Ivys accept student who writes essay about Costco

I understood the point of @OHMomof2 's post to be that it alerted you to the word count and then let you continue. That tells me you can submit over the count.

But even if the actual essay was slightly different, so what? It is still a ridiculous thing to bring up. The tax comparison is apples and oranges. Speed limits are laws too, but there is common sense discretion in its enforcement. Clearly word limits are far more like the latter than the former. Even the tax thing isn’t rigid. If you don’t owe the govt. money, but instead are even or they owe you, they never prosecute for late filing, since it isn’t tax avoidance.

^ that’s correct, it allowed me to submit despite being over.

The common app is not supposed to allow you to submit a document that is over the word count. It alerts you to change it and fix it so it is in the word count.
Once a few years ago the department of labor payment we had to make somehow got posted a day late. It was a three dollar payment. We got hit with a $60 fine. They were unforgiving and could care less. That was a state limit but the federal government has it’s limits too. If you owe money and you do not pay on time there are late payment/interest payments or whatever they Call it. Don’t know for sure as we have never been late . Of course if you don’t owe the deadline is not relevant. Silly argument . No point in counting the number of angels on the head of a pin.

Is Ohio mom submitting applications on the common app? You can save anything. It doesn’t necessarily let you submit it to the colleges does it? Are you applying to college Ohio mom?
Some choose to follow the recommendations of the college consultants and stay within the word count limit. Other people are free to make their own choices and make their own rules.

From another well respected college consultant (its form his blog so can’t link it):

On the issue of whether it answers the prompt – college essays are not like essays for an American history test. I’ve read dozens of college essays, and many are only loosely connected to a prompt. The prompts are there to help the student come up with an essay idea – for many kids, coming up with an essay with no boundaries is really difficult. I doubt any college would look at a well-written essay that doesn’t answer a prompt and make an admission decision based on that.

One last thought-- The Common app website says it alerts the applicant when the word count is too short or too long . It was my understanding that it wouldnt let the essay be submitted if it didn’t meet the requirements, but perhaps it simply alerts the writer and likely the reader too, that it did not comply with the word count. Why even go there.

They should answer the prompt, @fireandrain. Sometimes it might look like someone is trying to recycle an essay they wrote for something else. and that can backfire.

I saved it and it allowed me to move on to the next section, I did not apply anywhere :slight_smile:

I agree, in any case, that finding 3 words to take out is a much better idea than being over the limit by 3 even if it is technically possible.

Yes, it lets you save your work and edit it later, @OHMomof2 . It would be interesting if it allowed the writer to submit an essay that was outside their parameters. But again, if it did, and it alerts the writer, it likely alerts the reader too. I. Am with you- cut out 3 words. It isn’t that hard.

From the previously linked article: 
[quote]
 And with holistic admissions, schools really do want to get to know the person behind your test scores and grades.

That said, you should never go over the limit. The new Common Application won’t let you. In previous years applicants could attach their essays to the application, and this allowed them to attach essays that were too long. With CA4, the new Common Application, you’ll need to enter your essay in a text box that counts words. You won’t be allowed to enter anything over 650 words. Note that there is also a minimum length–CA4 won’t accept any essay under 250 words.If you are applying to a college that does allow you to go over the limit, or if you have a supplemental essay with a recommended word count, you still should not go over the limit.

[/quote]

http://collegeapps.about.com/od/essays/a/college-essay-length-limit.htm

@wisteria100, thanks for posting - loved it! And I definitely enjoyed some of JHU essays more than Costco :slight_smile:

I read those JHU essays a while back. Loved the book shelf essay. Really good use of metaphor for her life and what she wanted to highlight to the admissions committee. Thought string theory was very well done, though not sure I learned as much as I should have about the author. But it was a great example of how to turn an ordinary thing (tying a string around a box) into a compelling essay. And I’m sure the physics references played well at JHU. Can’t wait to read the set from 2020

“A couple years ago, a girl wrote a letter to the editor (perhaps to WSJ?)…”
I found it self absorbed, whiny, and off base.

If the CA allows you to submit over a word limit, you don’t know if the college will accept all those extra words or have a limit to the number downloaded. So, don’t do it.

You do not have to answer the prompt exactly, for the personal statement. Agreeing with fireandrain.

Agree with @lookingforward that the reasonable statement essay has a more latitude for creativity, so “answering the prompt” van take on many different meanings. But if you select the “what did you learn from a failure” essay prompt, don’t write about planting a community garden with a great harvest (unless it got eaten by rabbits). I am sure someone will find fault with this off the cuff analogy.

Having served on an Adcom, all I can say is that an essay doesn’t have to be long to be brilliant. Sometimes it was an absolute joy to read an application. While I cannot recall a time when we penalized a student for going a few words over the word count, we did get many applications where the essays ended mid-sentence. Worse than flagrantly violating the word limit was the fact that the candidate didn’t take the time to proof read their application and notice that half their essay had vanished!

I should also mention that some teachers and counselors rambled on and on. Writing a good recommendation takes as much skill (if not more) than writing a good essay.

ACK autocorrect. The personal statement. Not the reasonable statement.

Widget, many of us have experience with admissions, one way or another, some current, some in the past, and some over many years.

Just as many seasoned posters try to express to kids and families that there is no one formula, similarly there is no one admissions experience that’s definitive. Different colleges can view (and forgive) in different lights. And it can shift, depending on the individual kid/app.

I suspect Costco girl had a strong enough full package that the essay mattered a bit less. Her geo may have mattered very much. No one should read more into this based on selective media articles.

I think that it is very clear that CostCo girl A) is a great kid, and B) got into these colleges on the basis of her real qualifications, aided by her URM status. Her essay does the job of revealing her ebullient personality and intellectual curiosity in a cute and clever --and yes, over-written–way. It would be icing on the cake, perhaps a tip factor if she needed one. I think what drives more knowledgeable people here crazy is the assertion that this essay got her in to college.

If you choose to make a public spectacle of something that could well remain private in this age of digital and social media, you are likely to get mixed reactions at best. Which is why people should not seek publicity and maintain some privacy and dignity, IMHO.

On the word count issue–not that it matters in the least to the larger issue–when S was applying to college the Common App and the online apps of some colleges would allow you to enter extra words initially, but it would literally cut you off in mid-sentence before actually sending the app. So counting and recounting and carefully editing was crucial.

As a reader I would not be adversely affected by an essay that was a few words over the limit, but I’ve learned that almost anything can be improved by making it shorter. I always loved that quote, “If I had more Time, I would have written a shorter letter.” (Attributed to many, definitely said early on by Pascal.)

I agree the prompt is really just a jumping off point. Many, many of the worthy essays colleges post only answer those prompts tangentially. My sil (who taught writing at U of Michigan for a while) told my kids, there’s the prompt and the agenda. Your essay should address the prompt in some plausible way, but the agenda is much more important, and the agenda is to show something about you that will make the admissions committee like you and think you would be an addition to the college community.

I really liked the community service essay from Hopkins.