Word limits and writing standards in MBA essays

World limits for your MBA essays is a topic that is quite confusing. Here are some pointers that might be useful for you.

1) + or - 10%

Keep your essays 10% higher or lower than the word limit provided. But be very careful not to fall short by 10% in more than two essays. In some cases, essays will have page limit instead of the word limit. Stick to the page limit mentioned in the essay. Do not try to manipulate with line and paragraph spacing, margins, indentation or alignment.

The myth surrounding the word limit is that when your essay exceeds the word limit, the texts would be cut off. In some online applications there exist such systems but in the majority of them, the admission team is the judge. They are experienced enough to understand whether you have gone over the limit. A 20-25% over the word-limit shows two things: you cannot make your point succinctly, and you do not respect the admission officer’s time.

The admission officers are liberal towards the recommenders. So if you cannot include some of your EXTRA strengths in your essays due to the word limit, remind your recommenders to incorporate it in their letter with specific examples to showcase your strengths.

2) Writing standards

Space between Sentences:  one

Space between Paragraphs: one line or no line-space with five-space indention on the first line of a paragraph

Margins: 1 inch left, right, top, and bottom.

Note: Default for MS Word is 1.25 inches for the left and right

Alignment: Flush left, ragged right, never justified.

Font: Double-spaced text with a 12-point serif font type (Ex: Times New Roman)

Caps: All Caps for terms like GMAT, MBA, etc. (use Caps sparingly)

Note: These are standards, not rules.

3) Tone

Whether you want a personal or a professional tone in the essay depends on the school's culture, the word limit, and your profile's weaknesses. An applicant with a strong profile (GMAT, GPA, and Experience) might bet on going with a professional tone, spending most of her words on pre-MBA experience. If you are competing with applicants with a similar profile (nationality, pre-MBA experience or post-MBA goals) or your GMAT/GPA scores fall below the class median by 20 points, a professional tone won't get the attention of the essay reviewer. You have to be creative and use a personal tone to hook the admission team to your essay. We have shared a large number of actionable tips in our Winning MBA Essay Guide. Use them.

4) Review & Edit

Edit your essays and remove any words that would reduce the pace of the presentation. It is tough to critic your work. Ask your friends for an initial review. But given a choice between an excellent narrative that goes overboard by 20% with a good narrative that falls within the word limit, go for the second option. Many times, we have seen applicants, failing to let go of their magical phrases and missing the deadlines. Don't get carried away. You have one end goal - get into a top MBA program. Never forget that.

We have shared editing metrics and guidelines for MBA application essays. Read them and guide your friend/family about the metrics before the review. If you are still unsure about essay editing, use our service.