<p>Hello! It says that there is a 250 word minimum, but it doesn't make any mention of a maximum... so does that mean that there is no maximum?! If so, that would be F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C because I have a long story to tell (I would say 1000+ words). LOL Thanks for any help ASAP because I'm working on my damn essay tonight, and I don't want to write it the way that I want it and then have to shorten it by like 500 words. Thank you!</p>
<p>Try to keep it to 500 words. I know there is no specific limit this year, but in the past, commonapp essays have usually been around 500 words. If you go over by 50 to 75 words, you should be ok...but a 1000 word essay is definitely not ok. You might be very enthused about your essay, but unless your writing is EXTRAORDINARILY GOOD when compared with the tens of thousands of other qualified applicants, those extra 500 words will do nothing but hurt your app.</p>
<p>Hope that helps.</p>
<p>hey.
I'll have to disagree. Here's what I got from <a href="http://www.uuessay.com/newuu/wordcount.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.uuessay.com/newuu/wordcount.html</a> about the length of an essay:</p>
<p>ven though the paper Common Application advises that essays should be 250-500 words, this is not actually the case. By going to the Common App's website's Help section, (<a href="http://app.commonapp.org/index.cfm?APP=AppOnline&ACT=Display&DSP=FAQ#15)%5B/url%5D">http://app.commonapp.org/index.cfm?APP=AppOnline&ACT=Display&DSP=FAQ#15)</a>, scrolling down to Essay/Personal Statement, and clicking on "How long should my essay be," you will see: </p>
<p>The 250-500 word limit is a guideline, and colleges do not count words.
They do not mind if it is slightly longer/shorter, and value quality over
quantity.</p>
<p>College admissions officers are far more concerned that the essay is
well written, proofread (not just spell-checked), well thought-out, etc.
Do not get caught up in the micro (words, spacing, font size, color of ink).
They are looking for the macro: does the student write well and what
can they learn about this person from his/her essay?</p>
<p>Uniquely U. believes that the natural length of a college essay is around 750 words. In our 9 years of experience, no college has ever penalized a student for an essay's length. On the contrary. Quite frequently, admissions officers in their acceptance letters single these essays out for praise.</p>
<p>A second needless concern is that, when cut and pasted as text into the electronic Common Application, the essay will be truncated if it exceeds 500 words. Again not true. If properly formatted (no hard returns, no double spacing), essays of up to 999 words will appear intact.</p>
<p>This, by the way, is also the case for the short (150 word) response!</p>
<p>It is, however, essential to click the "Print Preview" button on the electronic Common App before finalizing the essay. This converts your application into a PDF file which shows a student how the essay (and his/her application as a whole) will appear to a college. If, and only if, the end of the essay is missing, a student can then make any necessary adjustments.</p>
<hr>
<p>Overall, the phrase "quality over quantity" should be used as a guideline for essays. To shorten it, just ask yourself, "what does each word in your essay get you?" or more specifically, "how does each word in the essay help describe you?"
If you find yourself being overly descriptive, off-the-topic, etc. in parts of your essay, you'll know where to cut. Oftentimes, you can shorten essays in half if you really know how to do it, without losing the tone or body of the essay.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, never stop yourself from writing a good essay just because someone tells you "hey, your word count says it's unnaturally longer than most other college essays."</p>
<p>My short answer is about 167....is that ok? Or should I cut it down?</p>
<p>bohbeep, I could not find that section with essay advice that you referenced. The link you provided does not work, and I was unable to find it under the Help section on my own. Could you please direct me to that section?</p>