<p>The common app says "150 words or fewer" for the extracurricular essay, so obviously they want it short, but I just CAN'T sum up this one activity in just 150 words! In my additional info section, I elaborate on a few of my other ECs for more than 150 words apiece, so if this is my main one, shouldn't it take even longer? Is this all too much information? I just want schools to have an informed picture of me... isn't that what they want? As long as the school doesn't explicitly say they don't want more info (like Stanford), is it okay to give them plenty? The character limit is 3500, so I get the feeling people go over... how much is too much, is what I'm asking.</p>
<p>151 is too much. If you want to elaborate, put it with the additional info section. That way, admissions readers can ignore them if they want to, so they don't get annoyed that you're forcing them to read more in the extracurric short answer.</p>
<p>I would stay under 200. Going over is fine if you are writing well.</p>
<p>150 words of fewer means just that. Brevity is very appreciated. Put it in the additional info section.</p>
<p>Excellent, thanks!</p>