aviroop wrote:
did you stick with the word limits for the essays or have a 10-15% deviation?
I managed to be on the dot with the word limits but I am thinking if it is an added benefit to add in a few words more to convey better ideas?
The whole "recommended XXX word limit" makes no sense when the ad-com officer told me it is just a guideline and not supposed to be taken literally.
Also did your essay 1. and 2. come very close to each other? Mine sound very similar and I am quite concerned about them although in essence they are very different!!
I went over the "recommended limit" ... but within the 10% deviation. I figured it would be ok because it's a "recommended word limit" and not an absolute word limit.... and after all, Columbia gives you 600000 characters to play with in every written part of the application.
anyway, for the record, I got my recommenders to submit the recommendation online. I chased them hard for it though. Called a recommender for 2 days before he finally picked up my calls and admitted that he hadn't completed the recommendations. And called him for another 3 days (3x a day) before he picked up and said
"YES! I've submitted them today! Hahaha. "
At least he wasn't in a bad mood over my trying to get him.... but he's usually a very last minute kind of guy..