<p>i was wondering...the commonapp essay says to stay at 500 words, now is this a strict guideline?...or some what lenient? If it is lenient, how many words + or - do you think a person can go??</p>
<p>+/- 100 words is no problem at all.
However, if you are going over 150% of the length stated in the guide, which would be 750 in this case, then your essay would better have a good reason.</p>