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Word Limit

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rhythmandsoul
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Word Limit [#permalink] New post   24 Sep 2011, 01:38
This one's for the admission consultants or somebody who's done with the first draft of the essays. How strict is the committee on the word limit? I've narrowed it down to 666 words for the first question, but really hate to prune it beyond that. What is the degree of flexibility, if any, on the word limit on the essays?

Btw, nice number that 666 :)
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bschool2014
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Re: Word Limit [#permalink] New post   24 Sep 2011, 13:58
Consensus seems to be 10% over is the maximum you can go. But don't do it for every essay.
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AlexMBAApply
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Re: Word Limit [#permalink] New post   24 Sep 2011, 14:46
Rule of thumb is +/- 10% for all schools.

Why 10%?

After having read hundreds if not thousands of the same essays, most readers can get a sense for the word count +/- 10% without having to actually count the words (i.e. it's hard to sense a difference between a 500 and a 550 word essay, but it's a bit easier to sense a difference between a 500 and 600 word essay).
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losttraveler
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Re: Word Limit [#permalink] New post   24 Sep 2011, 15:06
If you really read your essay and cut out all the BS.. you'll be surprised how many words you can cut-out. I actually got all my essays for Columbia within +/- 3 words of each limit and had my Tuck essays all within +/- 10 words. If it doesn't add value or is just extra explanation.. just crop it
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Re: Word Limit [#permalink]
24 Sep 2011, 15:06

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