MBA Admissions Tip: Word Limits and Character Counts
MBA candidates naturally have a good deal of information they want – and need – to convey in their materials, and getting the important ideas down under restrictive word counts is a difficult task. While it might be tempting to run a bit beyond the guidelines to slip in that one extra thought, it’s important to keep the reasons for these limits in mind.
In addition to being a forum for explaining your goals and sharing your story, the essays and short answers also serve as a test of the applicant’s ability to communicate clearly and concisely, not to mention follow directions and answer a question. Because business schools and post-MBA employers place a premium on all of these elements, adhering to word and character counts ultimately works to the candidate’s advantage.
Another important consideration is the reader’s time. Because of high application volume and the need to give every applicant fair and thorough consideration, schools are forced to limit the amount of information in each file. If you consistently extend your answers beyond the suggested limits, you are essentially asking the reader to give you more time than they are devoting to the other applicants. In other words, if you were to ignore the limits and overshoot by 30% throughout, this might imply that you consider yourself to be 30% more interesting than everyone else who applied – which could create concerns for your own lack of self-awareness.
That being said, there can be some leeway. For the vast majority of programs, it’s generally acceptable to exceed the word limit by 5%. There are, of course, a few exceptions:
Caveat #1: If a school gives you a range (e.g., 250-750 words), you should ideally stay within that range.
Caveat #2: If a school gives you a page limit (e.g., 2 pages), you should stay within that limit – without excessive margin manipulation or font size reduction.
Caveat #3: In the rare case that a school’s application system truncates the answer once the limit is exceeded, then it is absolutely important to remain under the limit.
In terms of the other end of the length issue, it is unwise to consistently fall more than 5% below the limits; this is valuable room in which to share further relevant information about your candidacy. By falling short, it might signal a lack of effort on your part for developing your best application, or a lack of experiences or accomplishments for you to share with the admissions committee. There is one exception to this, the schools’ optional essays. While some of these essays include word count limits, brevity is typically the rule when choosing to include additional information; the word limit should not be the target.
Beyond the long-form essays that most schools require, many programs also include what are commonly referred to as ‘short answer’ questions in their application data forms. These range from schools asking candidates to describe their post-MBA career plans in a sentence or two to broader queries about how a candidate first learned of a given MBA program. In these ‘short answers’ schools often use character limits instead of word count, and their online systems often truncate responses that run long. As such, we advise a more strict adherence to the word count or character limits associated with ‘short answers.’
Best of luck to all those fine tuning their applications!
MBA Admissions Academy
Episode 12: Essays I: The Basics
MBA Applywire
Hello Alex,
Decided to post my deferred MBA specification after binging the Clear Admit podcast with you and Graham. Love the show and thank you for providing valuable, anecdotal advice for the world's aspiring MBA students!
I'm planning to apply to the aforementioned MBA programs as a deferred applicant, looking to obtain some work experience before matriculation.
I am currently in my senior year at a top 2 public university in California, majoring in a social science. I originally transferred from my local community college with a 4.0, and will most likely finish out my current quarter at the four-year university with the same GPA.
Ever since the beginning of community college, I have been involved in student organizations: I was the president of a business leaders student org, and a treasurer for an honors society during community college. I am also a founding member and VP of an economics club at my four-year university.
In addition, from the beginning of high school to before I transferred to a four-year university (6+ years), I volunteered and founded a recruitment program at my local senior center that harbored over 100 new volunteers. While the org was not an NGO, it did provide caregiving services for senior citizens in our local community.
I have had 3 wealth management internships: a top 10 mega RIA, a boutique firm, and a top 5 wirehouse. I have a return offer, which I plan to pursue, from the wirehouse and plan to partner with a senior advisor as an associate advisor on a 1.3B+ AUM portfolio. This will involve financial advisory and investment management services for UHNW clients, but I also foresee greater involvement and client ownership as I obtain my requisite designations.
I also founded a social enterprise that has received over 200K in pre-seed angel investment funding. I am working with a lean group of software engineers and social scientists to supply affordable business consulting and accounting for small businesses. While the startup is still in the seed stage, I plan to continue working on this throughout my pre-MBA career alongside my role in wealth management.
Not sure if this is relevant or something I should include in my application, but I also had a few side gigs during school to help pay for tuition. I worked as a server for over 3 years during the latter half of high school and throughout community college. I was also an account analyst in the university's department of wealth management during the first year. Then, I picked up an AI data annotation gig for the second year. One of the main reasons for choosing community college after high school was the cost savings, so it was imperative that I worked during college to help pay for tuition.
My intention in obtaining an MBA is to learn more about entrepreneurship or social entrepreneurship, looking to combine the explosion in the current tech/AI market with social impact. Also looking to learn management fundamentals for mid/late-stage startups.
While I do not have a test score at the moment, I do plan to take the GMAT Focus at the end of the month. I am hoping to get around the median scores of the M7; 685+. Also hoping to crush the quant component of the GMAT to mitigate quantitative doubts, but hopefully, some of my internship experiences with investment management help. I also took some entrepreneurship classes at the four-year university that involved accounting principles.
Looking for some advice on whether I am aiming too high. I am almost viewing my deferred application as an opportunity to shoot for the stars, but at the same time, I don't want to fall too hard. Any other advice on how to clean up my application is also welcome!
GPA: 4.0 Undergrad (Business Admin/Accounting)
Work Experience: 8 Years as an IT Director/Information Security Director
Test Results: Hoping to get a waiver but am willing to take an exam
Targeted Programs: Hoping to get into Kellogg Part-Time/Evening/Accelerated Full-Time, or Stanford preferred but open to options
I also do have my PMP and CISSP, which are not relevant pre se but was asked if I had one before. I am going to get CPA once I finish MBA or part of MBA due to state requirements. I am also white and have owned businesses and do have copyrights and trademarks due to a brand I own.
Does this profile seem good enough? I did have one of the admissions officers ask why even get an MBA, but I want one, and feel they are valuable. Also, scholarships would be cool but plan on self-funding if scholarships are unavailable.
Short-term: Short-Term (Post-Graduation, Pre-MBA):
After completing my undergraduate degree, I plan to work full-time in management consulting or a strategy/finance-oriented role within India. In the short term, my goal is to gain rigorous exposure to problem-solving, business fundamentals, and decision-making across industries by working closely with organizations that are navigating growth, transformation, or operational challenges. I aim to build a strong foundation in analytical thinking, stakeholder management, and execution while developing a practical understanding of how businesses operate on the ground in an emerging market context. These early professional experiences will help me identify real-world gaps where scalable, responsible business solutions can create meaningful impact.
Long-term: Long-Term (Post-MBA):
In the long run, I aspire to leverage an MBA from a top global institution to transition into leadership roles where I can build or scale impact-driven ventures at the intersection of business, finance, and social development. Drawing from my background in grassroots social work and exposure to entrepreneurship and consulting, I aim to work in impact investing, social entrepreneurship, or leadership roles within mission-driven organizations, with a focus on education, financial inclusion, and livelihood creation. My ultimate goal is to create sustainable business models that deliver measurable social impact while remaining financially viable, particularly in developing economies like India.
I am planning to apply for Deferred MBA this year. I am currently in the final year of my college at IIM Jammu