<p>Do we have to keep to the 250~500 words limit even if we use the online Common App, which allows you to write, sometimes, a lot more than that?</p>
<p>I've heard they don't really care.</p>
<p>You can do whatever you want. But bear in mind that admissions officers are going to be reading a LOT of these. If you write over the limit, the essay better be a great read. You need those readers to like you; don't be a pain in their necks.</p>
<ol>
<li>They don't count how many words are there.</li>
<li>You must be talking about the paper app. CommonApp online will truncate the surplus of 6000 characters (new policy this year). It'd be very ugly.</li>
<li>You will do me/us an injustice by overwriting. Why should anyone expect his/her app to deserve more of adcoms' time than others'?</li>
</ol>
<p>As long as its a page or under single spaced, theyre okay with it. That is, if its well written. :)</p>
<p>Whoa, I think a lil longer than the limit is okay, but not any shorter. It's bad enough trying to cram 17 years into 500 words, you don't have to compress it even more. And think about it: how much one'd regret it if s/he wrote too short an essay and was rejected. It feels like you didn't do your best, and that's bad.</p>
<p>Dont try to cram 17 years into your essay. You cant do it. Nor can you cover any other grand topic in a 500-word essay. At least you cant do it effectively.</p>
<p>Focus on a small topic a short story that provides insight into some interesting aspect of your life or your personality. Write it well and keep it short. If its a little over 500 words (e.g., 550), thats probably fine, but if its a lot over, that will be a negative. And if you can write a killer essay in under 500 words, that will be a positive. It takes more skill to write a great essay in fewer words.</p>