Is it okay to go over the word limit for the SSP essays?

Pre-College Topics Summer Programs
1

<p>Hi!</p>

<p>I recently started working on my essays for the SSP application. However, I find it hard to stay under the word limit(150) and always end up writing essays that are somewhere close to a 180-200 words. I tried to truncate them but to no avail. I find that I cannot express what I want to in fewer words. Is it okay to go a bit over the word limit? </p>

<p>Answers from previous applicants are accepted. Thanks in advance!</p>

2

<p>In general, it is never a good idea to go over the word limit. One of the things colleges want to see is if you can get your point across succinctly. Also, often they might have automatic cutoffs if you go past the limit – you might not realize that until it is too late.</p>

3

<p>@Mom1966 Thank you for the reply. Will edit my essay accordingly.</p>

4

<p>@mumbai98: I went a little bit over the word limit in all my essays (around 10 words or so). It was fine - nobody’s checking too closely.</p>

5

<p>@araethusa thanks for helping me out!</p>