is about 600...</p>
<p>yeah thats what the woman on the phone told me</p>