<p>I recently read an article about when MIT changed the application format to 3 essays of 250 words rather than 1 of 500. Reactions were mixed back then, so I thought it would be interesting to see what current applicants think. If you don't feel like reading my thoughts on the matter, skip to the last 5 lines.</p>
<p>Before I started my MIT application, I thought: 250 words? Are you kidding me?
I doubt I've ever written a 250 word essay. Seriously. I like to get artsy in my writing, and show what I want to clearly. Usually, I'd only write one draft and proofread. Everything here changed.
With the MIT essays, I had to write, notice that the essays were too long, and then rewrite. I made 3 versions or more of all 3 essays, and not all ended up shorter than the previous one. Then I edited as much as I could, shortening the count.
The result? I still didn't manage to fit them into 250 words, but close enough for 2 of the 3: 270 and 275 respectively. One of them shrank the fonts in the preview PDF but that was due to the format (lots of paragraphs) rather than the word count.
The third ended up 325 words, after shortening as much as possible. Any further and it would've been illegible. The original essay was ~1000 words, and I'm still not quite sure how I shortened it that much. Though I didn't want to submit it that long, I literally couldn't find a way to shorten it without it suffering drastically, and on the preview the font wasn't decreased to allow it to fit, so I figured it's okay (according to Matt's latest blog post.)
I hated the word limit (rewrites and editing = not cool), but I think that it worked out for the best. In 3 essays, I managed to show more of my personality, though some of my writing style suffered and I kept out like one or two phrases in each essay that would've given more insight about me. If I could edit the application, I'd make the limit 300 words rather than 250, but keep the 3 essays rather than one long one. I enjoyed doing both the MIT app and the Common App. I liked both, each for its different style. I wrote 10 essays in total for colleges, and have 3 left (no rush on those though). And those numbers don't count rewrites and revisions. I loved it all :D (But then again, I like writing.)</p>
<p>What do you guys think of the limit? Too short? Just right? Prefer the common app format more?</p>
<p>(One thing I liked a lot more than the Common App is the ability to write about ECAs. I elaborated on each and gave my opinion, and only 1 of the 5 went slightly above limit [like 44 words].)</p>
<p>I’m not sure I have an opinion one way or another; I liked having more essays, but even 500 words is not that much (when I wrote my common app essay, I had to shorten it).</p>
<p>All but one of mine were under/at 250 words, and that one was around 270. I, too, read Matt McGann’s post in which he said “it’s ok if you don’t shrink the font” but I still thought it was important to get in the word limit. I guess it’s unique for everyone. Several of mine were shortened from longer (500-800 words) essays I had written previously (which had already been extensively edited). I shortened them and then edited again; I don’t think either suffered from the shorter word count. Ironically, the one I wrote specifically for the MIT application was the one I left longer than 250 words.</p>
<p>My one question pertains to the “Other” essay; mine was about 250 words like the rest and it ended up shrinking the font on the PDF. I checked and there was no word limit posted, and I didn’t feel like I could present my situation clearly in less words, so I left it. Hopefully that won’t be a problem.</p>
<p>Too short, I think all my essays were at least the word limit, but many were more. I tried to limit myself, but we all know how difficult that is.</p>
<p>@clarinetgurl
There’s no limit for the Common App essay, so there was no need to shorten it. And though I used the same event for the Common App essay and one of my MIT essays, I rewrote it and it still ended up 1000 words, then I had to shorten it (it’s the one that ended up as 325 words.) Tried my best to stick to the word limit, though.</p>
<p>Also, the ‘Other’ section has no word limit and isn’t just for a supplemental essay. And the font is ~7 anyway, even if you didn’t make it overly long. I tested one word in the section to see the default size. If you only filled the ‘Other’ part with 250 words, I guarantee you didn’t make the size shrink.</p>
<p>As I 've read somewhere, MIT tends to care about the content more than about the style. Therefore I think 3 short essays give us more opportunity to show our character than a long one.</p>
<p>Hmmm. I always feel like I want just a few more words (300 words perhaps? lol)</p>
<p>I prefer the shorter essays because they forced me to write about only one experience and keep my writing focused.</p>
<p>I I had to write two 500 word essay for another application and I liked them but I think it encourages “survey” type essay with too broad of a focus.</p>
<p>I like the 250-word pattern. It makes thoughts concise (I have an idiosyncrasy of going over details, so having to write briefly was actually a good point for me)</p>
<p><a href=“i”>quote</a> Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.</p>
<p>(ii) Never use a long word where a short one will do.
<a href=“iii”>b</a> If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
<a href=“iv”>/b</a> Never use the passive where you can use the active.</p>
<p>(v) Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.</p>
<p>(vi) Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
<p>^I particularly like the last one. It reminds me that writing has no basic rules, but ‘guidelines’, and that everyone can have his/her own style in it. It’s awesome.</p>
<p>I thought the word limit for MIT’s essays was good. It forced clear and concise writing. Also, for two, the questions were specific, in the way that you needed to pick one aspect rather than try to describe the whole you. Perhaps the “world you come from” essay needed a longer word limit if they truly wanted all aspects. But I suspect (and I wrote mine this way) that they wanted you to pick one of the suggested topics, rather than all as the question implies.</p>
<p>However, if the topic is not as specific as MIT’s were, then 250 words is probably not optimal. I personally disliked Stanford’s 250 limit when they asked “why Stanford” and “write a letter to your roommate”. I thought both were too broad and to sum up why I am a good fit at Stanford and describe myself in 250 words was ridiculous, particularly because Stanford does not interview (which, I suppose, would make it better).</p>
<p>the topics were great but the word limits were kind of stifling…</p>
<p>especially for the world you come from and the challenge faced essays…</p>
<p>i’m an Indian, and describing my world - and i only talked of school and community (they are somewhat linked) - in 200-250 words is nigh impossible…</p>
<p>also i felt that i couldn’t quite flesh out my essay describing a significant challenge and my dealing with it… :|</p>
<p>I like having several short essays to show your personality, and I think the word limits should definitely not be increased (the MIT application is already pretty long if you haven’t noticed). As for exceeding the word limit, there was a post on the MIT admissions website, where it was made fairly clear that exceeding the word limit is not a good thing. 270 is probably fine, but I don’t know about 325.</p>
<p>The font didn’t shrink, everything in my 325 word essay was necessary for the effect, and it’s really only a few lines longer than 270 if you think about it. I’m sure MIT admissions officers will notice that. I know brevity is good writing, but 325 is extremely brief when talking about a story (which I had to include.) All about context.</p>
<p>I don’t know why, but I’m obsessed with word counts and all my essays ended up either as 249 or 250 words… it was pretty hard cutting them down though. I was screaming “CUT! CUT! 5 MORE WORDS! 250 IS ONLY COUPLE MORE AWAY! CUT! CUT!” </p>
<p>I do understand it doesn’t matter at all as long as the font doesnt shrink, but I freak out if I go over the recommended limit nonetheless.</p>
(I have an idiosyncrasy of going over details, so having to write briefly was actually a good point for me)</p>