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casbroker
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Not Utilizing Alloted Word Count 08 Dec 2007, 08:20
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I am working on my Columbia essays and feel like I've put together a decent essay for Question 3 about capturing an opportunity. The only problem is that I have only written 415 words even though the suggested word count is 500. Do you see this being a problem?
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mNeo
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Not Utilizing Alloted Word Count 08 Dec 2007, 09:23
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IMO, not at all !! Having said that, you may want to use the remaining words to pass some more information to the adcom.
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riverripper
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Not Utilizing Alloted Word Count 08 Dec 2007, 11:04
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As long as you feel that you cant add anything of value. Being able to write concisely actually is a good reflection on you. I think adcoms would rather read a 400 word essay that gets to the point than a 500 word essay that has some fluf filler at the end.
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Not Utilizing Alloted Word Count 09 Dec 2007, 12:48
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going under is fine, as long as you feel you said everything you needed to say. 415 out of 500 isn't really going under by that much. Most of us worry about going over.

Just see if you can add another detail or flesh out a story more by 1-2 sentences, and you're set!
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casbroker
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Not Utilizing Alloted Word Count 23 Dec 2007, 10:40
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After my editor (girlfriend) ripped apart my essays and told me they were crap (she said it nicer than that), my essay is 520 words. So, now I'm over the recommended word count! D'oh!
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Not Utilizing Alloted Word Count 23 Dec 2007, 14:19
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you can be around 10% over the word limit and be fine.