secondary application (character limit)

[Yoyomama88]

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If a school requires you to mail in their application, and they have a character limit....should I not be worried if I slightly go over it? No one would really check to see if a paper copy has the right amount of characters...or should i just play it safe and make sure I fit it within the limit? Any thoughts?

 

[calnation]

They definitely won't count but if it's real lengthy they might compare the length to another essay of similar font.

It really depends on how much over we're talking here.....

 

[LossForWords]

They definitely won't count but if it's real lengthy they might compare the length to another essay of similar font.

It really depends on how much over we're talking here.....

Is it really so important to go over? I mean, if you can edit it down by 15 characters and maintain the meaning (which you probably can) then I'd say do it. I mean, why not?

 

[harposnarpo]

If they say '1500' characters, than you can go to 1549. If they say '1500.', you're stuck at 1500. For the ambiguous case when the number ends a sentence, attach a note explaining the situation. Nobody likes anybody that doesn't give 103%, but nobody likes anybody that doesn't follow anybody's rules.

 

[Yoyomama88]

Its only 150 characters over the limit, but I like all the sentences I have...oh well. You really think attaching a note is worth it? if you point it out to them, then they just might come to one of the conclusions you suggested...i need a psychologist as a reference right about now 🙂

 

[Dulcina]

If they say '1500' characters, than you can go to 1549. If they say '1500.', you're stuck at 1500. For the ambiguous case when the number ends a sentence, attach a note explaining the situation. Nobody likes anybody that doesn't give 103%, but nobody likes anybody that doesn't follow anybody's rules.

i cant understand this post at all!

 

[Yoyomama88]

ye lol "1500" vs "1500." How does the extra period make the 1500 nonnegotiable, where as the 1500 without the period, but still in parentheses is negotiable.

 

[Maxwell Edison]

I wouldn't go over if I were you. They get out a pencil and count out your characters in teams of two. Why do you think it takes so long to process secondaries?

/joking

 

[calnation]

i cant understand this post at all!

I think the period somehow rules out the ambiguity of how many significant figures there are.😀

 

[student1799]

Its only 150 characters over the limit, but I like all the sentences I have...oh well. You really think attaching a note is worth it? if you point it out to them, then they just might come to one of the conclusions you suggested...i need a psychologist as a reference right about now 🙂

Given that it's 10% over the limit, I think you have to cut it. (If it was only a few characters, I wouldn't bother.) You can get it down if you try: just go through the whole thing word-by-word and look for shorter words that mean the same thing: "knew" instead of "realized," "relative" instead of "family member," etc. If you do this whenever possible and trim a superfluous clause or two out of your sentences, it should be no problem.

I agree that these character limits are a huge pain, but you might as well go along with it, to show that you can follow instructions.

 

[TheWildcat08]

you gotta cut it down, nothing good can come out of going over. why bother? and i know it MIGHT seem like all your sentences are essential but they are not. i've cut out up to 600 characters from my essays; though it takes a lot of work, it's doable. you can cut out a lot of adjectives and random setup sentences. you gotta do it, it sucks, but some medical schools will just cut off all the sentences after the character limit and then you have an essay without an ending...wouldn't that suck?