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Hi,

I want to apply online using the commonapp but my essays won't fit in the allotted space. And so I was wondering, surely there must be some of you who went over the 500 word limit, if so what did you do? Should I write, "please see attached sheet," below the prompt and attach the essay separately to the application? Is there anyway, I could fit the essay in the space by downloading the PDF application and typing it out. Please help!

Thanks.

By Mmnnbb (Mmnnbb) on Friday, December 26, 2003 - 06:39 pm: Edit

mines 654 words and it fits.

By Tennizpro06 (Tennizpro06) on Friday, December 26, 2003 - 06:42 pm: Edit

mm-how did you get yours to fit?! they don't let you change font and stuff for most of the ones i'm applying too. laby, don't you just hate chopping stuff out?! i think i've taken more time just trying to cut my essay down

By Labyrinth5 (Labyrinth5) on Friday, December 26, 2003 - 06:43 pm: Edit

Yeah, I do hate cutting stuff out! Anyway, did anyone here download the PDF and type it out? Would that solve my problems? lol.

By Mmnnbb (Mmnnbb) on Friday, December 26, 2003 - 06:52 pm: Edit

I just copy-pasted it from word... and it didn't cut out anything.

By Blueberry (Blueberry) on Friday, December 26, 2003 - 07:10 pm: Edit

You can call the school to make sure - most will be fine with you attaching another sheet. You might not need to cut out words, because some schools actually tell you that they want more than the 500 words alloted on the commonapp.

By Labyrinth5 (Labyrinth5) on Friday, December 26, 2003 - 08:03 pm: Edit

Thanks! Did anyone use the PDF application? If so, did it enable you to have more space? (By being able to change the font, etc.)

Thanks.

By Efilsiertaeht (Efilsiertaeht) on Friday, December 26, 2003 - 08:17 pm: Edit

i SUBMITTED mine before realizing that the app had cut off the ends of my short essays... at which point I did indeed download the app and copy pasted the essay that fit.

By Labyrinth5 (Labyrinth5) on Friday, December 26, 2003 - 08:21 pm: Edit

Okay thanks, the problem I am having with the PDF is that while I can print it out, I am unable to type on it! Please help! :0

By Elmo168 (Elmo168) on Friday, December 26, 2003 - 11:49 pm: Edit

it should work if you submit it online, right?

By Anya (Anya) on Saturday, December 27, 2003 - 12:08 am: Edit

yeah, I'm having problems with this too. on the online common app, it lists a max character number, but even once I met that, it still shifted the whole thing into "additional information." I also can't get the formatting to look right at all. I really wanted to use it online but I'm thinking I won't just because this is really bugging me...

By Mnm (Mnm) on Saturday, December 27, 2003 - 12:14 am: Edit

do they not care about "additional information" (the colleges)? or do they look at it just the same as other parts of the app? i'm wonderin...

By Labyrinth5 (Labyrinth5) on Saturday, December 27, 2003 - 10:23 am: Edit

Okay, I am not able to type on the PDF application. Anyone have the same problem? What did you do?

Thanks!

By Anxiousmom (Anxiousmom) on Saturday, December 27, 2003 - 07:08 pm: Edit

My DD just applied online using the common app. If the print/preview is correct, all the essays have been included okay, including one that is almost 1000 words!. It just shifts them to another page (automatically) and says "Please see additional pages" (also automatically - you don't need to type this in.) It did this for the academic honors section, the meaningful activity section, the personal statement, - and there was also an "additional information" question that got sent to a new page where she listed her ap scores, summer activities etc. The common ap suggests that you paste your essay into "notepad" or use a special font (times roman??? or something) to cut down on formatting errors. If you DO decided to type it out using a PDF you must have adobe acrobate (megaexpensive program) not just the adobe reader that we all have for free. HTH!

By Labyrinth5 (Labyrinth5) on Saturday, December 27, 2003 - 07:14 pm: Edit

I would prefer to apply online. So, anyway, I typed my essay in Microsoft Word and so you're telling me to paste into Notepad, save it there and then cut and paste the essay onto the online app? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much!

By Anxiousmom (Anxiousmom) on Saturday, December 27, 2003 - 08:27 pm: Edit

Yep. When you paste it into notepad get rid of any little squares that show up. My DD didn't do this, and so there are a few squares on her essay at the beginning of each paragraph. Not a big deal. I'm sure the adcoms have seen it all. I suggest you go to common ap online and read all the instructions - that will help. but yes, you can just paste your essay into the commonap., make sure you hit save, then push print/preview. It will show you what your essay will look like. HTH!