<p>I've written an essay for the CommonApp personal essay (250-500 words) but there's one huge problem... it's 761 words long. </p>
<p>I really like the essay and I think it showcases my voice and it's very "me."</p>
<p>Is 761 words really too long? And would colleges rather see a brilliant essay that's too long or an average essay that's within the limits?</p>
<p>You should try to cut it down.</p>
<p>“Jeffrey Brenzel, dean of undergraduate admissions at Yale, said he did not stop reading if an essay ran long, but ‘if they go over the limit, the stakes go up.’”</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/29/education/college-application-essay-as-haiku-for-some-500-words-isnt-enough.html[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/29/education/college-application-essay-as-haiku-for-some-500-words-isnt-enough.html</a></p>
<p>I have a 700 word essay as well. As for the stakes going up, that shouldn’t be a problem if the quality of the essay also goes up…</p>
<p>so I guess its a gamble you make. better essay and higher standards, or more mediocre essay but held to lower standards.</p>
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<p>Your analogy doesn’t hold water. Longer does not always mean better and shorter does not always mean mediocre. Quite the opposite usually IMO.</p>
<p>That’s true, but sometimes a couple of added words allow you to develop the personalities of characters and do a more thorough job of considering the implications of the event(s) described in the essay</p>
<p>Seriously, cut it down. Colleges would rather see an essay that’s brilliant yet short. A college essay can only be brilliant if it can convey a powerful message with a limited amount of words ← what an admissions officer from a top 30 school told me. It’s way harder to write a short essay than a long essay while having the same impact. </p>
<p>“If I’d had more time, I’d have written a shorter letter.”
― Mark Twain</p>
<p>It’s true that if the quality of the essay gets better, you’ll have a better chance. But that has nothing to do with length.</p>
<p>You need to remember, admissions readers are reading these essays in their spare time- while they are watching the superbowl, eating lunch, lying in bed. After reading a couple hundred, they will know which ones are long and cliche. Make sure you have that in mind.</p>
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<p>That’s a lot more than a couple of words, it’s 40% more than the max. Edit.</p>
<p>Entomom, you have forced me to reconsider my essay and I am now in the process of cutting it down.</p>
<p>It’s like when people ask adcoms if they prefer better grades in easier classes, or worse grades in AP/honors classes. The answer is always better grades in AP/honors classes.</p>
<p>The same goes for the essay. Would they prefer a better essay in more words, or a worse essay in fewer words? The answer is that they’d prefer a better essay in fewer words.</p>
<p>And don’t say it can’t be done. Because it can. You’ll just need to work hard to get it to that place.</p>
<p>one of the reasons colleges limit the number of words is because they want to know how well you can write in a limited amount of space. a good writer can say everything he/she wants to say in the 500 word limit and most importantly CAN CUT DOWN!!! </p>
<p>yeah it’s hard… i cut mine from 800 to 500. it was hard but it made my essay better. </p>
<p>i really would advise against submitting an essay more than 500 words (if it’s 505 words… it’s fine…) but submitting a 600 or 700 would reflect really bad on you.</p>
<p>wow, I just surprised myself. I cut an essay from 466 down to 250. now, my common app essay is getting cut down too!</p>
<p>I would try to cut extraneous things out. For some supplemental essays with a limit of 500, I am hovering around 52-530 words. I think this is ok, because I doubt colleges go through the trouble of counting every single paper. WHen they say 500 words, I just assume they want about a page long. Good Luck!
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1233618-chance-me-i-chance-back-please-drexel-swarthmore-bu-bsmd.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1233618-chance-me-i-chance-back-please-drexel-swarthmore-bu-bsmd.html</a></p>
<p>Mine was 1,500 words. It’s now 700. 150 more to go, and it should be good enough, right? 50 words over is what…2 sentences? I hope they don’t care/notice.</p>
<p>Keep it under 2 pages and its fine. I think mine was 600ish, but my GC said that it didn’t really matter.</p>
<p>[Is</a> a 600-Word Common Application Essay Too Long? - Ask The Dean](<a href=“http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/archives/is-a-600-word-common-application-essay-too-long.htm]Is”>http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/archives/is-a-600-word-common-application-essay-too-long.htm)</p>
<p>513 words. i’m sending this thing in.</p>
<p>^Congrats, I think the editing will serve you well. Best of luck!</p>
<p>What about length in pages? Mine is 1.3 single spaced, and a little more than two doubled, but it had over 900 words. I’ve already cut out 400 words worth of prepositional phrases and passive voice errors, and all that’s really left is the most valuable points of my paper.</p>
<p>@eenspons Again, it CAN be done. And if you really want a better chance, you should try to cut that back. It’s nearly double the lenth they requested. You might think it can be done but I can guarantee you, if you try hard enough, you’ll be able to do it.</p>