What is the word limit for college essays and does it vary by school?

Great questions—word limits are a key part of the college essay process and can definitely make things more stressful if you aren't sure what rules to follow. Here's what you need to know:

For the Common App personal statement, the official word limit is 650 words. You can't go over this number; if your essay is even one word too long, the application won't let you submit it. While there's also a minimum (250 words), most students find the real challenge is trimming their essay to fit. Aim for the 620-650 range if you can, as this uses the space effectively without unnecessary fluff.

When it comes to supplemental essays, each college sets its own word limit. There's no standard—some schools will give you 150-250 words for a "Why us?" prompt, others might allow up to 500-650 for a story-based supplement. You can always find the word or character limits for each supplemental essay when you log in to your application portals (Common App or school-specific ones). Typically, these are displayed right above each text box where you paste or type your answer.

A personal tip: when I applied, I made a spreadsheet listing each school and their corresponding supplement prompts and limits. This kept things organized and helped avoid accidental mistakes when copying essays between schools. As an example, Stanford asks for several short answers (50 words each), while the University of Chicago might have 650-word prompts for their famously creative essays.

In summary: 650 is the hard cap for the Common App essay, and always double-check each school's word count for supplements. If you’re over the limit, admissions will not read past the cutoff, so editing is well worth your time. Good luck and don’t feel alone; almost everyone struggles with cutting down their essays!