<p>Hi guys,</p>
<p>My transfer essay is reaching the end of two double-spaced pages and is now 500 words on the nose. However, the common app only says that we have a 250 word minimum. Even though the ideal essay is 500 words in length, would it be a bad idea for me to break the last paragraph into two short ones and possibly go to 530 words at maximum to create a concluding paragraph?</p>
<p>Thanks guys!</p>
<p>I disagree with your premise that the ideal essay is 500 words in length (and sincerely doubt that there even exists an ideal essay, for that matter). IMO, you should shoot for 500-1000 words. 530 is totally fine - don’t sweat it unless the school explicitly says otherwise.</p>
<p>Tansferred to BC. Mine was 950</p>
<p>@Cestmattieu12, how did you get away with 950? What did you do in that essay to make it work?</p>
<p>He/she didn’t get away with anything necessarily - the requirements could have permitted 950 words. Moreover, your question regarding what he/she did in that essay to make it work is, forgive me, just silly. What does it even mean? What kind of meaningful answer can you really expect? </p>
<p>No one trick or gimmick will work for you - that’s the point of the personal statement: it has to be personal. There are rules of thumb, which are helpful, but what makes someone’s essay work for them likely will not be the same for you. Feel free to PM me and I’d be happy to give you some feedback if you’d like.</p>