wow, that's a lot of posts in one night!
I had a few essays that were 30-40 words over, and I got in.

LOR: your recommenders can talk about the same weaknesses, so don't worry too much about that. I think my boss just mentioned one and said that I was perfect, hahahahaha :D
Key Responsibilities: this allows you to elaborate on your resume. Your resume probably picks and chooses the jobs that are most important because of the limited space. Here you can list every job and responsibility you've ever had and what you've done in that job. It overlaps, but this one adds value.