How long is YOUR commonapp essay? - Page 2

osprey099 · 10-20-2009, 10:51 PM

757 words
is there a word limit?

pigs_at_sea · 10-20-2009, 11:12 PM

about 450-490 words

Kujalulu · 10-21-2009, 10:01 AM

around 640, cut from 760

sanguinity · 10-21-2009, 03:51 PM

690 words it was a bit on the long side

effort · 10-21-2009, 09:14 PM

My common app essay is 478 words, but my Yale specific essay is 615

crystal91 · 10-21-2009, 09:22 PM

I read on the YALE FAQ (and someone can double check) that they disapprove of essays being over 500 words...They said that they can't stop you if it's not unreasonable, but know that you're writing over 500 words knowing their dissatisfaction.

riverrunner · 10-21-2009, 09:43 PM

I've quoted this before on CC, and I stick by it:

"I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter." -- BlaisePascal

Disregarding the length guidelines tells admissions officers four things about you:

1. You believe rules don't apply to you.
2. You can't write concisely or
3. You didn't think it was worth your time to do so.
4. You don't place much value on the time of the reader in relation to the value of your time to edit.

Proceed at your own risk.

rocket6louise · 10-21-2009, 11:26 PM

Common app essay is about 400 words
supps are all 280 to 300

vicariousparent · 10-21-2009, 11:38 PM

riverrunner, I like your advice in general and it mirrors what I told my D but then she and I went to an info session starring our region's Yale admissions officer who will be the one to read the essays. He declared that about 700 words would be a good length for him and he wouldn't even mind another 100 or so. He thought more than 1000 would seem excessive. Obviously he doesn't care about the 500 word limit.

Now another admissions officer might have a different attitude about it.

pigs_at_sea · 10-21-2009, 11:57 PM

^well obviously, the admissions officer wouldn't say "no, that's too long. we would prefer the length to be shorter" cuz helloooo they're trying to made a good impression on youuu so that you apply to their school

vicariousparent · 10-22-2009, 12:46 AM

Another way think of the word limit is to think of it like the posted speed limit on a highway. If the sign says 55 m.p.h, you are probably safe if you stay within a general range of 50-60. Driving above 65 or below 45 may be considered unsafe, and you might get a ticket.

riverrunner · 10-22-2009, 01:22 AM

I don't mean to say that anything over 500 spells doom. I completely agree with you that 10% over is fine. The Y admissions people I've heard address this say that if you are going to make them read more than 500, it had better be so compelling that they don't even give a thought to how long the thing is. I say why take that chance? You can bet there are some outstanding candidates who are able to write something revealing, interesting and evocative in 500 or less. That's who you're up against.

splat11 · 10-22-2009, 08:31 AM

I don't think they count the words in the essays. I'm sure they have other things to do. 500-550 words is less than a page. If you're under a page, they will not even care. If you go over to two pages, than they will notice.

riverrunner · 10-22-2009, 06:23 PM

splat11, I think you're right. I notice when I'm looking through threads on CC, if a post is more than about 10 lines long, I sometimes just skip it, especially if it isn't formatted into discreet paragraphs.

I can imagine an application reader looking at some of the tomes that come through and simply discarding them. They have to eliminate 90% of their applications anyway, and one easy screen would be to toss the ones that are going to take a disproportionate time to read.

maddenmd · 10-23-2009, 12:12 AM

There are two different essays people are talking about here. The common app one doesn't specify a length, but we heard at various visits about a page, single spaced is a good length. Then you can format it as you like: single, double, etc.. The Yale supplement is very clear: keep it under 500 words.