<p>Writing concisely is a skill. Not many people are good at it. So applicants should recognize that they too probably aren’t good at it and should set an arbitrary cutoff for themselves.</p>
<p>It is easy to say when you are not a student, Miss Counselor.</p>
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<p>I find it ironic that it took Mr. Reider 655 words to come to this conclusion.</p>
<p>At the heart of the essay limit issue is that the number of applications to selective colleges has skyrocketed. The admission committees are no doubt overwhelmed by the daunting task of reading essays, recommendations, and evaluating scores and grades.</p>
<p>So while a 500 word limit may be inadequate for many applicants, longer essays are likely to irk the reader, and they are unlikely to be read with care. So there’s not much choice for the prudent applicant but to “keep the essay short and to the point”.</p>
<p>In the business world a succinct resume is expected in the early phase of the job applicant’s selection process, especially when there are hundreds or more applicants for a position. Here though the resume is the precursor to an interview process. And most businesses today invest considerable time in this phase.</p>
<p>College admissions committees rely on written material (sometimes exclusively) to make a final selection decision. Something is lost by limiting the essay to 500 words.</p>
<p>@ohgosh, I completely agree with you.</p>
<p>Intellectual growth never ends, nor does the ability to write well and articulate your thoughts. Some aren’t able to develop those skills in high school, whether it’s due to the education they received or lack of emphasis on said skills. You go to college to further improve your skills; you’re an unfinished product when you enter and by the time you leave, you’re likely a more polished version.</p>
<p>To say that you shouldn’t be admitted to college if you can’t write well is beyond ignorant.</p>
<p>^Are you suggesting that people who have not sufficiently mastered written communication should be admitted to rigorous colleges? How well would you have done in, say, senior English if the teacher were teaching to ten-year-olds in the same class?
While it’s true that people may take a lifetime honing skills, there is a pragmatic bare modicum of mastery required to attend college. Moreso at some schools than others!</p>
<p>I would be careful bandying about the phrase “beyond ignorant” when on the face of it your own comments are not particularly well-reasoned.</p>
<p>Personally I feel as though 500 words would be a perfectly reasonable limit. Yes, I could write four pages about how great a candidate I am, but I could also say it in 450 words. One just needs to structure what he or she wants to say about himself or herself and be concise.</p>
<p>If the common app essay topics were short and sweet like the EC paragraph, people wouldn’t be wrestling over 500 words. Writing about a significant experience in 250-500 words is a challenge for most, even adults.</p>
<p>It’s just a “guideline”?!! And I just finished trimming my essay even more to keep it under 500 words.
Oh well, I guess it was around 500 when I first wrote it anyway. I sincerely believe that after 500 words, the reader’s attention tends to wander. I did a short program where the college showed us 3 applications and had us students pick one to admit. In a sense, it gave us an idea of what it was like to be an admissions counselor. It was a top15 university, so the choice was really difficult, but I can safely say that the essays ~500 words were the ones that kept my attention the most.</p>
<p>To get down to 500 really juicy, really choice words, with no waste and no repetition, one must start the process early, and be willing to trim, ruminate on it a bit, maybe even for a few days or weeks, then trim some more and wrap it up nicely. I view this limit as a “procrastinator filter” as much as it is an initiative to reduce the workload on admissions readers. </p>
<p>Yes, the software doesn’t count the words, and yes it is unlikely that anyone in the admissions office at your #1 choice is going to sit down and count the words. So you may never get caught. But seeing as the limit just changed this year, back to the 500 word “guideline”, why would you take the chance? Seriously, I am just asking: If this is such an important process for you as an applicant, and if you truly have spent the time to get *ALMOST *to 500, why not go the route of cutting one or two more sentences and maybe leaving out that one nuance that would have made the reader cry, versus leaving them in and being found out by a simple bean counter who decides to reject every >500 word essay out of hand just to make a point.</p>
<p>You never know.</p>
<p>The purpose of the CA going back to a limited word count is that the essays were getting way too long, like 1500 words too long. So steering people to a shorter number defines what range to aim for. </p>
<p>Definitely aim for less than 500 words but don’t kill yourself and destroy your hard worked effort trying to get a 600 word essay down. </p>
<p>If it was mandatory, it should say it is mandatory even though they can’t enforce to mean exactly that, do not go over like the short one. </p>
<p>The short paragraph says:</p>
<p>Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences in the space below (1000 character maximum). </p>
<p>The essay says:
Please write an essay (250-500 words) on a topic of your choice or on one of the options listed below.</p>
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<p>Actually, that should be “One just needs to structure what one wants to say about oneself and be concise.”</p>
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<p>Otherwise stated:</p>
<p>“I agree with pascal12.” 33% shorter already.</p>
<p>I have read many, many essays and can tell you that many, many essays are not well done. The 500-word limit may be an attempt to lessen the pain of the application readers. 500 words is plenty is the essay is planned correctly and is concise. </p>
<p>Good advice: The best essays show (not tell) you somehow changing from who you were to a newer you who is stronger, wiser, more mature, etc. The best approach is this: Write the first paragraph dropping into a situation where you are faced with a problem, hurdle, tense or uncomfortable situation, or facing a big decision.</p>
<p>Next, write the LAST paragraph describing a scenario with a new you, a person who has not only overcome the obstacle described in the first paragraph, but has changed to become a better, stronger person.</p>
<p>Now you can write a concise, FOCUSED essay, writing the middle paragraphs to take the reader through the transition without side stories or diversions (no matter how important they may seem). Concentrate only on showing the transition.</p>
<p>Add up the words in the first and last paragraphs, subtract from 500, and that’s how many words you have to describe the transition.</p>
<p>It’s amazing how this simple technique (writing the last paragraph before the middle ones) can help focus your essay.</p>
<p>I see…but I think 800 words would allow students to express themselves a bit more freely to demonstrate their character. That’s just what I think though.</p>
<p>Thanks guys for all of your discussion this is first time i ca,e here and i found your discussions amazing and informative actually essays writing are usually takes as a test to check student ability so 500 words are enough to see that is student is capable to write or he/she know how to write so these are some basic things which i told you here, hope you guys understand it.</p>
<p>I think the idea of a 500 word limit is a very good idea. It helps with a lot of different aspects. If you are limiting yourself while writing you will be much more careful. So many writers, of all ages and experiences, have a tendency to repeat what they have written. The repetition is unnecessary and boring as well.</p>
<p>Keeping it short will mean working harder and is more of a challenge. You have to keep paring it down until there is nothing but the meat of the story. it will make readers want for more. Make them wonder, possibly make them think. Now what do you think would be better: an essay that makes someone curious about what else there is to the story or the background or a story that puts the reader nearly to sleep?</p>
<p>One problem with long essays is with the reader. Honestly, do you think that every endlessly long essay gets read all the way until the end? The post about lessening the pain of the app reader is probably right on the mark.</p>
<p>Our daughter is applying for college this year and recently had been working on her personal statement. One of her teachers suggested writing it in third person in order to make it able to stand out more and sound interesting. I read her essay, and, though it’s good, I’m not sure if college admissions officers look at third person as a good thing, or if they will view it as pretentious. What do you guys think? Any college admissions essay reviewer out there?</p>
<p>Call me old school, but since so many schools seem to stress they want to hear an authentic voice, I’d e a little wary of this approach. Feels a little risky.</p>