character limits on secondaries

[qwertyyy]

is anyone applying to med schools where the secondary's questions do not have character limits ... how much is too much/little?
also, when schools don't require character limits, do you think it is just a way for them to judge your ability to make sound decisions or something along this line because obviously if i submit an answer that's equivalent to a novel or is just a three-worded sentence, it would raise an eyebrow...

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[defrunner]

is anyone applying to med schools where the secondary's questions do not have character limits ... how much is too much/little?
also, when schools don't require character limits, do you think it is just a way for them to judge your ability to make sound decisions or something along this line because obviously if i submit an answer that's equivalent to a novel or is just a three-worded sentence, it would raise an eyebrow...

I would say to just use your best judgment -- you have more common sense than you think. If it takes you 2 or 3 paragraphs to make your point, that should be ok. As long as you can answer their question thoroughly and somewhat in-depth, there really is no bad way to go about it. It's just that you should spend at least a good-sized paragraph on the answer to show them you put some thought into it and try not to go off on a tangent or write your essay in an extremely verbose manner -- it is not impressive and long-winded blowhard pieces are boring.

Also, unless you're an incredibly talented writer that can objectively discern your own errors and how to improve on it, try to get someone that knows something about this process to take a look at your essays (i.e. not your mom, but maybe a fellow student or something). It doesn't need to be as perfectly written as your personal statement, but it does need to flow well and just make you come off like you're a good candidate for their school. Treat the guy/girl that takes the time to look over your essays to a beer, by the way.