The common app site itself says the following in its FAQ…
How long should my essay be?
<pre><code>The 250-500 word limit is a guideline, and colleges do not count words. They do not mind if it is slightly longer/shorter, and value quality over quantity.
</code></pre>
College admissions officers are far more concerned that the essay is well written, proofread (not just spell-checked), well thought-out, etc. Do not get caught up in the micro (words, spacing, font size, color of ink). They are looking for the macro: does the student write well and what can they learn about this person from his/her essay?
<p>It's all about quality and flow. It doesn't matter how long it is. An 800 word essay will sound like a 400 one if it flows well. A 400 word essay will sound like an 800 word essay if it is written poorly.</p>
<p>In short, the common advice given on this board is to be very concise. I argue that this is wrong and that if you write a quality essay that flows well, you don't need to worry about length.</p>
<p>However, if your essay is horrible, by making it over the word limit, you will be hurting yourself.</p>
<p>I argue that you misuse "concise" - good writing is concise. Concise does NOT mean "short"; it means clear and to the point. A 5000 word essay can be "concise" if the author "eschews surplusage" - Mark Twain's 14th rule for writing. Essays "flow well" WHEN they are concise. </p>
<p>Another good rule: When a college does the writer the favor of specifying a range for the essay's length, </p>
<p>Obey the range.</p>
<p>To the OP: If you don't obey the range, you could be seen as a writer who can't control him/herself. Sure, the essay might be beautiful, but they asked for 250-500 words and you gave them 750 - I'd call that sloppy, defiant, and possibly self-absorbed, no matter how concise (using the proper definition of the word) the essay is. </p>
<p>Sure, if they said 250-500 and you gave them 512, the extra length would be overlooked. However, submitting an essay 1.5 times longer than the maximum word limit is foolish.</p>
<p>it still fits 3/4s of a page, i mean we are really talking about an extra paragraph, i dont quite see how any admissions person would take such personal offense to reading another 60 seconds of words, the common app said its a guideline itself, the colleges did not write the common app, im sure they are used to getting all kinds of crazy essays, and slighlty long would not be so out of the norm.</p>
<p>They said write an essay, i wrote one, i think they will be happy</p>
