Essay Length Question

Question

Hi! does anyone know if footnotes count toward the word limit on essays????? ThankS 8-)

GoBruin · Answer

Which school might this before? I would assume footnotes would not count toward your word count, but I have also not seen anyone who used footnotes, it's not typical in my opinion.

For Booth's Slides, there is a limit on word count for the slides that you can put in the comments section.

LAOF · Answer

I was using footnotes to give context to some of the data in my essays such as what the initials of an organization mean and the exchange rate used in some transactions.

If you think adcoms would frown upon this I'll find some other way to make my essays clearer.

Thanks!

GoBruin · Answer

Well for those cases would it be better to use the full name of the organization and use the US equivalent for transactions? I don't think they are gonna focus too deeply between 100 million vs 10 million.

my 2 cents

unhedged · Answer

For initials one convention I have seen is to put the full name first and then the abbreviated name in parenthesis. For example:

I was a Senior Consultant at International Business Machines Corporation (IBM). While at IBM, I invented the personal computer.

marymary · Answer

wow unhedged, you should definitely mention that in your application! :wink:

Footnotes are definitely not necessary and will probably turn off an adcom as it sends a message that you have trouble integrating information into a brief written piece. As mentioned, the proper way to use initials is to mention the full name once and then follow it with the initials in parenthesis, then use the initials. So Long Business Name (LBN) then LBN. As for exchange rate, if it's crucial to the essay that you give both currency amounts then put it in the narrative. If it's not then do the calculations yourself and mention that it's USD or whatever end number you want to get.

Jerz · Answer

To save on word count, if it's a well known acronym (ie IBM, BCG, etc.) you could probably just use the acronym without defining it. For currency amounts, I'd use the currency of the country the school is in for your essays (USD for US schools, British pounds for UK schools, etc.) This will also help the essay reader quickly understand the magnitude that you're talking about since they may not know the exchange rate to the foreign currency off the top of their heads.

Your essays should not be so complex or data intensive that they require footnotes to explain.

JohnLewis1980 · Answer

Dear all, I asked that question during a Kellogg's information session and I was told that definetely I had to avoid such footnotes

And if you think of it carefully, you'll notice that it's possible: acronym (mention the full name once the first time and then use always the acronym), exchange rates... I'd avoid the use of those, since it seemed you mean that adcom don't know how to find out the exchange rate :oops:

Regards

rhyme · Answer

Avoid footnotes. It makes reading the essays so much more work. If you need a footnote for some reason, reconsider how you wrote whatever you wrote.

miccarlo · Answer

Agree with everyone here...I dont think I have ever heard of anyone using footnotes on an application essay!

Essay Length Question

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards