<p>Alright, my main essay for the CommonApp is 1,100 words. I was assured by my GC that this was okay, considering the only requirements for it are a 250 word minimum. Now I come on here and see people saying that there's an unspoken 750 word maximum rule?</p>
<p>So...is 1,100 too long? It's only about a page and a half single spaced on Word, so it's not monstrous or anything. I've also gotten excellent feedback from everyone who's read it that it's focused, it has voice and style, etc. Everything I said is necessary to tell my story, so I REALLY want to avoid cutting it. (I should note that I repeat the first paragraph at the end of my essay for stylistic purposes, so that makes it about 150 words longer than it really has to be, but this repeat is really necessary to emphasize things and is an IMPORTANT part of the essay.)</p>
<p>Every student who comes onto these boards says, "Every word I've written is absolutely NECESSARY and IMPORTANT!! Do I have to cut it????"</p>
<p>Now consider the admissions counselor. She reads several hundred applications. Most of the applications contain essays between 500 and 750 words. Now she comes to yours, with 1100 words. She has several hundred more applications to read. How responsive do you think she will be to having to read a much longer essay? I know that I wouldn't be real happy with it, and unless you're another Faulkner, it'd be hard for you to convince me otherwise. And what do you think it will do to admissions if every student decided that his essay can't be cut? </p>
<p>It is much harder to write succintly and to edit down. There's an old phrase, and I don't remember who said it, but in a letter, it said, "Please forgive me for writing so long, but I didn't have time to make it short."</p>