This opinion article will be approximately 550 words, give or take a few. How much will you learn about me or my topic in that span? Enough to offer me residency or perhaps some money? Not even close.
This is what colleges expect; they want their applicants to reveal themselves and their entire past experiences—and also be clever and engaging about it—in mere hundreds of words. They expect college essays so riveting and inspiring that they will have to offer you a spot in their school and perhaps a dollop of scholarship money.
Thousands of admissions officers in the US expect applicants to win them over in as little as 200 words. Sure, we have the main Common Application essay—a requirement of a minimum of 250 words—but this is just one part of the process. The tedious and often numerous supplemental essays still remain.
Stanford University supplement: maximum 250 words. Tufts University supplement: maximum 200 words. Our imaginations: endless. Here lies the problem that many students face. Condensing ingenuity into a tiny package without compromising quality.
The reasoning behind the word limit is simple: we are forced to compress our imaginations, creativity and overall self-worth so that the admissions process is more quick and efficient. So what if admissions officers have to glance twice or three times at a student’s essay, or take longer than three minutes to read it? Shouldn’t the admissions officer take a little bit longer to finish reading the essay if it could provide greater insight in the talent and unique qualities of the person who wrote it?
The admissions process is now dehumanized. Colleges treat students more as statistics and less as people. Transcripts and scores bleed numbers and facts; essays pour out passion and soul. They are imperative in the process of discovering an applicant not just for their scores or grades, but more importantly for their values and personality.
According to collegeboard.com, in order to write a decent essay, one must choose a topic that represents their preferences, values and thought process. The topic must embody who you are as a person, not just a student, and that is a lot to fit into one essay—especially if the word limit essentially inhibits sufficient development.
Throughout its essay writing section, College Board stresses the importance of a focused essay that doesn’t “use 50 words when five will do.” In certain contexts, especially ones about personal topics, 50 beautifully written, eloquent and passionate words often outshine five furtive, quick and to-the-punch words.
I fear that I will struggle to meet this standard. I fear that because of this, my essays will not be as strong as they could be had I been allotted more space. And finally, I fear that my essay will not accurately depict who I am. There are so many ways to describe a student—smart, quirky, loud, sneezy, compassionate—and each trait deserves full explanation. We are still developing as people and should not be hindered by lines in which we must color. We should be allowed to stretch across the page and dive in and out of words and phrases, free to say and write in any length.
All I ask is that we have a better opportunity to demonstrate our talents and abilities. We are different, complex and individual people. Our writing should be an opportunity to shine a light on the fact that we are worthy of recognition.