just checking...

<p>I'm working on my Vassar supplemental essay right now. It looks like the essay has to be under 750 characters, which is like 50 words. This seems incredibly short to me, so I"m just making sure I'm reading this right. Can anyone confirm?</p>

<p>If you're talking about the "why do you want to go to Vassar essay," then I'd say that that doesn't sound right at all. I applied a couple of years ago and ended up writing a couple of paragraphs for the response. It wasn't anything huge, but was certainly more than 50 words. Perhaps it is a maximum of 750 words rather than characters?</p>

<p>yeah i actually meant more like 100 words. but it's still pretty short!</p>

<p>It could be a character count rather than a word count and it could very well mean that your writing space is small. Yale has a character count as well. They aren't looking for an essay here, rather a statement of why the school is best for you and vice-versa. They constrain the size on purpose to make the applicant really get to the essence of why the school is the right choice.</p>

<p>My "why Vassar" essay last year was 2 pages. Unless they've drastically changed it, I would say that is incorrect. It's also possible that they have a word count recommendation, but not a definite limit. Are you submitting online, or in paper?</p>

<p>You might want to contact the admissions office to clarify the parameters of this essay.</p>

<p>The character limit if you type it into the application is actually 750 characters, but you're allowed to upload a longer document. However, I would think it should still be pretty short, so that you don't rub them the wrong way by making it twice as long as they wanted. 750 characters is kind of ridiculous, though. That includes spaces.</p>