Exceeding Essay Word Limit on Secondaries

[rowjimmy]

How bad is it to exceed word limits on secondary essays by 50-200 words? Is it toss-this-application-in-the-trash-because-this-kid-can't-follow-the-rules bad? Or is it not a big deal? Also, I have a works cited in one of my essays (I know, I thought I would never, too), should I count the words in the bibliography towards the word count and consider it part of the essay or no?

Thanks!

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[RecycleRinsed]

How bad is it to exceed word limits on secondary essays by 50-200 words? Is it toss-this-application-in-the-trash-because-this-kid-can't-follow-the-rules bad? Or is it not a big deal? Also, I have a works cited in one of my essays (I know, I thought I would never, too), should I count the words in the bibliography towards the word count and consider it part of the essay or no?

Thanks!

Yes.

I had a friend that tried this a few years ago. His essay was 376 words. The prompt was 250. An adcom took a massive dump in a box and MAILED IT TO HIS HOUSE! He even used wax paper so the oil would not seep through the box and make it obvious that there was something unsavory within.

Yikes, bro. I wouldn't risk it.

 

[ShenanigansMD]

How bad is it to exceed word limits on secondary essays by 50-200 words? Is it toss-this-application-in-the-trash-because-this-kid-can't-follow-the-rules bad? Or is it not a big deal? Also, I have a works cited in one of my essays (I know, I thought I would never, too), should I count the words in the bibliography towards the word count and consider it part of the essay or no?

Thanks!

I went over on some, ~50. When they say words like "recommend" or "about/roughly" I feel I have some liberties. However, I don't know if I made the right choice

 

[rowjimmy]

Yes.

I had a friend that tried this a few years ago. His essay was 376 words. The prompt was 250. An adcom took a massive dump in a box and MAILED IT TO HIS HOUSE! He even used wax paper so the oil would not seep through the box and make it obvious that there was something unsavory within.

Yikes, bro. I wouldn't risk it.

I find that hard to believe.

 

[rowjimmy]

I feel like the inability to follow simple rules like word count is kind of a red flag. I mean you should respect the time of the adcom, why would there be an exception just for you?

True.

 

[Illinois2012]

if it's a "limit" then don't go over. it's there for a reason. if it's a recommendation or "about ___ words/characters" then you have a little bit of freedom, but don't go too crazy. that's there more so you have a general idea of how much to write, which means its still a good idea to follow it to some extent.

 

[Narmerguy]

I try to be at or below all such limits and recommendations. Why give someone a reason to put your name behind another applicant?

 

[Xiao]

why in the world would you possibly need a works cited?? that's ridiculous -- it's a personal essay, not a research paper. take it out and save yourself a few words.

exceeding the word limit is generally a bad idea. it's bound to rub someone on the ad com the wrong way.

 

[angldrps]

I can just imagine the adcoms having to sit there and read thousands and thousand of essays and appreciating an essay that is short and concise much more than an essay that drags on and on.

 

[NickNaylor]

I agree that you should try and respect word limits as much as possible, but as an anecdote I went significantly over on a secondary essay (~500 characters with a 3500 limit) and I was accepted to and currently attend that school. Be smart about it. If you really need those extra words, use them, but don't abuse soft limits as opportunities to explain every little thing on your application.

(sent from my phone)

 

[rowjimmy]

why in the world would you possibly need a works cited?? that's ridiculous -- it's a personal essay, not a research paper. take it out and save yourself a few words.

exceeding the word limit is generally a bad idea. it's bound to rub someone on the ad com the wrong way.

The essay is what interests me about that school. There are numerous things that interest me, namely the history of the institution, curriculum, broad-ranging student opportunities, etc. Most of the specific information that interests me I mention in my essay. I first accessed this information from their website. Ergo, citation needed. It's not as crazy as youthink it is. It's not some lofty, grandiloquent essay citing Homer. It is pertinent and appropriate.

 

[rowjimmy]

I agree that you should try and respect word limits as much as possible, but as an anecdote I went significantly over on a secondary essay (~500 characters with a 3500 limit) and I was accepted to and currently attend that school. Be smart about it. If you really need those extra words, use them, but don't abuse soft limits as opportunities to explain every little thing on your application.

(sent from my phone)

Is that characters with spaces? It sounds like a lot but I'd imagine it'd be roughly 100 words over, which is considerable. Good job!

 

[rowjimmy]

if it's a "limit" then don't go over. it's there for a reason. if it's a recommendation or "about ___ words/characters" then you have a little bit of freedom, but don't go too crazy. that's there more so you have a general idea of how much to write, which means its still a good idea to follow it to some extent.

Agreed.

 

[typicalindian]

I was always under the impression that they would cut your essay off of it exceeded the word limit?

 

[Goobs]

Most of the ones I've done track your characters and you CAN'T exceed the limit. It doesn't even let you type anymore.

Sent via mobile

 

[NickNaylor]

I was always under the impression that they would cut your essay off of it exceeded the word limit?

Not all of them have "hard" limits (i.e., you simply can't submit if your stuff is over the limit). Many of them have these "soft" limits, though.

 

[1289]

why in the world would you possibly need a works cited?? that's ridiculous -- it's a personal essay, not a research paper. take it out and save yourself a few words.

exceeding the word limit is generally a bad idea. it's bound to rub someone on the ad com the wrong way.

this. what exactly are you quoting? a research paper? a famous speaker? this is supposed to be a personal essay, as this person said. for the most part use your own words, it will come across as much more genuine..

are you adding in a new pub that you've gotten? i suppose that MIGHT be understandable. still though..



EDIT: nvm, saw your post above. personally I think it is totally unnecessary to cite a website.. if that were the case nearly every applicant would be citing it. but to each his own I guess.

 

[GrabSlamBoot]

I did emory's secondary today. 3 prompts said approx. 100 words so for two of them I felt ok with leaving 120 and 140 words respectively and my third was 100 words.

A fourth prompt said " 100 words of less" I took that as a hard limit and restricted myself to 99 words haha.

So like the posters above me said, just see how they word their "limits". It wont throw you out of the pile.

 

[HalfListic]

Yes.

I had a friend that tried this a few years ago. His essay was 376 words. The prompt was 250. An adcom took a massive dump in a box and MAILED IT TO HIS HOUSE! He even used wax paper so the oil would not seep through the box and make it obvious that there was something unsavory within.

Yikes, bro. I wouldn't risk it.

that escalated pretty quickly...

 

[Praefectus]

I can just imagine the adcoms having to sit there and read thousands and thousand of essays and appreciating an essay that is short and concise much more than an essay that drags on and on.

👍

 

[Pattycake25]

I did emory's secondary today. 3 prompts said approx. 100 words so for two of them I felt ok with leaving 120 and 140 words respectively and my third was 100 words.

A fourth prompt said " 100 words of less" I took that as a hard limit and restricted myself to 99 words haha.

So like the posters above me said, just see how they word their "limits". It wont throw you out of the pile.

That 140 word essay is 40% over the suggested size. If you still have the secondary, I'd consider trimming it a bit...

I doubt going over a limit a little bit, all on its own, is going to get your app nuked. But if it's quite obviously over the limit, and worse yet rambles, then you better believe it's going to leave a sour taste in the reader's mouth, and when you're fighting against a horde of other applicants for favor, sometimes the best thing you can do for yourself is to just avoid stepping in dog**** like that. You may love the school, but to them, you're just a name...and there's plenty more where you came from.

 

[NickNaylor]

That 140 word essay is 40% over the suggested size. If you still have the secondary, I'd consider trimming it a bit...

I doubt going over a limit a little bit, all on its own, is going to get your app nuked. But if it's quite obviously over the limit, and worse yet rambles, then you better believe it's going to leave a sour taste in the reader's mouth, and when you're fighting against a horde of other applicants for favor, sometimes the best thing you can do for yourself is to just avoid stepping in dog**** like that. You may love the school, but to them, you're just a name...and there's plenty more where you came from.

When you read an essay, do you keep even a rough track of how many words you're reading? The fact is that unless someone is actually going to take the time to count words/characters by hand, it doesn't matter. Of course if the app provides that info then they'll know.

People are giving this way more importance than it actually receives. Chill out on the neuroticism and do your best with it.

(sent from my phone)

 

[GrabSlamBoot]

That 140 word essay is 40% over the suggested size. If you still have the secondary, I'd consider trimming it a bit...

I doubt going over a limit a little bit, all on its own, is going to get your app nuked. But if it's quite obviously over the limit, and worse yet rambles, then you better believe it's going to leave a sour taste in the reader's mouth, and when you're fighting against a horde of other applicants for favor, sometimes the best thing you can do for yourself is to just avoid stepping in dog**** like that. You may love the school, but to them, you're just a name...and there's plenty more where you came from.

This is exageratted, i doubt the adcoms with thousands of secondaries to read are going to penalize me or even notice me going over their word limit by 40 words. And if they do so be it, Emory is quite a long shot for me anyways. And there was no word count in the "box" they provided, so the readers would have to cut and paste my essay into word, then do a word count.....

Like NickNaylor said, chill out.

 

[DrMario13]

This is exageratted, i doubt the adcoms with thousands of secondaries to read are going to penalize me or even notice me going over their word limit by 40 words. And if they do so be it, Emory is quite a long shot for me anyways. And there was no word count in the "box" they provided, so the readers would have to cut and paste my essay into word, then do a word count.....

Like NickNaylor said, chill out.

Try, but why risk it that you get that one stickler? Besides, if you put the time and effort into it you can probably cut it down or rework it so that it is more succinct and clearer, two positives!

 

[ceasefire]

Most of the ones I've done track your characters and you CAN'T exceed the limit. It doesn't even let you type anymore.

Sent via mobile

This.

Eight of twelve secondaries I've filled out trace your characters and do not let you go over.

 

[Haislip]

I would make some trimmings. Go over 20 percent of the limit is being risky. If you firmly believe that everything is essential to painting your potrait, then keep it!