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Do admissions committees really count the words? You bet they do. Oh, and more bad news? Essay word limits for most of the schools out there have been trending lower over the last few years. This means less is more when it comes to writing essays and applicants are going to be feeling the pressure to provide more concise and compelling responses. Failure to respect word limits can raise some red flags for admissions committees so don't get yourself in trouble!
So why do word limits exist? They exist because admissions committees want to govern the amount of information you give them and force applicants to focus on quality over quantity. Admissions committees can focus more of their attention on the important things rather than struggling to read the next great American novel from a long essay response.
Word limits aren't simply a test of whether applicants can follow rules either. They can actually tell a story about the applicant. If you leave an essay too short, the admissions committee can interpret that as you not having enough to say due to lack of experience or unpreparedness. Going too long can be seen as someone having weak communication skills or, even worse, an applicant with poor judgment and thinks rules don't apply to him or her. If you must go long, save it for the optional essay!
Our advice here is to be within 10% of the word limit on either end. But only go long if you absolutely have to - don't take this as a ringing endorsement for stumbling over word limits with reckless abandon!
When you have your essay drafted, remember - an experienced 2nd perspective can go a long way! At Critical Square, our Essay Editing services provide candid and tangible feedback - absolutely no fluff here. It'll be rigorous but trust us, you'll thank us in the end! Learn more [here]!
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Bhavik
