carriedinterest wrote:
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.