<p>Long story short: I'm a Posse finalist and am submitting my application for Middlebury tomorrow. I have two versions of my essay.. one that is roughly 1,040 words. And another that is half of that. </p>
<p>The one that is 1,040 is a better essay, even with the length. Myself and teachers/people on CC I've shown it too have constantly debated whether or not I should use this version. On one hand, people tell me it's excellent and keeps the reader wanting to read even more.. that even despite the length I do a good job of keeping the reader engaged, so it shouldn't be a problem. On the other hand though, people say that even an essay written by the greatest writer ever shouldn't go that long. One college rep personally told me he doesn't even bother to go past the second page!</p>
<p>Though in this case, me being a Posse finalist and submitting my application early... should I use the longer, better version of the essay? Can anybody weigh the pros and cons? Maybe with regular decision I'd think twice, but since this is through Posse and it's an early application do I have more leeway?</p>