<p>I guess this is more of a rant than anything else, and I hope that this is the appropriate place to post this…</p>
<p>Only one of the colleges that my daughter is applying to is requiring the essays to be 300 words or less. All the others don’t have a word limit, but regardless, she is going to make them 500 words or less. 500 words seem to be the magic number. Anyway, it is hard enough as it is to write a meaningful essay in 500 words or less, but to only give them 300 words or less makes this task almost impossible. One of the essay questions that she is finding it difficult to limit to just 300 words wants the student to explain how their past experiences have made them who they are today and how it helped them determine their future goals and their choice of major. It would be hard enough to do that in 500 words or less, but to do it in 300 words or less, and include all important and pertinent information, seems impossible!</p>
<p>Someone gave me advice to have her just write the essay and not worry about the word limit at first, and then once it is all done to go back and delete necessary words or phrases to try to get it down to the 300 word limit. This helps a little bit, but it’s just not enough. Does anyone have any advice or pointers that they would like to share? Thanks in advance!</p>