How long should my college essay be?

The ideal length for your college essay mostly depends on the specific application platform and the schools you're applying to. The Common Application, which is accepted by hundreds of colleges, sets the word limit for its main personal statement at 650 words. The Coalition Application also recommends an essay in the 500–650 word range. If you're applying to schools with their own portals, always check each school's specific requirements—they'll usually list a word or character limit.

For the Common App, it's completely normal to be close to the 650-word cap. Admissions officers are used to seeing essays that fall anywhere from about 500 to 650 words. Submitting an essay that's 630 words is perfectly fine; you don't need to cut it down just for the sake of using fewer words, as long as every sentence in your draft adds value and your story is clear and engaging. However, you shouldn't go over the limit—the portal literally won't let you paste in anything longer.

Colleges won't be "annoyed" if you approach the max. In fact, many essays hover near the upper limit, because students want to make the most of the available space. What matters most is that every part of your essay is working for you. If you find parts that are redundant, off-topic, or distracting, trim them. Otherwise, focus on clarity, authenticity, and telling a story that's genuinely you.

For example, if someone wrote an essay about a formative experience volunteering at a local animal shelter and used 645 words to give vivid, personal detail and clear insights about why it changed them, that's great. If another student rambled a bit and filled 650 words with general reflections without getting to the point, then that's less effective.

In short: aim to use as much of the space as you need, but don't add fluff just to hit the max word count. And always check each application's guidelines—some supplementals or school-specific requirements are quite a bit shorter (often 250 or 300 words). Do a final proofread to make sure your essay fits neatly within the stated limit, and you should be good to go!