You have completed the procedure of applying for the college scholarship. Now you are asked to write an essay to impress the admission committee and give them a brief idea about your personality and goals. You must be thinking that how many words would be enough for writing an essay. There are varying approaches to this. Usually, the words limit to write the essay is mentioned. However, in some applications, you are provided with a free space to express yourself out. This is where you need to decide on the optimal length of the essay.
You need to do complete research on this as these few words will decide either the acceptance or rejection of your application. You need to spend days crafting an impressive essay that covers all the essential details of your life. But, it should not be too long. You should stay to-the-point and precise in your statements as the scholarship committee doesn’t have enough time to read long essays.
A scholarship essay should be as long as needed to cover the precise but complete information on the topic required.
Different applications and supplemental essays have different approaches.
Keep reading to get more clarity.
Personal statements
The personal statement is the primary essay that you write for your college application. It is recommended to cover the essay within 400-600 words. However, the word count varies in different applications.
- The common application requires a personal statement to be 250-650 words. More than 800 colleges use the common app as the primary application essay.
- Some schools or colleges that don’t use common apps still require the essay within the same word limit.
- The University of California system demands four essays with almost 350 words.
It does not matter where you are applying, but it is recommended to follow the higher limit of word count to properly showcase your talent as a student or as a person.
Supplemental & scholarship essays
In addition to the personal statement, many schools demand supplemental essays. The length of supplemental and scholarship essays varies and depends upon the requirements of the school. However, these essays are shorter than personal statements, especially when required to write multiple supplemental articles.
For example, the word count of supplemental essays required by Georgetown is 250-700, and they need four essays.
Stanford requires an essay with a word count of 10-250. However, they need 11 essays. The lower the word limit you are provided, the more strictly you should stick to it.
Final words
On the whole, it is suggested to either meet the word limit or stay within, as writing more words will result in your essay being cut off. On the other hand, if you write fewer words, it gives an impression that you are not interested at all and applying just to fill a formality. If you are not provided with any word limit, it is recommended to stick to 400-600 words. This can help you demonstrate yourself and your interest in a proper way.
