Having served on an Adcom, all I can say is that an essay doesn’t have to be long to be brilliant. Sometimes it was an absolute joy to read an application. While I cannot recall a time when we penalized a student for going a few words over the word count, we did get many applications where the essays ended mid-sentence. Worse than flagrantly violating the word limit was the fact that the candidate didn’t take the time to proof read their application and notice that half their essay had vanished!
I should also mention that some teachers and counselors rambled on and on. Writing a good recommendation takes as much skill (if not more) than writing a good essay.