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Murasaki · 11-01-2006, 05:23 PM

Something to keep in mind:

Most essays will probably be at or below the limit. If they read one a that's 50% longer than most of them . . . don't you think they'll notice? Not to mention that most adcoms are probably sick of essays by the time they read any given appllicants'--going over the limit would not be wise.

What a lot of people forget is that TRIMMING DOWN AN ESSAY DOES NOT MEAN SACRIFICING MEANING. Why? Because you can work on word economy. For example:

"I think that the biggest influence in my life was my experience with automobiles."

Too long? Economize the wording:

"The biggest influence on me has been cars, by far."

Try this for every sentence--and you don't have to sound crude or oversimplify. You can use a nice vocabulary but keep your wording concrete and to the point. I don't know for sure, but if I were an adcom I'd be thrilled to read an essay that said a lot with a little--even if the essay itself was mediocre.

Most of the most important things in your life can't fit in a little essay--and it's obvious that an essay can't capture your whole personality. But that isn't your goal, your goal is to give them a representative piece. If you really have to make sacrifices, just hold your breath and cut stuff out. The best essays written for colleges meet word limits--I think you can stand to do so too. Or at least trim it to 600.

11-01-2006, 05:23 PM	#4
Murasaki Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Stanford University Threads: 161 Posts: 2,110	Something to keep in mind: Most essays will probably be at or below the limit. If they read one a that's 50% longer than most of them . . . don't you think they'll notice? Not to mention that most adcoms are probably sick of essays by the time they read any given appllicants'--going over the limit would not be wise. What a lot of people forget is that TRIMMING DOWN AN ESSAY DOES NOT MEAN SACRIFICING MEANING. Why? Because you can work on word economy. For example: "I think that the biggest influence in my life was my experience with automobiles." Too long? Economize the wording: "The biggest influence on me has been cars, by far." Try this for every sentence--and you don't have to sound crude or oversimplify. You can use a nice vocabulary but keep your wording concrete and to the point. I don't know for sure, but if I were an adcom I'd be thrilled to read an essay that said a lot with a little--even if the essay itself was mediocre. Most of the most important things in your life can't fit in a little essay--and it's obvious that an essay can't capture your whole personality. But that isn't your goal, your goal is to give them a representative piece. If you really have to make sacrifices, just hold your breath and cut stuff out. The best essays written for colleges meet word limits--I think you can stand to do so too. Or at least trim it to 600. Last edited by Murasaki : 11-01-2006 at 05:31 PM.