How Long Should a College Essay Be? 

When applying to college, one of the most important parts of your application is the college essay. This personal statement is your chance to show admissions officers who you are beyond your grades and test scores. It’s an opportunity to provide insight into your personality, interests, experiences, and writing ability.

Adhere to the word count guidelines provided by the application portal. You’ll most likely be given a range, and staying within 10% of the maximum limit is best. For example, if the range is 400-500, your essay should be no more than 550. If the application doesn’t provide a word count, the general rule is to keep your essay between 400 and 600 words.

Admissions officers value your ability to follow instructions and express yourself concisely. Staying under the specified word count demonstrates that you can communicate your ideas effectively within the given parameters.

Word count guidelines for different application types

While there are no set universal guidelines, the length of your college essay typically depends on the type of application you are submitting:

Common App 

For the main Common Application essay (also known as the personal statement), the word count range is 250-650 words. You must stay within this length. If you exceed the limit, the online application will cut you off and prevent you from entering anything beyond 650 words.

While 650 words are the maximum, you don’t necessarily need to hit this limit. Generally speaking, we advise aiming for around 500-600 words. This gives you enough space to develop your ideas and provide concrete examples while keeping your essay concise and engaging. Quality matters more than quantity – admissions officers have to read a lot of essays, so it’s to your benefit to keep yours on the tighter side.

In addition to the main Common App essay, you may need to write supplemental essays for specific schools. The word counts for these supplemental essays vary by school and prompt, but they are usually much shorter, typically around 150-400 words. Check the exact requirements for each school.

Coalition App 

If you are applying to colleges using the Coalition Application, the main personal essay has a recommended length of 500-650 words. Unlike the Common App, the Coalition App technically allows you to exceed 650 words. However, we strongly advise against exceeding the suggested limit. Coalition schools expect you to adhere to the guidelines and appreciate concision. Aim for the same 500-600 word sweet spot as you would for the Common App.

Similar to the Common App, many Coalition schools also require supplemental essays, which tend to be 150-400 words long, although this varies by school. Always check the specific requirements for each college on your list.

UC App

The UC application requires you to choose 4 out of 8 personal insight questions to respond to. For each question, the maximum word count is 350 words. This is a firm limit – you cannot exceed 350 words for any of the essays.

Since 350 words is a more limited space compared to the Common App or Coalition App, your responses must be focused and concise. Aim to use all 350 words for each essay to fully address the prompt, but don’t feel the need to pad if you’ve concisely said all you need to say.

Now that you have a sense of the word counts required for different college essay types, here are some tips for cutting down or expanding your drafts to meet the limits:

How to shorten your essay

While some college application platforms may allow you to go over the word count, staying within the prescribed limit’s in your best interest. Here’s why:

• Maintaining the admissions officer’s engagement: Admissions officers read countless essays, and a concise, well-written piece is more likely to hold their attention and make a lasting impact.
• Demonstrating your ability to follow instructions: By adhering to the word count, you show that you can carefully read and follow directions, a valuable skill in college and beyond.
• Showcasing your writing skills: Writing concisely is a challenge but an important skill to master. By effectively conveying your ideas within the word limit, you demonstrate your ability to communicate clearly and succinctly.

To help you shorten your essay, consider the following strategies:

Stay focused on addressing the prompt

The most important thing is to fully answer the essay prompt. If you find your essay is too long, the first thing to do is make sure you have stayed on-topic or included extra information that isn’t necessary to address the question at hand. Cut any extraneous information.

Example

Let’s say you’re writing an essay about a volunteer experience at an animal shelter and how it impacted you. An example of an unnecessary digression would be spending a paragraph providing excessive background on the history and mission of the animal shelter. While a brief description of the organization is helpful for context, going into too much detail takes away from the essay’s main point – the impact the experience had on you.

Eliminate wordiness

Tighten up your language and cut out empty phrases. Replace wordy phrases with more concise expressions. Avoid saying the same thing in different ways.

Example

Consider the phrase “the reason why is that.” You can convey the same idea in a more concise way by just saying “because.” Similarly, no need to say, “he was very happy and excited.” “He was thrilled,” says the same thing in fewer words. Look for these types of opportunities to make your writing more concise.

How to expand your essay

If your college essay is substantially below the recommended word count, you may be missing a crucial opportunity to demonstrate the depth of your character and the authenticity of your experiences. Admissions officers might interpret an unusually short essay as an indication that you cannot craft a comprehensive, thoughtful narrative about yourself and your journey. 

To effectively expand your essay and make the most of this opportunity, consider the following strategies:

Use specific, detailed examples

If your draft is significantly under the word limit, you may need to flesh out your writing with more concrete examples and vivid descriptions. Don’t just make generic statements – back them up with specific instances and illustrative details.

Example

Don’t just say, “Volunteering at the animal shelter was life-changing.” Describe specific moments or interactions that led to this realization – describe soothing a frightened kitten or helping an older dog go on a walk. Use sensory details to paint a vivid picture. This will boost your word count and make your essay more engaging.

Dig deeper and reflect

Another way to meaningfully expand your essay is by digging deeper into your thoughts and feelings about your topic. Explain the “so what” and significance of your stories. What did you learn? How did the experience impact your perspective?

Example

After describing your experience helping animals at the shelter, reflect on why this was meaningful and what you gained from it. Maybe it taught you about the importance of showing compassion, or maybe it helped you discover a passion for a career in veterinary medicine. Elaborating on the personal growth and insight you gained will add depth to your essay.

The key is to expand in a way that adds substance rather than just fluff. Don’t pad your essay with unnecessary repetition or vague generalizations. Every additional detail should serve a purpose.