<p>About what length are yours? Mine is currently 300 words, but I'm thinking of getting it to around 500 words so it will have some substance but not bore the reader.</p>
<p>Mine is ~330. Considering one of the prompts is a list of books you have read in the last year, I think that they’re not looking for a 1000 word essay. I think that 300-550 would be a good length</p>
<p>Thanks, that’s what I was thinking. I just wish my English teacher would accept a list of books I’ve read as an essay…</p>
<p>Ha. Good one Rush10. In any case, the admissions committee isn’t only interested in your writing abilities, but probably wants to find out as much as they can about you. I would find a (genuine) list of books you’ve read outside of class to be extremely informative and revealing. </p>
<p>(Obviously, such lists could be embellished, or even downright faked, but then, essays could be ghostwritten and content fabricated. At the very least, since books-you’ve-read is a topic that’s very likely to come up during the interview, it’s probably not a very prudent decision to exaggerated the list of books)</p>
<p>I was under the impression that the essay could be about anything, really, and that the list of books was just a suggested topic. Am I wrong in thinking this?</p>
<p>I wrote why harvard</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure the common app essay could also be about anything you want it to. In any case, apart from the interview, the 1-2 essays are the most direct method of projecting your personality. The more positively memorable the better! I personally think that a good list of books can add a lot of texture to my impression of a person I’m getting to know primarily by a series of documents; you can think of something else!</p>
<p>A UMRP student assistant advised me not to write a why Harvard</p>
<p>Although it is a why harvard essay, it is more about how some of the alumni I met changed my perspective on life and my new goal in life. And I am ready to pursue this “super unusual goal for asians” at Harvard.</p>
<p>Hmmm, perhaps I should reconsider my optional essay… It’s pushing 1500 words ): Do you think that a very well written, yet fairly long, essay would still be disadvantageous? I’m already sending in supplemental research/recc/video - I don’t want to seem desperate.</p>
<p>@AstroPhy: to be honest. I think it won’t do you any favors. Because of the giant number of anticipated applications, each reader really doesn’t have a lot of time. You won’t want to risk annoying the reader–even assuming the essay is really interesting. </p>
<p>There are some threads about whether one can/should go over the given word limit. My opinion is that while there’s no need to worry too much about going over by a bit, submitting something xtimes the recommended length is not really a good idea.</p>
<p>Mine was a bit less than 500 words. I just wrote on what I feel strongly about.</p>
<p>@WindCloudUltra Right, I wouldn’t want to annoy my reader. Thanks for the suggestions, I’ll mull it over some more. If anything, I guess I’ll have a cool essay for the future…</p>
<p>@rosencrantz Awesome username! Hamlet is my favorite Shakespearian play.</p>