Duke Character Count

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[Creatine]

This is truly an enigma because Duke is unwilling to give out the exact maximum character counts. I pasted a "test essay" (just a bunch of random words) of approximately 2000 characters into one of the short essay responses to test the maximum limit, and the test essay passed the application audit (??).

I emailed Duke about this, but have yet to receive a response. If there truly is no limit, I believe all applicants should be aware of this so that we all can fully explain our ideas. Perhaps it would be helpful for more of us to contact Duke and inquire about the "true" maximum limits.

 

[Creatine]

Hey guys, you know what I heard about last year's duke application? That the essays were 500 WORD and 1000 WORD limits. Based on what the thread above about being able to paste 2000 characters into the space AND on the shear fact that it is virtually impossible to answer some of those questions with only 500 characters, I have the feeling that they made an error this year in the application. It's probably supposed to be 500 words and 1000 words limits. I'm tempted to call and double check with them. What do you guys think? Are you really sticking to 500 characters??

Please do call. I called a few days ago and they insisted that their 500 and 1000 CHARACTER limits were correct. But I think that the more people call and confirm this, the better. After all, it does seem very strange to have such short limits.

 

[Creatine]

on a side note, I don't know how good it will look to the adcom if we go over

That is a good point, but on the other hand, will it look worse if we adhere strictly to the character limits and as a result are only able to give a superficial answer?

Something to think about, at least.

 

[Creatine]

I agree...but how much would you go over to make your answer less superficial? Certainly 5-10 characters won't make a difference. Even 50 characters probably wouldn't make the short response any less stupid. I think people who go over to answer the questions in depth will go over by at least 100-200 characters, and that shows 1. they can't follow directions and 2. they are incapable of being succinct and precise--which is necessary for physicians when it comes to charting, describing cases to the attending, etc.

I think 500 characters is simply just not enough, but I'm going to do with 500 + or - 20 characters to show I am able to follow directions and be succinct. Surely my answer will suffer, but I think they know this when they set a 500 character limit.

I wish I were a sports writer. I would have no problem writing short sentences and not sounding like an idiot.

A reasonable conclusion.

I wish us all good luck in our effort to compose short and meaningful responses.

 

[mebhs15]

On the last one, I went 300 over and it still let me submit. I just couldnt cut any more out.

 

[Spidey_ss2]

So does anyone know officially if the character limit include spaces or no?

 

[Scrubz67]

The character count DOES NOT include spaces, so that helps...a bit. 😳

Ok, now pardon my venting BUT...

I agree the character count is a bit sadistic but I also believe that the questions can be answered with depth without exceeding the character count. It will require a lot of thought and some skill but it can be done. YOU ARE ALL CAPABLE!!! 😍

What I do think is unfair is that some people are taking advantage of the fact that the computer algorithm does not prevent submission of essays exceeding the length. Yea Duke should make sure that they cover all their base, but the issue lies in the fact that it is slightly unfair to those that do adhere to the character limits not knowing that they can be exceeded.

Then again, who is to say that Duke isn't using this whole thing as a "character" (pardon the pun) assessment as well? I went to Duke and they are HUGE on honesty and integrity. so perhaps those who go over will pay the price in some way. All I can say is that the people there are mad intelligent in very odd ways and many of my friends currently at Duke Med would love the opportunity to conduct a social psych experiment...

That being said my advice: try your hardest and act with the honesty and integrity that you would as an MD

 

[Creatine]

The character count DOES NOT include spaces, so that helps...a bit. 😳

Ok, now pardon my venting BUT...

I agree the character count is a bit sadistic but I also believe that the questions can be answered with depth without exceeding the character count. It will require a lot of thought and some skill but it can be done. YOU ARE ALL CAPABLE!!! 😍

What I do think is unfair is that some people are taking advantage of the fact that the computer algorithm does not prevent submission of essays exceeding the length. Yea Duke should make sure that they cover all their base, but the issue lies in the fact that it is slightly unfair to those that do adhere to the character limits not knowing that they can be exceeded.

Then again, who is to say that Duke isn't using this whole thing as a "character" (pardon the pun) assessment as well? I went to Duke and they are HUGE on honesty and integrity. so perhaps those who go over will pay the price in some way. All I can say is that the people there are mad intelligent in very odd ways and many of my friends currently at Duke Med would love the opportunity to conduct a social psych experiment...

That being said my advice: try your hardest and act with the honesty and integrity that you would as an MD

Interesting thoughts. However, I'm not so convinced that this is an issue of honesty.

If this was an issue of honesty, the Duke website would read, "Please do not exceed 500 characters (excluding spaces). We have no way of knowing if you exceed 500 characters and we do realize that the audit will allow you to submit if you exceed 500 characters, but we trust that you will complete this application fairly and only answer in 500 characters."

Instead, I received the following response from the admissions office when I asked about their character limits:

"While we do want our essay answers to be short and concise, we realize that it may take writers more space to finish their thoughts. With that in mind, our computer project manager built in some extra character space. As we still highly encourage you to complete the essays in the limits given, we do not give out actual maximum character numbers. As long as you pass the audit without receiving an error message, then your essay is acceptable."

So, I'm convinced the character limits are given as a loose (perhaps very loose) guideline. And based on the response from the admissions office, I highly doubt that they are using this as some sort of psychosocial experiment.

I'm fully disclosing what I have heard from the admissions office. If everyone is aware of the "truth" behind the character limits, then everyone will have equal opportunity to write as little or as much as they deem fit, and therefore, the Duke Secondary is fair for everyone.

 

[Scrubz67]

Creatine,

Thanks for sharing the results of your inquiries, it helps to know Duke's response.

While I agree that some sort of psych experiment is unlikely, I know a few students that were on the adcom 3 years ago that attest to fact that sometimes the application isn't exactly what it seems. I just wanted to share a seemingly unlikely situation based on what I've heard. So yea...grain of salt 🙂

 

[JohnHolmes]

Thank you for choosing Duke. 🙂

 

[mr. sparkle]

just put yourself into an adcom's shoes. do you really want to read an essay that is 100 words and gets right to the point, or one that can only express the same ideas with 1000?