With every college essay comes a word limit. Some essays are 35 words, others 650 words. Some are 100 characters, others two pages. But for each of these essays, irrespective of the word count, there is one guiding principle that college applicants should follow: stick to the word count — don’t write more, don’t write less.
Essays Are Real Estate for Applicants to Make Their Case
Each essay — no matter its length — offers applicants real estate to make their case for admission. Some schools, of course, offer more real estate than others. For the 2023-2024 college admissions cycle, for example, Harvard University has five 250-word essays. Meanwhile, Brown University has three essays and four short answers: 200-250 words for the three essays, three words for the first short answer, 100 words for two short answers, and 50 words for the final short answer.
Applicants Should Write to the Maximum Word Count in Essays
So, when a school asks applicants to write a 200-250-word essay, how many words should they write? That’s aneasyone: 250. When a school offers students the chance to write optional essays, should they write them?You bet! Nooptionalessay in highly selective college admissions should ever be considered optional. Instead, it’s a chance for students to make their case. And applicants should always write to the maximum word count in all college essays.
A Word Count Test
To conclude, we’ve got a test for this year’s applicants. Applicants to Duke University’s Class of 2028 are required to answer one 250-word essay, and they’re given five optional essay options of which they can write up to two. So, how many essays should this year’s Duke applicants write? You guessed it — three! And how long should each of their essays be? You guessed it again — 250 words! Not more, not less.
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If your institution doesn't provide a specific word count, it's best to keep your essay between the length established by the longer college admissions essay format: 250 to 650 words. Word count is just one factor to consider as you craft your college admissions essay.
Personal statements are generally 500-650 words. For example, the Common Application, which can be used to apply to more than 800 colleges, requires an essay ranging from 250-650 words. Similarly, the Coalition Application, which has 150 member schools, features an essay with a recommended length of 500-650 words.
College applicants should use the real estate offered in college essays to make their case — all of it! If the maximum word count for a college admissions essay is 650 words, applicants should not write 500 words. They should write 650 words — or pretty close to it.
All in all, it is best to stay within the word limit while writing a college essay. An essay word count has been specified for a reason. Writing too much would likely result in your essay being cut off, and writing under the word limit may cause readers to think that you are not interested in their university.
If your college essay goes over the word count limit, cut any sentences with tangents or irrelevant details. Delete unnecessary words that clutter your essay. You can speed up this process by shortening and smoothing your writing with a paraphrasing tool. After that, you can use the summarizer to shorten it even more.
As a general guideline, aim to write an essay between 500 to 650 words. An essay that's too short might not provide enough depth, while an excessively long essay can be tough to engage with. It's important to strike a balance, conveying your unique story or perspective in a focused and engaging way.
Using convoluted expressions can be fun or exasperating! Whilst demonstrating extensive vocabulary may raise your mark, the key is to ensure harmony between your words and your understanding. Remember: Do not use big words, do not use small words, use the RIGHT words.
We recommend your essays stay within 20-30 words of the limit if you're over in draft form, but it's fine to play with the extra space while drafting. Paying strict attention to your word count while writing can limit your creativity, but you should be tangentially aware of it.
A typical college application essay, also known as a personal statement, is 400-600 words. Although that may seem short, writing about yourself can be challenging.
The Common App essay requires you write between 250 and 650 words. Hitting the maximum is great, but make sure not to settle at the minimum. For all college admission essays, it's best to come as close to the maximum as you can, as long as you're not filling space with meaningless sentences.
Although there are often no strict word limits for college essays, most essays are shorter rather than longer. Common App, which students can use to submit to multiple colleges, suggests that essays stay at about 650 words.
The precise word count must be written on the coversheet. Overlong essays will be penalised according to the following rule: 1% of the maximum obtainable mark will be deducted for every 100 words, or part thereof, over the word limit.
It's a good idea to stay within that limit, ensuring that you fully answer the prompt while still being concise. As a general guideline, aim to write an essay between 500 to 650 words.
1,000 words to 1,500 words: Brief article or essay. 2,000 words to 7,000 words: Feature article or long-form essay. 10,000 words to 18,000 words: In-depth report or extended essay. 20,000 words to 40,000 words: Short non-fiction book or extended guide.
In order to produce a great final draft essay, your rough drafts should be even longer than 650 words. It's very common for my students to create first, second, and third draft essays of nearly 1,000 words.
650 words is 1.3 pages single-spaced or 2.6 pages double-spaced. Documents that typically contain 650 words are high school and college essays, short blog posts, and news articles. It will take approximately 2 minutes to read 650 words.
Introduction: My name is Dan Stracke, I am a homely, gleaming, glamorous, inquisitive, homely, gorgeous, light person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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