<p>I'm having some trouble staying within word limit. Like for example, the Cornell supplement say only 500 words but mine is like 573 words. Are they going to not accept me because i went over the limit?</p>
<p>573 is fine i think, keep trying to cut it down, but its fine the way it is. 600 might have looked bad however.</p>
<p>do they actually know how many words you used?</p>
<p>It's likely that they'll notice. At a few of the information sessions I attended, it was made clear:</p>
<p>"Admission officers will stop reading essays after the word count is exceeded."</p>
<p>So, I guess, make sure you make your point early. Think about it - as an adcom do you want to know approximately how long it should take to get through the thousands of apps you get? Or would you rather be surprised every time at the length of essays?</p>
<p>I sometimes exceeded word limits, but only after I made sure there wasn't anything superfluous. I could be wrong, but I would be surprised if admissions officers really stopped reading after word 500, especially if the essay is good. I wouldn't exceed 600 words though.</p>
<p>Word limits exist so that admissions officers don't get 10-page crappy essays that remind them how big the pile of applications on their desk is. I doubt they exist to force applicants to reveal less about themselves.</p>
<p>Our college counseling office said that the importance is that it not be boring or repetitious. Our question is whether you double or single space your essay?</p>
<p>What has been said by admissions personnel is that they would like for you to stay within the limit, that going a little over is usually not an issue, and that they will usually read it even if you go more than a little over but that they find that applicants who do so universally demonstrate that they should have devoted far more effort to editing their essay.</p>
<p>shave that essay down if the ideas contained in your last 573 words are important. I would advise your target to be 500 +/- 30 words.</p>
<p>Send it to someone to see if it's repetitive or not. Sometimes you can't detect it yourself as the author, but a reader (and a fresh pair of eyes) can.</p>
<p>yes it is important you don't want your essay to be too long or too short</p>