<p>I have 506 … but the 6 words are part of the title … sooo should I cut down 6 more words or leave it at 506? Because it’s exactly 500 not counting the title.</p>
<p>Am I the only person that submitted a 683 word essay? Oh well.</p>
<p>I had 504 I think- including the rather longish title. Hope they don’t kill me for it. I’d really tried every single grammar tactic, believe me.</p>
<p>mine was 588 words and i asked my counselor and she said it should be fine…</p>
<p>The maximum is 500, so cut it down. </p>
<p>It’s a pain, but I managed to cut it down from 544 to 498. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>My daughters was about 620. It was edited and re-edited and cut. Cutting any more would have sacrificed meaning. Everything that I’ve read says thet 500 is a guideline not a hard limit. 800 almost always too long, but if it’s a tight 600 or so, you should be fine. They’re not counting the words - they’re reading them. (unless they’re counting the words in your essay as a sleep aid)</p>
<p>Mine was ~660. Honestly, I don’t see how an extra 1-200 words will totally destroy your chances of admission. 500 words is so arbitrary. It could just as easily have been limited to 536 words, or 820 words, or anything really. I think 500 is just a nice, round number. Of course, some here on CC will claim it shows I can’t read directions or whatever, but I just didn’t think 500 words was enough. My counselor (who used to work in admissions at a decent private university) and my English teacher both said it would be fine, because my writing style tends to be a bit dense/verbose, so it warranted the extra 150 words. If you can get your point across AND preserve your voice in a sub-500-word essay, then by all means go for it; it’s quite a gift to be able to write concisely and well.</p>
<p>I also want to point out a variable so that people are not so hard on themselves if they go beyond the 500 words. </p>
<p>My son’s English class wrote common ap essays for an assignment. I asked him if the teacher had made a point of reminding the class to stay in the 250-500 word limit. He told me no, that some essays were longer than his which also is over 500 words.</p>
<p>That means that while the cc community is fairly obsessed with this word count, english teachers and classes across the land may not be so focused and many students are likely to have longer essays than the current recommendation.</p>
<p>So I was checking the Cornell University Admissions blog questions out of curiosity, and I was just browsing through the comments, and I believe an admissions officer was answering questions in the comments (I’m not entirely sure whether the replier is a legitimate officer, probably is). Someone asked whether the supplement 500 word limit was strict. The reply was:
“…it is in your best interest to follow the guidelines as much as possible. While we will not be counting every word, you should make every effort to not go too far above or below the word limit.”
Here’s the link:
[Application</a> Questions and Answers | Undergraduate Admissions Office](<a href=“http://blogs.cornell.edu/admissions/2011/10/31/application-questions-and-answers/]Application”>http://blogs.cornell.edu/admissions/2011/10/31/application-questions-and-answers/)</p>
<p>Again, I’m not entirely sure if this is truly legitimate. If it is, I’m assuming it’s the same general idea for the main essay. So try your best to get in the word limit, but don’t be too stressed if it’s a LITTLE over the limit (in my opinion, don’t go 50-60 words over).</p>
<p>I have around 515, and I’m pretty sure I won’t be penalized for having a sentence and a half longer than the limit.</p>
<p>Mine clocked in at 550. It was about a page and a half, so I’m not terribly concerned. It’ll be interesting to see if adcoms open up any about essay length after the first round of reading them.</p>
<p>I saw several posts that were almost like a mom waving a chocolate bar and telling her kid that he will never see chocolate, if he doesn’t abide by every single rule she has decided on. </p>
<p>Having talked to several admissions officers, having seen candidates accepted regularly at the top US schools with essays exceeding the limits, I will say - chill out. No one will start counting the words. An essay might be 500 words, extremely tedious to get through and quite repetitive. It can also be 700 words, enjoyable to read and with ideas that cannot be outlined in 500 words.</p>
<p>Where I am getting is that meaning matters MOST. As long as the essay is reasonably long and written well, no admissions officer will start counting the words. My advice will be - keep it within one page. ;)</p>
<p>Here is a really good NYT article on the topic - <a href=“College Application Essay as Haiku? For Some, 500 Words Aren’t Enough - The New York Times”>College Application Essay as Haiku? For Some, 500 Words Aren’t Enough - The New York Times;
<p>Mine’s about 540 words. It’s 3/4 of a page, just enough. As long as its below 600, preferable under 550, its fine. A little longer more is ok</p>
<p>Do you need a title for the common app personal statements? Would it help or does it just take up word count?</p>