<p>Is it okay for the Personal Essay to be slightly longer than 500 words?</p>
<p>yes
10 char</p>
<p>Sorry for bringing up an old thread but my friend showed me these links:</p>
<p>[Common</a> Application sets 500-word limit on main essay - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post](<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/common-application-sets-500-word-limit-on-main-essay/2011/06/02/AGZg7WHH_blog.html]Common”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/common-application-sets-500-word-limit-on-main-essay/2011/06/02/AGZg7WHH_blog.html)</p>
<p>[Common</a> Application Essay Limits Word Count | Top-Tier Tutoring](<a href=“toptiertutoringmedia.com”>toptiertutoringmedia.com)</p>
<p>If this is the first year that the Common Application website is putting a number for the word limit, does it still mean that the limit it is flexible? I know that in previous years the essay length was very flexible, but these websites make me think that this isn’t the case for this year.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>bump10char</p>
<p>I have the same question and I am not getting any responses. My essay stands at 900 words, and if I can get it down to like 800 I am hoping that is enough to be reasonable for the common app essay.</p>
<p>I did some research and apparently its flexible, but I think my 600 word essay is pushing it… i think 800-900 might be too much</p>
<p>@JonDrums: The Washington Post article says that the limit was imposed because essays became long AND poorly written.</p>
<p>If you haven’t had an English teacher look at it yet, give it to them to review. Try to find things you can cut out without losing meaning. It’s much harder to write a great essay in less space, which is why they’re restarting the limit. You want every word of your essay to count, or else you’ll lose the reader’s attention and they’ll skim your essay.</p>