Some admissions officers say that it reflects poorly on you if you go over the word limit, stating that you do not have a clear message and aren't good at following direction. So if possible, I would try to get it under the word limit.

In my experience, I've seen an acceptable word limit of between 0-100 words.

Because it's hard to let go of your own writing and cutting back on words is one of the hardest things to do, I suggest getting someone else - friend, current student, or professional - to look at the essays.

Hope this helps.

As a consultant, if an applicant's writing is concise and the essay is strong, I will usually "okay" a 10% overage. There is no point in making yourself crazy over 5 or 10 (or 30) words.

However, I believe that in sum, the essays should not run 10% over, so, if one is a little long, try to make another one a little bit short. I think of it as the Stanford rule. Stanford asks that you use 1800 words total and spread them out as you see fit. (For Stanford I recommend that you stick with the 1800 as your maximum!).

Remember, if another applicant can convey his or her point in 500 words, it won't reflect well on you if you need 600 to do so!

thank you for all your inputs. I think its better to restrict within specified words. Who knows, Adcom might be testing us in application process itself.