Common Application Sets Word Limit

After a four-year experiment in allowing applicants to write long essays, Common Application is going back to a 500-word limit this fall. Common Application’s board of directors recommended the limit after advisory groups indicated that essays had become “far too long, less well-written, and ... often skimmed rather than read by admissions officers,” according to Executive Director Rob Killion. The not-for-profit has 463 members that accept the common college application.