<p>now i have two essays done.
one is 660 words
the other is 585 words
both exceed the limits of 500 words</p>
<p>is it ok if i send an essay with extra words?
or whether the extra words gonna be deleted automaticially by CommonApp?
i am so worried</p>
<p>plz tell me!</p>
<p>why don't you edit it?</p>
<p>i try my best to cut the words down
but didnt work
still beyound the limits</p>
<p>Ask yourself this: if you were on the admissions committee, would you accept an applicant LACKING THE ABILITY to edit an apparent final draft of an essay down from 600 plus words to 500 words or below... particularly when the original instructions stated the essay should be between 250 and 500 words?</p>
<p>ok
i am trying to cut my words down to 500 or below
but its really hard</p>
<p>temporary words :580(the 660 one)</p>
<p>
[quote]
Ask yourself this: if you were on the admissions committee, would you accept an applicant LACKING THE ABILITY to edit an apparent final draft of an essay down from 600 plus words to 500 words or below... particularly when the original instructions stated the essay should be between 250 and 500 words?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Adcoms won't bother about 580 if the essay is really good.</p>
<p>If it is not a really good essay, the danger is that they won't read to the end! That is probably about it.</p>
<p>Are there really -small- words? Try to find things you can hyphenate or contract... :p</p>
<p>add 6 more words</p>
<p>They won't stop reading after 500 words.</p>
<p>
<p>Well, here's what I can tell you. We're not going to reject you because of the length of your essay. We do not have an auto-word-counter for the online application. Also, I am not going to count the words in your essay. I have never even estimated the length of an essay response.</p>
<p>Really, quality is much more important than quantity. And some people, I know, do have more to say than what fits in 500 words. If that is you, I'd encourage you to show your essay to your favorite English teacher, tell him/her that your essay is currently longer than the recommended limit, and ask what advice s/he would give you. They may tell you to send in the longer essay, and if they do, I'd trust that. Or, if they recommend paring it down to restrict it to 500 words, I'd take that advice.
</p>
<p>you'll burn alive in hades.</p>
<p>The Gettysburg address was 286 words, certainly you can do it in 500 or less</p>
<p>I am a S applying to college this year. The early draft of his essay was way too long, so I've been monitoring this discussion on several threads. However, his GC (at one of the toughest prep schools around) feels that it is so unique and strong that even at 1100 words she doesn't think he should cut a word. She herself worked in admissions and feels the length thing isn't an issue if it's good. My S will have to send in the application on paper just to make sure the admissions person will see the whole thing. So, for what it's worth....</p>
<p>Ooops, I meant to say I HAVE a S applying.</p>
<p>You would need to add 6 words :D</p>
<p>i'd play it safe. unless you KNOW you're an amazing writer (regional/national writing awards, scholarships for essays, publications, etc.) that'd probably be the best advice since i've heard that "part of the task is to see if a student can condense it into 500 words"</p>
<p>plus most adcoms have been working for several years, if not even decades, so they know what parts of an essay are essential and what parts are not, so if they even find the smallest bit of fluff...</p>