<p>For Penn, the word count for a supplement essay is "approx. 500," but mine is 520. Do you think that meets the requirement, or a little too much?</p>
<p>You’re fine.</p>
<p>Sorry to ask a question instead of answering, but Amherst wanted 300 words and I wrote 337(I cut it down to this, might still have to edit for content). Is this too much?</p>
<p>Unless the field cuts off the excess, 337 seems acceptable as well. The word count is merely indicative of the approximate length of essay that the admissions officers want to read.</p>
<p>When I visited Tufts, the admissions officer said that they have no way of counting the exact number of words used. So as long as you are close enough for it to be difficult to tell there are too many words, you will be fine.</p>