
Many of the colleges you’ll apply to will ask you to answer short essay questions of 350 words or fewer in addition to the personal statement you draft. The University of California system, in fact, requires four short essays as opposed to a longer piece of writing.
Despite the smaller length, don’t assume these essays will play a smaller role in helping your admissions officer form her opinion about you. Students who overlook these essays raise questions about how interested they are in the school, how polished their writing actually is, and how much thought went into the application.