<p>I want to write something very short and poignant and to the point. It would be quite a bit under 250 words. Would that be bad?</p>
<p>If you think it’s good, under 250 would be great. Don’t worry about it.</p>
<p>Personally I suspect the admissions officers are grateful when the students are brief.</p>
<p>Actually, I prefer when students make their essays longer so as to inflate the word count.</p>
<p>(For clarification: I do not actually prefer that)</p>
<p>Dan, how strict is the word limit? I have 284 words for one of the 250 word responses. Is that okay, or will it get cut off?</p>
<p>My essays were definitely over 250 words (I think they were both closer to 300) and I got in to Tufts. I think you’re fine!</p>
<p>Dean Coffin addressed the word count in one of his recent blogs. He said they’re more of a suggestion than a limit. You’ll notice that the Common App has a character count, not a word count. If you go over the 1,000/2,000 character limit on the Common App, then part of it will get cut from your application. (Be sure to preview it!)</p>
<p>The dean, and Dan at Voices, also said that we should use as many words necessary to get our point across. If you’re under 250 words but got your point across with everything you want to convey, good. Don’t add more just to fit the 250 word suggestion! All of my supplement essays were way over the suggested word counts, but I kept them within the Common App character limit. I got my point across, and I’m satisfied!</p>