<p>My “short” answer essay for the common app ended up being around 233 words… yikes!! I’m working on cutting it down now, but do you think going over by almost 100 words is pushing it?</p>
<p>FWIW… I wrote about a four-day retreat I led this past November. It’s meant more to me than any other extracurricular activity, but I think the problem lies in the fact that there was an extra bit of explanation required in what goes on at this retreat. I don’t know if the admissions officers at the schools I’m applying to are necessarily familiar with KAIROS and the duties of a KAIROS leader… so in addition to expressing what it has meant to me, I felt compelled to explain a bit what it actually is. (Could that sentence have been a bit more convoluted? :p)</p>
<p>I find that when I have a lot to write, it helps to write all your thoughts in a long essay form. Then start to cut down. I cut down by combining sentences through the utilization of semicolons and commas. They work very well. Then start cutting down excessive adjectives that you can do without, without losing the imagery. Small editing procedures such as thsoe listed above help a lot.</p>
<p>Thanks! Of course, the second after I posted this I realized the commonapp actually literally wouldn’t allow it, so I think I’ve managed to capture the essence of the essay in a much shorter word-span… one that actually fits.</p>
<p>before i had this crummy little essay about debate, but then i was trying to fit a description of KAIROS into that activity box on the commonapp and i was like, “duh! essay!”</p>