<p>The engineering idea I wrote about is just quite complicated and I'm worried that if I'm too concise the admissions officer won't understand it. It's kind of theoretical physics-ish and I used 506 words to explain it... then there was the why Cornell part and where I got the inspiration for the idea...</p>
<p>Is 901 really too much? I can get it to fit on one page by shrinking margins. From what I've heard for other colleges as long as it's actually interesting it should be fine, but then Cornell actually explicitly said maximum of 500 sooo..... there's no way I'm going to get this down to 500.....</p>
<p>i’d say yes.</p>
<p>i had to double check the maximum too, they require 500</p>
<p>you could probably get it down, remove anything that would make it complicated and just use simple stuff. i can go look over it for you</p>
<p>Who is going to be reading these essays? Is it the regular admissions office or the engineering people? Like, can I expect them to know what a Casimir vacuum is?</p>
<p>it will be the admissions officer for the engineering departmnet so they will probbably be people who understand engineering</p>
<p>“I used 506 words to explain it”</p>
<p>do you really need that many words to explain it</p>
<p>[btw cornell is all fit based so the adcoms should understanding, if all else, you could aattach an addendum letter]</p>
<p>Another way of viewing the situation would be: would you be willing to take the risk that they may get tired of reading the entire theoretical stuff and instead just skimmed through the essay you spent so many hours on?</p>
<p>Cornell asked for an engineering idea… if they’re going to be ticked off by theoretical stuff, then I guess I’ll be glad to get rejected then. What’s the point of trying to make something if you don’t even know why it works?..</p>
<p>i mean its up to you they specify a limit, you should at least honor it</p>
<p>they should understand the premise of what it is</p>
<p>Well, then take the risk and just send it in:) After all, you already wrote it. We have no idea how detailed or technical your essay is… I mean, I would tell you to summarize your project a little more in layperson’s terms, but that’s a pointless suggestion.</p>
<p>Honestly, they’re not going to throw out your essay just because it’s over the word limit. You just want to keep whoever’s reading your essay engaged the entire time. At least, that’s what I think, but I’m just another high school applicant who’s also getting frustrated over her own application essays…</p>
<p>Just remember, the purpose of the essay is to get to know you as a person (and to demonstrate your amazing writing skills) using and idea in engineering. Think, if over half of your essay is on defining something, is the essay really about you?</p>
<p>As cool as physics is, unfortunately, the admissions essay is not a good place to go into great detail about the mechanics of every concept.</p>
<p>Good luck! =]</p>
<p>Well the physics background info is really short, just a few sentences. I didn’t write anywhere near half on that. </p>
<p>I don’t know how I can cut stuff out of my explanation. I showed the idea to my physics teacher a prior version that was worded more concisely and he had to read it a few times to understand it, so I added in some more detailed explanation. I think the admissions officer would rather read it once than have to go over it again because he/she doesn’t understand it entirely. Or do they even care about what your idea is?</p>
<p>Anyway, I think I’ll just send this in then.</p>
<p>when I was at the Cornell info session, the woman literally said “some might ask, “well if I write an amazing essay and it’s over five hundred words, is that okay?” but it is not okay because we have applicants who will write just as amazing essays in 500 words and under”</p>
<p>so just from hearing that I was really careful but your words seem to be useful so who knows, I applied to CAS so i didnt really have to do THAT much in the essay.</p>
<p>Yeah, adding the extra stuff then may be a good idea. After all, if your physics teacher didn’t understand it the first time around, I doubt the admission officer will either :]</p>
<p>Actually, I sent in a brief summary of my research for Northwestern, and from I wrote, I know with certainty that an admission officer would have absolutely no idea what I was talking about for most of the short essay, and probably wouldn’t really care what I wrote about anyway. But I think the Cornell essay is a little different in that it’s supposed to be a more accessible writing… anyway, I’m just ranting.</p>
<p>I originally didn’t see the word max, and wrote almost 1,000 words. I managed to cut it down to 500, I’m sure you can too.</p>
<p>You’re almost 100% over the limit, so I think there could be a problem. The challenge of college essays is that you have to say what you want in a very short piece. I would at least try to cut it down to like 600. </p>
<p>“it is not okay because we have applicants who will write just as amazing essays in 500 words and under” - a very good point. Think science writers - they are incredibly skilled at making complicated ideas accessible to the general public.</p>
<p>If I was the reader, I would not be too happy unless it was extraordinary.</p>
<p>^^ I’m going to agree. Just turn the situation around and imagine you’re an admissions officer.</p>
<p>It’s early February and you have to read thousands of pages of paper and review hundreds (if not thousands) of applications. Its wet and cold outside. You have a headache from all the small print and staring at the computer screen and you probably have a cold…ok I’ll stop with all the details now. Bottom line: here’s an essay that’s almost twice what you asked for & somewhat complicated to boot…</p>
<p>I’d try as much as possible to cut it down.</p>
<p>you should cut it down. if you cant do it, have your physics teacher/english teacher/parent help you</p>
<p>I go in, and my supplement essay was close to 800 words.</p>
<p>I also emailed an admissions officer, and he said that they don’t really care about word limits at Cornell. If you truly have 900 words of good material, the length should not be a problem. However, if you are verbose and see phrases that are clearly unnecessary within your essay, cut them out.</p>
<p>To conclude, the length DOES NOT MATTER. It’s the material that matters.</p>
<p>If there are people writing about theoretical physics there is no way I’m getting into Cornell engineering.</p>
<p>bah</p>