<p>One thing to remember about the supplement. I found that through editing, drafting, and writing all my essays, they became very dense and thoroughly confusing. I found the character limit to be a godsend, because it forced me to use concise language in order to communicate all my ideas. Upenn’s essays, for instance, simply gave a page as a length limit. As a result, I always felt that my Stanford app was unique among the essays I wrote, and lo and behold here I am Cardinal class of 2012.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that the short, sweet, and efficient use of language is a major plus for the application. Ideas become clearer, humor becomes more powerful, and passions speak louder through concise language. This was a major challenge for me in my applications, and I realized that character limits were Stanford’s hint as to the essay content. Not that someone with bigger words is automatically at a disadvantage, but realize that the more concise your language, the more ideas you can convey. When you have to count every period and space, you really think hard about word choice and even the most minute details of organizing a sentence.</p>
<p>My 2 cents.</p>