Strictness of Word Count

F

Future Jarhead

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As I prepare for my NROTC MO application, I have begun to work on my essays. The character limit is 2500, and I am wondering how strict they are on this, as my first draft has about 3000 characters. I will of course be doing everything I can to be short and concise, without sacrificing quality, but for future reference I would like to have an idea of what is absolutely unacceptable and what may slide.

Once again, Thank you for the support and answers, any and every answer is well appreciated
 
AROTC-dad said:
The military (especially the Corps) is all about attention to detail and following orders.

Yeah, they might not pay attention to one or two words over, but are do you really want to take that chance? IMHO, it is easier and less stressful to simply do as you are told.
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No sir, I do NOT want to take any chances at all. Thank you for the input, and alternative point of view, I will definitely work towards the actual word limit.
 
@Kadbebe I spent 42 years, 1 month, and 1 day as a software engineer. I can assure you their algorithms and databases are set up to handle exactly 2500 characters and no more. I'm also confident that any characters beyond the 2500 are simply discarded. I'm pretty certain that blanks/spaces count as characters too, as I don't know how they would strip them out and put them back in. Somewhere there is a database with all this stuff, that can hold no more than 2500 characters, including spaces, for the essay.
 
Editing for succinctness:
- Simply use “to” instead of “in order to.” Most of the time, it works.
- Watch your “that” count.
- It’s not a thesaurus contest. If a simple short word conveys your point, use it. Don’t “utilize” it.
- Don’t waste space talking about the mission of X Academy or specific requirements to be a Y officer. They know this already. It’s on their website.
- Look for redundancies and be ruthless about cutting.
- Seek the help of an English teacher for a critical read.
- Read it aloud. If your brother or sister is snickering, the tone may be a little too lofty.
- You do not have to use every last space. Be concise, readable, personable, articulate, flawless in spelling/grammar/punctuation/syntax. Be YOU.
 
Great advice here. An academy application is not a good place to “slide.” Attention to detail starts now! And as a former professional writer, I can assure the OP that anything that can be said in 3000 words can be said even better in 2500.
 
Many applications it just cuts it at word count so you get chopped in mid-sentence.
 
As said above - stick to the character limits! Same goes with college essays.
 
I think the most important statement in your original post was, “my first draft...” you will be able to get it concise and within the limit no problem.
 
Thank you all for the abundance of knowledge, I’ve learned much, specifically the cutoff at said word count and the fact that spaces are considered. Thank you all for the wisdom, it is much appreciated
 
By the time you’re finished with all your college apps, you’ll be a pro at this! Most applications will only accept the max characters, including spaces. Chop it down, and be wise with your word selection. Best wishes!
 
From my experience also, many college assignments will have word count criteria that most likely will even penalize you if you go over. The word count is there to not only make sure you write enough on the topic, but also to make sure that you don't go overboard. Whoever is reading your essay most likely has 100s of others to read as well and wants to have equal time to look at everyone. An evaluator doesn't want to spend too much time on one essay because of how long it is, but would rather spend more time because of how well written it is.
 
I think your question has been thoroughly answered and sounds like you will make the necessary editing to comply.
Attention to detail in the military is critical. Failure to complete the task as required is a No Go, period. Keep this in mind with all steps in the application process and beyond.....
Good luck with your essay!
 
I only add this to give another insight of why to stick with the directions, besides the obvious that you are wanting to join an organization that requires you to follow orders.
jaglvr said:
Many applications it just cuts it at word count so you get chopped in mid-sentence.
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1000% agree. I remember going to many different school tours where the admissions rep flat out stated they scan every essay into their computers. The computer is set up that their max number it stops scanning, so as jaglvr stated you can and will be chopped mid-sentence if they use a program like the colleges.
~ Their response for why they do this was three-fold. 1. Following directions. 2. They have thousands of essays to go through and only so many people that will review them, they do not have the time for candidates that can't follow directions! 3. The prompts are typically the same, but what changes is the word count, thus it gives them insight if they are just re-using another essay or took the time to...follow the directions and spend time on their essay.

Off track, but I still remember back in middle school (I am old) a teacher handed us a test, it consisted of 10-15 questions, yes/no answers, we were required to do it in pen. At the top it said READ EVERY QUESTION BEFORE ANSWERING. The very last question was did you read every question before answering, if so the only thing on the paper should be your name. If not, you just failed the test(can't erase pen marks). The point being sometimes following the directions matter just as much as anything else.
 
Pima said:
Off track, but I still remember back in middle school (I am old) a teacher handed us a test, it consisted of 10-15 questions, yes/no answers, we were required to do it in pen. At the top it said READ EVERY QUESTION BEFORE ANSWERING. The very last question was did you read every question before answering, if so the only thing on the paper should be your name. If not, you just failed the test(can't erase pen marks). The point being sometimes following the directions matter just as much as anything else.
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I remember this from middle school too (I am also old and we called it elementary school back then). As I recall only one kid did it right....I was not that kid.
 
Now that I reread the responses, all of which I appreciate deeply, I realized there is a key distinction I need to clarify, hopefully from someone who has gone through the process. Is the character count with or without spaces?
 
depends...they differ

your best bet is just copy and paste into ap and see where it cuts out
 
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