If you’re reading this, then you or your child is preparing to enter college. You know that the college admissions process in the United States can be full of many twists and turns and can definitely be stressful to navigate.
And today, a big part of that navigation is knowing how to write a college application essay.
The college admissions landscape has greatly changed over the last few years. Although SAT and ACT test scores are still important, college admissions offices are looking at the total package of prospective students. They want to know more about prospective students personally, including what they think and their experiences in order to determine if they will be a good fit.
This is where personal statements and supplemental essays become important.
Keep reading this article to learn the following about the college essay writing process:
- What is a college essay?
- What’s the difference between a personal statement and a supplemental essay?
- Specifics about word limits
- Tips for writing an effective college essay
- Common mistakes students make with essay length
This article will give you all the tools to begin your college essay writing journey. The tips and suggestions in this article are applicable to all genres of writing, so following them will also help you with your paper writing in general. These are tried and true methods that I’ve personally used with scores of students and clients whom I’ve helped enter graduate, law, and even medical schools.
What Is a “College Essay” in the U.S. Admissions Process?
A college or entrance essay is an essay that is often a partial requirement of a college application package. The prospective student is usually given a prompt, or a choice of a prompt, to answer in essay form. The intent is for the university to determine if the prospective student shares the same values as the school. In other words, to see if the student is a good fit.
The following are the two most common types of college essays:
- Personal Essay
The personal essay or statement focuses more on the prospective student’s background and how his or her experiences and values align with the university’s.
- Supplemental Essay
The supplemental essay is an essay that usually focuses more on the university or a particular department in the university. The prompts focus on why the prospective student has chosen the university or department.
A College Essay Is Still an Essay
These definitions will be examined in more detail later in this article, but for now, it’s important to know that whichever essay you are required to write – or both in some cases – it should follow a clear, cogent organization.
A good college essay should be outlined and organized just like any other essay. Consider incorporating the following elements from other essays into your college essays:
- A Hook
The first sentence should be catchy and draw attention to you as an individual or why you want to attend the school for which you’re applying.
- A Thesis
Yes, you read that correctly – add a thesis statement! In the last sentence of the first paragraph, you should state emphatically why you should be admitted to a particular school. The sentence should also lay out each point that will be covered in the following paragraph.
- The Main Body Paragraphs
The main body paragraphs should each be a point that demonstrates why you’re a good fit for the college or department.
- Conclusion Paragraph
In this short paragraph, you summarize all of the points why you’re a good fit for the school. It can also help to end things with a humorous or inspiring anecdote, depending on the style of the essay.
With these definitions in mind, let’s take a more in-depth look at how long these essays should be.
How Long Should a Personal Statement/Essay Be for College?
Before discussing the proper length of a personal statement, let’s examine what a personal statement is a bit more. As mentioned earlier, personal statements are ways to showcase your personality and background and how those make you a good fit for the university. Personal statements are also a good way to demonstrate your writing abilities, from grammar to style, flow, and syntax.
Most personal statements will require you to choose from several prompts. The prompts are usually based on a theme such as the following:
- A specific incident
This usually involves describing how a specific incident—good or bad—has molded you as a person and set you on the path to entering college.
- A specific topic
This may or may not be a controversial topic, but it should always be one that relates to you and why you are applying to the specific college.
- An accomplishment
This is a fairly popular prompt that students write about because it gives them the chance to highlight something positive they’ve done.
Now let’s take a look at some different types of personal essays and their suggested lengths. It’s important to point out here that when we discuss the length of college essays, we’re generally talking in terms of words, not pages, although there’s one exception that will be discussed later.
The Common Application
The Common Application, or “Common App,” is the application required by about 1,000 universities worldwide. The word length requirement for the Common App personal statement is 250-650 words.
The Coalition Application
The “Coalition App” is the application required by about 150 schools. Schools that use the Coalition App designed the process to make it easier for first-generation and low-income students to enter college. The length of the Coalition App is 500-600 words.
The University of California Personal Insight Questions (UC PIC)
The University of California system utilizes the UC PIC as its own application process. The UC PIC requires prospective students to answer four out of eight prompts. Each prompt has a 350 word maximum.
Individual School Apps
There are still many accredited universities that use their own form of applications and prompts. The type of prompts doesn’t vary much from the other types of applications, nor do the word counts. Generally speaking, most colleges require 250-650 word personal statements, but always make sure you know the specific word count before you begin writing.
Now that you know how much you can expect to write for a personal essay, let’s take a look at the word count requirements for different supplemental essays.
Supplemental Essays: How Long Should They Be?
Supplemental essays are usually shorter than personal statements, so most schools require prospective students to write 1-3 of them in their applications. Although supplemental essays are similar to personal statements in that they are intended to reveal elements of the student’s personality, the details are a bit different.
Supplemental essays focus on why the student is applying to a particular university or program within that university, so it’s important to know how to write a “Why us?” essay. The “why us” is the most popular prompt of a supplemental essay, but others include the following:
- Describe your academic passion
- How has your volunteerism impacted your local community?
- Describe your background and perspective
Because supplemental essays are usually categorized by length, it’s a bit easier to gauge how long they should be.
- Short Answer Supplement
These are generally no longer than 250 words. They are concise and to the point
- Mid-Length Supplement
These are usually about 500 words.
- Special Cases
Some supplemental prompts require more details. In these cases, you should expect to write about 650 words.
Now that you have a clear idea of how many words you need to write for your personal statement and supplemental essays, let’s dive a little deeper.
Going Over or Under the Word Limit
Before you begin writing your personal statement and supplemental essays, you should familiarize yourself with the word count meter on your word processing program. All programs have a word count meter, which is usually displayed in the lower left corner where the page numbers are listed. If you don’t see one on your document, check in the “options” tab. This feature alone should keep you compliant with the word count.
But what if you’re having problems with your draft going over or under the word count?
Personally, I think it’s better to go over the word count because you can always cut content. If you’re unsure of what to cut, have a friend or teacher look at it and offer some suggestions.
Going under the word count will require you to add more content. If you seem to have a mental block, take a break from your writing and do something else. Totally forget about it for a while if you can, and I guarantee you’ll think of something else to write about yourself or the school.
It’s important to point out here that the final word count is extremely important. Some schools may not care if you go over or under the word count by ten words, but don’t assume that. Part of the application process involves the school administrators determining how well you follow directions. If you can’t follow a simple word count for a college entrance essay, then chances are the administrators will probably think you’ll have problems following directions in the classroom.
What If There Is No Word Limit?
This is a good question because sometimes this is the case, or at least it’s the case at first glance. It’s up to you to search the school’s website and possibly even call the school to determine if there is a word limit. If you still don’t find an answer, assume that the word count is about 500-650 words.
Another special case may be if they require a previous writing sample from you. If you are required to send a writing sample, there may be a page limit instead of a word limit. Again, carefully check the length requirements before you submit your writing sample.
Tips for Writing an Effective College Essay Within the Word Limit
Now that you have the fundamentals to write your college essay within the required length, let’s go over some tips that will make the process easier.
- Relax and Have Fun
Yes, this is an extremely important process and you should take it seriously, but you should also have fun. If you write your essays in a relaxed mood and have fun doing so, your confidence will spring from your words. Believe me, it will make your essays much more enjoyable to read!
- More Is Better
I already covered this a bit in the previous section. It’s far easier to cut content from your essays than it is to add, so don’t worry if you’ve written too much. You can simply eliminate some of that content to make the word count.
- Don’t Forget to Edit and Proofread
As with any type of essay, it’s imperative that you edit and proofread your work before submitting it. This will help not only with the flow and mechanics of your essay but also with the word count.
Common Mistakes Students Make with Essay Length
As we wrap this article up, let’s go over a few mistakes many students make in their college essays. Some of these have been touched on earlier, but as important as they are, let’s look at them in more detail.
- Not Doing Your Research!
This includes a lot of things. If you’re writing a supplemental statement, then you should know details about the university for which you’re applying and possibly the department you want to join. Administrators like students who know about their school because it shows they are serious.
- Not Paying Attention to Details!
I discussed earlier how you should familiarize yourself with all the requirements of the college essay you’re writing. Make sure to read the FAQs page and call the university if you have any questions. You might miss something important if you don’t pay attention to the details of the prompts.
These common mistakes lead to sloppy writing, which in turn will create word count problems. By addressing these problems, you’ll help keep your essay at an appropriate length.
Writing for Your Future
The standard college essay is an integral part of any college application package. In addition to writing essays that are compelling and engaging, you have to remember to keep your essays within the prescribed word limit.
If you do that, then you’re halfway there!
If you follow the instructions and suggestions in this article, you’ll quickly find yourself on the path to college essay writing success, and all of your essays will be within the proper lengths.
