<p>It says that it recommends 500-650 words, i have 477. Is that alright?
My short answer is about the same at 479.</p>
<p>I think you have to have 500 words because when I inserted mine in the box the personal statement had to be 650 word no more than that. So I am guessing the minimum is 500 words.</p>
<p>I don’t believe that there is a minimum length requirement, seeing as it does say “recommended length” right next to the word count.</p>
<p>However, play it safe and hit 500 so that there’s no questioning it.</p>
<p>Some general tips I can give you to bump it up a mere 23 words is:
- Get rid of contractions (“it’s,” “I’ve”, “that’s”, etc). You will sound more professional this way too.
- Read through the whole thing and place in 1-2 words here or there where they can be added and not sound strange. 1 or 3 letter words still count as a word, so it’s fairly simple.</p>
<p>is it okay to go over 650? cuz it says “recommended”. mines around 850 and it fits in the box…</p>
<p>An admissions counselor from Yale once said, “A short bad essay is better than a long one.”</p>
<p>Not to say that your essay is bad, but going that much over the word count is indeed a bad thing. The admissions folks don’t have hours upon hours to evaluate your application just because it’s you – they’re stressed and on a deadline. So going 200 words over what they ask for is only going to aggravate them more.</p>
<p>And putting that aside, they use the essay as a means to see if you can correctly answer an in-depth question in the space that they allow you. They’re challenging you to get a point across effectively but as quickly and clearly as possible. Not adhering to these instructions can indicate a lack of attention and care.</p>
<p>Long story short, you will have to edit that essay down.</p>
<p>But in the case of the UW personal statement, it is also a recommended length, whereas on other applications the instructions are very clear if they are imposing a strict word count. Of course it is ideal to fit a wonderful essay within the “recommended” range, but if you go 50 words over on a spectacular essay, they will still be impressed by the essay as a whole. The adcoms aren’t going to receive it as “wow, that was an amazing essay, but it was 50 words over, so I don’t think they should get in.” </p>
<p>It definitely depends how much you go over and how much you can cut out, but going over a recommended range isn’t necessarily the end of the world.</p>