Secondaries: Same topic, different word limit

[jinjames0]

Hi SDN !

I recently started prewriting for secondary apps and noticed that there is a common topic (e.g diversity, adversity, gap year, etc), but they all give you different word/character limit.

I feel compelled to write as much as I can to fit the word limit when I see it, but I am afraid that that would hurt the conciseness of my response. And as an over-thinker, I even think that, perhaps, the prompts with 4000 character limits are meant for people who actually have something that needs that much space. What do you guys think ?

Thank you for taking your time to read and sharing your perspectives !

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[chilly_md]

Hi SDN !

I recently started prewriting for secondary apps and noticed that there is a common topic (e.g diversity, adversity, gap year, etc), but they all give you different word/character limit.

I feel compelled to write as much as I can to fit the word limit when I see it, but I am afraid that that would hurt the conciseness of my response. And as an over-thinker, I even think that, perhaps, the prompts with 4000 character limits are meant for people who actually have something that needs that much space. What do you guys think ?

Thank you for taking your time to read and sharing your perspectives !

Don’t write just for the sake of using up the entire character limit. Most schools will not have 4000 character prompts and depending on the question, it is likely just an arbitrary high number (like for the “any additional information” sections).

 

[jinjames0]

Don’t write just for the sake of using up the entire character limit. Most schools will not have 4000 character prompts and depending on the question, it is likely just an arbitrary high number (like for the “any additional information” sections).

This is reassuring ! Thank you !

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I watch a fair number of Food Network competition shows. Often giving yourself more time gives you more opportunity to make mistakes. Same thing goes for these essays when it comes to a larger character or word count.

 

[GoSpursGo]

And keep in mind that ultimately, many of these prompts are fluff that are used to direct your interview if you get them. Obviously it's helpful if you have a great response, but if you don't then just put something reasonable and move on. Much better to give an unmemorable perfunctory 1000 character response than to bore your reviewer to tears with a perfunctory 4000 character response.