<p>I see that the American application allows only 50-75 words for the “Why AU?” essay. Is this a hard character limit? My daughter has some very specific reasons why she is choosing to apply to AU and even brutal editing has gotten it down only to just OVER 75 words.</p>
<p>I know American does place emphasis on demonstrated interest in admissions–it’s ironic, isn’t it, that one is limited to just a few sentences to express one’s reasons why AU seem to be a great fit?</p>
<p>Im almost glad is it this way. I feel like if i had to write an essay about why “AU” then it would be too much pressure. Did you see this on the AU app that’s one of the options?</p>
<p>@DeskPotato - I would discourage students from much more than 100 words, max. The fact of the matter is that we want students to “brutally edit;” it would be far easier to simply embellish with flowery prose rather than striking at the heart of one’s interest in AU. Besides, while the “Why AU?” portion is specifically geared to addressing one’s interest, students can still make this case in the essay proper and in a myriad of other ways. In my experience, the more concise, the less wishy-washy the “Why AU?” response is, the better it reads for the student!</p>
<p>If I remember correctly, the common app wouldn’t accept one word over the limit. My son tried!</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>She’ll keep editing!</p>