Word count questions (several threads merged)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

<p>Some of mine are right in the limit of 200-250 words. But the MIt app also says that 200-250 is just a suggestion, and it still lets me enter in my essays that are significantly longer.</p>

<p>I'm a bit confused as to what MIT is looking for here. Will I be grilled if I have 500 substance-filled lines? Does the lower word count mean that they want firect essays that explicitly answer the question or is there still room for me to write my essays as I would a short story? </p>

<p>I went to an MIT info session a few weeks ago and they said to use your discretion. I'm obviously not writing 1000 word essays for a 200 word response but I feel like I can't effectively/descriptively write about a specific event of my life in 200 words.</p>

2

<p>The system won’t let you put in a long essay. If you try anything larger, the system won’t let you cut and paste. My son tried to put in a long essay in the extra section and it rejected it until it was in the correct word count. So you have no choice but to shorten it.</p>

3

<p>just send the same question few days ago
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/794764-more-space-answer-question-about-major.html#post1063376477[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/794764-more-space-answer-question-about-major.html#post1063376477&lt;/a&gt;
there is lots of threads like this, yet still no exact answer.
Its your choice after all, you can summit parts you wanna exceed limits on paper to get around the online app auto-word counter</p>

4

<p>On the online app it allowed me to cut and paste something way larger than 250 words though. It didn’t even give me a red message at the top of the screen.</p>

<p>The short answers, on the other hand, warn me if I’ve put something larger than 150 words in and actually tells me to edit my response</p>

5

<p>I wouldn’t go over 300. 500 is pretty egregiously over the suggestion.</p>

6

<p>In my opinion, 500 words is way too far over. But if you’re some 25 words I don’t its a problem.</p>

7

<p>Hi. This is McGreggor, from MIT Admissions. I oversee our selection process, and I’ve seen a number of questions here regarding word limits for our short response questions. Some “rules of thumb” might be helpful, but, in general, your common sense is going to be your most valuable asset. </p>

<p>Remember, these are just rules of thumb!</p>

<p>ROT 1: 90 words equals 100 words equals 110 words. </p>

<p>ROT 2: If the short answer prompt asks you to abide by a word limit, you should abide as much as possible by that limit. 200 words for a 100 word question is about 100 words too many!</p>

<p>ROT 3: The font size gets smaller and smaller as you add more and more words. Theoretically, you can fit in hundreds of words into a short answer section; we won’t be able to read it, though. I’ve seen 300 words crammed into space devoted to 100, and it’s not pretty, folks.</p>

<p>ROT 4: We ask five short answer questions which allow you to explore multiple parts of your personality. In total, this amounts to upwards of 950 words. Should you feel the need to use more space, you are more than welcome to submit an additional OPTIONAL essay in the supplementary essay space. You can also use this space to submit your research abstract if you have one, your big essay from the Common App if you have one, or whatever you like. Key word here: OPTIONAL!</p>

<p>For me, it’s been helpful to think of these short responses in terms of produce. An overly-edited, overly-wrought, super-polished essay is a bit like limp celery that’s been in the crisper too long. The best responses tend to be like the crispy celery you just got from the supermarket: fresh, green, and with plenty of your personality imbued in them. Don’t overanalyse, don’t overthink, and you’ll do fine.</p>

<p>-McGreggor</p>

8

<p>@McGreggor</p>

<p>What do you mean, “You can also use this space to submit your research abstract if you have one, your big essay from the Common App if you have one, or whatever you like. Key word here: OPTIONAL!”</p>

<p>If you are referring to the additional information space, it only allows for around 250 words, which is definitely shorter than the usual 500 word Common App essays.</p>

<p>I was planning to just mail an additional essay instead</p>

9

<p>Hi, Djokovic. Thank you for bringing up that issue re: word (actually character) limit for the optional essay. We looked into it today, and some “vintages” of the application had an unintentional character limit on that particular question. We’ve updated the application so that this question on all “vintages” will now allow you to write up to 750 words. We expect the update will be available tomorrow afternoon, and I’ll post when it’s in place.</p>

<p>Many thanks for pointing that out, Djokovic, and please accept my apology for the inconvenience. For the record, there’s no difference between a supplementary essay submitted on paper or one submitted electronically with the Part 2.</p>

<p>-McGreggor</p>

10

<p>@McGreggor
Ah thank you very much! I’m always glad to help.</p>

11

<p>Eh… I actually stopped working on my commonapp essay because it was going to be useless for MIT since it said 200-250 words… </p>

<p>Can we submit supplemental essays for the RD round if we get deferred?</p>

12

<p>In the supplement essays, when it says 100 words or less, is there a strict cut off at 100 words? I have about 125words in one of them, and would prefer not to cut it down…</p>

13

<p>The general consensus is that, while the essay lengths are guidelines, you shouldn’t go too much over them. Right now, you’ve written 25% more than you’ve been given space for - I’d definitely try to cut it down to 110 words at max. While it’s not a significant difference, going way over the posted limit doesn’t really show that you’re respecting the guidelines that MIT has asked you (and all the other applicants) to follow.</p>

14

<p>Hi, folks. We have updated the application so that all of the “vintages” have unlimited space for the supplemental essay. Note that although there is no word limit, there is a space limit of one page. Hopefully, your supplemental essay isn’t >1000 words! Remember, this is a supplemental part of the application, completely optional, and that the vast amount of information provided in the rest of your application is quite sufficient for the admissions committee.</p>

<p>Thanks, guys, for pointing out the issue, and sorry for the brief inconvenience.</p>

<p>-McGreggor</p>

15

<p>Thank you very much for the help.</p>

16

<p>Right on time! 9 days til Early Action Deadline!</p>

17

<p>The MIT supplement section is now 750 words long!!!</p>

<p>FIRE AWAY</p>

18

<p>The optional supplement’s word limit is now unlimited!!! (well essentially 750 words if you don’t want the text to get sized too small). We are no longer limited to the 250 words limit!.</p>

<p>GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL AND FIRE AWAY!</p>

19

<p>I already wrote an essay for the additional supplement that was within the old word limit (before update). I also want to send another essay that really, really reflects my personality. Can I just mail it to them along with the other junk my counselor sends?</p>

20

<p>MIT welcomes supplementary materials that might shine new light on you. Just mail them to the admissions office (with your name and birthday).</p>