<p>Hi, I recently send in the CA to all of my schools. I know that it asks for a 500 word max, but the consensus I've heard it's that it's ok to go a bit over. After refining and refining, I could only get my essay down to 630 words (one I sent). In my oppinion and in others', the essay is well written and is not redundant or too wordy. </p>
<p>Will my essay length be detrimental? Will I get rejected from all of my schools because of this (I know this sounds paranoid). </p>
<p>Btw, I'm applying to the usual: State safety school, local matches, and very selective schools for reaches.</p>
<p>If they tell you to write an essay in 500 words or less, you should do as they say. IMO, this is very detrimental. You are giving yourself a significant advantage over other applicants by adding more detail. Going over a few words is one thing but your essay is 26% longer than it is supposed to be.</p>
<p>I have to agree with TS1125… 10 words over is one thing (although DS made sure his were not even ONE word over), but yours was WAY over. Some schools may not care, but some who have massive amounts of applications from highly qualified candidates may very well be looking for any little thing to weed them out quickly …</p>
<p>I would say that you shouldn’t worry about things you cannot change. You will see how detrimental it might have been when you get your acceptances. Did you check on the PDF whether your whole essay was there? Just forget about it and wait because there is nothing you can do. Happy holidays!</p>
<p>No, nothing got cut off (c-app doesnt cut the essay off). No offence, but I don’t understand the sardonic oppinions. After doing research, I found that most colleges don’t care if you go over (while still being tasteful).</p>
<p>From everything I’ve seen, most colleges don’t care if you go over /unless/ the essay isn’t good… in which case, you’re screwed :D</p>
<p>Personally, if I were an admissions officer, I’d enjoy reading an engaging essay regardless of its length. There is the question of fairness, but you know, people are going to ignore this stuff anyway. (I’m one to talk… my supplemental essay for Yale was 50% too long. I kind of stopped caring at a certain point and just submitted it. And most of my other essays are at least 20-30 words too long.)</p>
<p>Colleges do care if you go over the limit just because it shows that you can’t follow instructions. Essays aren’t just about throwing in as many SAT words and flowy language, sure they should be a flow in logic but it should be a concise essay. If you can’t cut it down then I suggest writing a new one or learning how to edit to get the most out of word limits.</p>
<p>Directly from Yale Admissions (and it should be applicable pretty much everywhere else):</p>
<p>"My essay is more than 500 words. Is that OK?</p>
<p>We ask that you respect the word limit we have set. Will we read the words beyond 500? Yes. But if your essay is much longer than 500 words, you will not have helped yourself by ignoring our request. Remember, concise and simple writing is often the best writing."</p>