Hitting the Target Word Count in Your College

Don't worry; even if the application calls for a word or page limit, your reader is not going to bother to count your words and hold you to a ten-word range. However, you don't have a completely free hand either. The admissions counselors are skilled at estimating the length of your essay. If they specify "an essay of no fewer than 250 words," they expect at least one typewritten, double-spaced page with normal fonts and margins. And if they ask for no more than two typewritten pages, they will be annoyed to receive ten. They know how to count. They do have fingers.

If you wrote the essay on a word processor, you can find out the number of words quickly. In Microsoft Word, for example, click on Tools --> Word Count for a total. If you used a typewriter, assume that one page, single-spaced, with normal fonts and margins, contains about 500 words (if double-spaced, 250 words).

If no word or page count is specified, aim for 250-500 words -- long enough to show depth and short enough to hold their interest.

A normal font, such as Times New Roman or Arial, looks like the print in a book or magazine. Don't shrink or expand the type size abnormally; the best choice is probably 12 point. A normal margin is about an inch. If you're writing the essay on a computer, the default style of fonts and margins for your word processor is a good bet.

If the word count of your essay is off by just a few words, you're probably okay. But if the essay is significantly longer or shorter than it should be, you'll have to adjust. Here's how to cut to fit and lengthen to suit.

Chopping excess words

A great way to get rid of excess words is to cut repetitive or wordy material. After that, try these tactics:

Check the introduction and the conclusion of the essay especially carefully. A lot of repetition and unnecessary detail show up in these two spots, and many people ho and hum a bit before they get to the point. Can you pull the reader into your subject more quickly or sum up the point in fewer words?

Look for boring details that the reader can do without. For example, if you're writing about the fund-raising campaign that you organized to assist retired professional athletes (the people least likely to need such a campaign, by the way), you don't need to explain exactly how you created mailing list labels. Dump that detail, but keep the part describing the celebrity auction.

If your essay is a general survey or a "mosaic" of your experiences, trim the essay by eliminating one element. For example, if you've surveyed the development of your interest in grasshoppers over the course of three summers, you may want to limit yourself to two summers, with a half-sentence reference to the third summer in the introduction or conclusion.

Hunt for any material in the essay that duplicates information available elsewhere in your application. Suppose you wrote an essay about your work on the school newspaper. Besides describing some of your big stories and the challenge of dealing with the editorial board, you included a paragraph listing all the positions you held on the paper throughout your high school career, including coffee-maker and senior advertising editor. If those positions are included in the "list your extracurricular activities" section of the application form, you may delete that paragraph from the essay. Remember, the essay should add to the committee's understanding of your identity, not reiterate a bunch of facts.

If you have any dialogue that may be paraphrased or summarized, you may save some space. But don't cut all the interesting stuff!

Consider refocusing if your essay is seriously overlong. Remember, a narrow and deep focus is better than wide and shallow. You don't have to explain every single affect your grandmother's existence had on your life. One or two main ideas should get your