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carriedinterest
wallfan
First time poster here. Just wanted to know what people's thoughts were on the word "max" for the essays. Is it really a max, or can you be 10-20 words over.

Not sure how the admins look at this.

My stats are on the spreadsheet already under RMAJL.

I think a general rule of thumb is that you can be +/- 10% on word count. Any more than that and you risk giving the impression that you think your application is more worthy of the adcom's time than others'.


10%??? Wohoo...I made sure all my applications are within 1% extension of the word limits. In one case 2%...but thats it..nothing beyond that...In my opinion 10% is way too much to extend yourself into...especially when you are going over the limit.... Just a personal opinion..
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mba2013
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@mba2013, @indaclub2012 -

Any status update since your recommendations went in? My app still shows as incomplete, so just trying to get a feel for how long it will be before I go under review.

mine still shows incomplete...

Looks like it's going to be a long wait then.

I'm curious to know what ED applicants are doing in terms of applications to other schools. Are you guys continuing to hammer away at essays, or do you plan to wait for a decision and (assuming a negative result) hit other schools late R1 / R2?

I realize that it's probably worthwhile to get a head start, especially for schools with later R1 deadlines (e.g., Stern) - I'm just finding it difficult motivate myself to get back into application mode when I'm so set on CBS!
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ankitgarg20
carriedinterest
wallfan
First time poster here. Just wanted to know what people's thoughts were on the word "max" for the essays. Is it really a max, or can you be 10-20 words over.

Not sure how the admins look at this.

My stats are on the spreadsheet already under RMAJL.

I think a general rule of thumb is that you can be +/- 10% on word count. Any more than that and you risk giving the impression that you think your application is more worthy of the adcom's time than others'.


10%??? Wohoo...I made sure all my applications are within 1% extension of the word limits. In one case 2%...but thats it..nothing beyond that...In my opinion 10% is way too much to extend yourself into...especially when you are going over the limit.... Just a personal opinion..

From what I've learned from asking adcom and 2nd year students who read these essays: at Wharton they don't print word count, but Booth does. Both schools were ok with up to 10% over/under.
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BuJaasim
I emailed Adcom yesterday and just received a response, they simply said "Our goal is to get all applicants a decision within 8-12 weeks of initial application review.

You can expect to hear from us in the coming weeks."

I sent them a follow-up to clarify whether it's 8 weeks from application submission date or 8 weeks from Interview Complete date. I suspect it's the latter but let's see what they say!


When I spoke to them a couple of weeks ago they said 8-12 weeks from the time it went under review. I guess the positive is that they told you that we should here in the next few weeks, cause I cannot think of them going over another month without all the decisions out, especially for you internationals. BTW when did you submit and have you had your interview
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ankitgarg20
carriedinterest
wallfan
First time poster here. Just wanted to know what people's thoughts were on the word "max" for the essays. Is it really a max, or can you be 10-20 words over.

Not sure how the admins look at this.

My stats are on the spreadsheet already under RMAJL.

I think a general rule of thumb is that you can be +/- 10% on word count. Any more than that and you risk giving the impression that you think your application is more worthy of the adcom's time than others'.


10%??? Wohoo...I made sure all my applications are within 1% extension of the word limits. In one case 2%...but thats it..nothing beyond that...In my opinion 10% is way too much to extend yourself into...especially when you are going over the limit.... Just a personal opinion..

I've read several articles in support of the 10% rule. For example, see:

https://blog.clearadmit.com/2005/09/admi ... rd-limits/

The reality is that 10% isn't really a noticeable difference. For a 500 word essay, it's only 50 additional words - your post contains 49 words, and took me about 10 seconds to read.

My view: if your essay is concise and well-articulated you should be fine going over the word limit (10% max!) as long as the additional information is highly relevant to your candidacy.
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Does this "10%" rule apply to Columbia? Just wanted to clarify because CBS essay instructions say "max".
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wallfan
Does this "10%" rule apply to Columbia? Just wanted to clarify because CBS essay instructions say "max".

It doesn't "apply" anywhere. It's sort of an unwritten rule - like going 5 mph over the speed limit on the freeway.
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Jterm2011
BuJaasim
I emailed Adcom yesterday and just received a response, they simply said "Our goal is to get all applicants a decision within 8-12 weeks of initial application review.

You can expect to hear from us in the coming weeks."

I sent them a follow-up to clarify whether it's 8 weeks from application submission date or 8 weeks from Interview Complete date. I suspect it's the latter but let's see what they say!


When I spoke to them a couple of weeks ago they said 8-12 weeks from the time it went under review. I guess the positive is that they told you that we should here in the next few weeks, cause I cannot think of them going over another month without all the decisions out, especially for you internationals. BTW when did you submit and have you had your interview

I hope so! I submitted to J-Term on 30/8. It went under review on 31/8, and I got an invite on 3/9 IIRC. It went to "Interview Complete" on 15/9, and there was no movement since then. I will update the sheet with my details after I hear another update from CBS. My stats aren't as hot as many of the people here but I guess I'm in a different pool of applicants and work in a kind of unique field so I don't know what to expect. Here's hoping!
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carriedinterest

I've read several articles in support of the 10% rule. For example, see:

https://blog.clearadmit.com/2005/09/admi ... rd-limits/

The reality is that 10% isn't really a noticeable difference. For a 500 word essay, it's only 50 additional words - your post contains 49 words, and took me about 10 seconds to read.

My view: if your essay is concise and well-articulated you should be fine going over the word limit (10% max!) as long as the additional information is highly relevant to your candidacy.

I was of the same opinion when I began writing my applications.In fact my initial drafts were all kissing 10% extensions. However, later I stuck to 1-2% extension when I saw most of the schools specifically mentioning not to exceed the word limits(LBS, Harvard, Wharton) on their essay pages.

I guess the important point to keep in mind, as you said, is about the additional information being HIGHLY RELEVANT to one's candidacy. When I started creating my final drafts for essays, I found I could easily eliminate some information to bring it down to the word limits. I was not compromising the quality of my essay and was not leaving out any relevant information. Its a judgement call for an individual to take for his/her own essays.
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mba2013
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@mba2013, @indaclub2012 -

Any status update since your recommendations went in? My app still shows as incomplete, so just trying to get a feel for how long it will be before I go under review.

mine still shows incomplete...

Looks like it's going to be a long wait then.

I'm curious to know what ED applicants are doing in terms of applications to other schools. Are you guys continuing to hammer away at essays, or do you plan to wait for a decision and (assuming a negative result) hit other schools late R1 / R2?

I realize that it's probably worthwhile to get a head start, especially for schools with later R1 deadlines (e.g., Stern) - I'm just finding it difficult motivate myself to get back into application mode when I'm so set on CBS!

just got an email - status changed to "under review" ! I would check your email - it looks like they're back in the office today and going through apps!
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ankitgarg20
carriedinterest

I've read several articles in support of the 10% rule. For example, see:

https://blog.clearadmit.com/2005/09/admi ... rd-limits/

The reality is that 10% isn't really a noticeable difference. For a 500 word essay, it's only 50 additional words - your post contains 49 words, and took me about 10 seconds to read.

My view: if your essay is concise and well-articulated you should be fine going over the word limit (10% max!) as long as the additional information is highly relevant to your candidacy.

I was of the same opinion when I began writing my applications.In fact my initial drafts were all kissing 10% extensions. However, later I stuck to 1-2% extension when I saw most of the schools specifically mentioning not to exceed the word limits(LBS, Harvard, Wharton) on their essay pages.

I guess the important point to keep in mind, as you said, is about the additional information being HIGHLY RELEVANT to one's candidacy. When I started creating my final drafts for essays, I found I could easily eliminate some information to bring it down to the word limits. I was not compromising the quality of my essay and was not leaving out any relevant information. Its a judgement call for an individual to take for his/her own essays.

I think it is a judgment call. I'm around 5% over in my Wharton essays; haven't started working on Columbia yet. https://engage.wharton.upenn.edu/MBA/forums/t/2154.aspx
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Looks like it's going to be a long wait then.

I'm curious to know what ED applicants are doing in terms of applications to other schools. Are you guys continuing to hammer away at essays, or do you plan to wait for a decision and (assuming a negative result) hit other schools late R1 / R2?

I realize that it's probably worthwhile to get a head start, especially for schools with later R1 deadlines (e.g., Stern) - I'm just finding it difficult motivate myself to get back into application mode when I'm so set on CBS![/quote]

just got an email - status changed to "under review" ! I would check your email - it looks like they're back in the office today and going through apps![/quote]

Likewise, went to "under review".
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From other things I've read they often go by essay length. If you use a lot of smaller words so that the number of inches your essay is in length is generally consistent with a similar essay of the word limit, you are OK. Really, its how many inches long the essay is that determines the amount of time it takes to read, not the actual number of words.

For the record I was under by about 5% on one and over by about 8% on the other.
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mba2013

just got an email - status changed to "under review" ! I would check your email - it looks like they're back in the office today and going through apps!

Thanks for the tip - I'm also under review!
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carriedinterest
I'm curious to know what ED applicants are doing in terms of applications to other schools. Are you guys continuing to hammer away at essays, or do you plan to wait for a decision and (assuming a negative result) hit other schools late R1 / R2?

I realize that it's probably worthwhile to get a head start, especially for schools with later R1 deadlines (e.g., Stern) - I'm just finding it difficult motivate myself to get back into application mode when I'm so set on CBS!

I'm carrying on with other applications as though I'm not getting into CBS, even though I feel good about my app. I find working on other apps helps distract me from the agonizing wait for CBS.
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brainhurt
carriedinterest
I'm curious to know what ED applicants are doing in terms of applications to other schools. Are you guys continuing to hammer away at essays, or do you plan to wait for a decision and (assuming a negative result) hit other schools late R1 / R2?

I realize that it's probably worthwhile to get a head start, especially for schools with later R1 deadlines (e.g., Stern) - I'm just finding it difficult motivate myself to get back into application mode when I'm so set on CBS!

I'm carrying on with other applications as though I'm not getting into CBS, even though I feel good about my app. I find working on other apps helps distract me from the agonizing wait for CBS.

Amen brotha
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carriedinterest
I'm curious to know what ED applicants are doing in terms of applications to other schools. Are you guys continuing to hammer away at essays, or do you plan to wait for a decision and (assuming a negative result) hit other schools late R1 / R2?

I realize that it's probably worthwhile to get a head start, especially for schools with later R1 deadlines (e.g., Stern) - I'm just finding it difficult motivate myself to get back into application mode when I'm so set on CBS!

I'm carrying on with other applications as though I'm not getting into CBS, even though I feel good about my app. I find working on other apps helps distract me from the agonizing wait for CBS.

Amen brotha

+12345

couple more round 1 schools due next week so I'm in lockdown until those get submitted!
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