Count Words

Common App Word Counter

Count words for the Common App personal essay (250 to 650 words) and characters for activity and honor entries. Pick a field and paste your text.

Text for Personal essay

Each field keeps its own text, so you can switch between them without losing anything. Your text stays in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.

Common App count

0 of 650 words0%

Words

0

Remaining

650

Characters

0

Word range

250–650

All fields

  • Personal essay0 / 650 words
  • Additional information0 / 300 words
  • Challenges and circumstances0 / 250 words
  • Activity: position or leadership0 / 50 characters
  • Activity: organization name0 / 100 characters
  • Activity: description0 / 150 characters
  • Honor title0 / 100 characters

How this counts

Words are counted by splitting on spaces, which is close to how the Common App counts. Hyphenated or slashed words such as well-known or and/or may be counted differently by the Common App than by Word or this counter, so treat the application's own counter as the final word.

Common App field limits

FieldLimitCounted in
Personal essay250–650words
Additional information300words
Challenges and circumstances250words
Activity: position or leadership50characters (spaces appear to count)
Activity: organization name100characters (spaces appear to count)
Activity: description150characters (spaces appear to count)
Honor title100characters (spaces appear to count)

Limits for the first-year application. The essay range is enforced by the application itself, and the honor title limit is what the form allows rather than a published figure. For 2026–27 the activities section is renamed Activities and experiences and the position or leadership field becomes optional; the character limits stay the same. Colleges may set their own limits for supplemental essays, which are not covered here.

Sources

Limits last checked against these sources on 2026-10-19.

Land the essay in range

See whether your personal essay is under the 250-word minimum, inside the range, or over 650 words.

Fit activity descriptions

Draft each activity description against its 150-character limit and see exactly how many characters a cut saves.

Keep every section in one place

Switch between the essay, Additional Information and activity fields; each keeps its own text while you work.

More tools

Related tools

Other counters for application essays and drafts.

UCAS Personal Statement Counter

Three answers sharing one character allowance for UK university applications.

Word Counter

Words, characters, sentences and reading time for longer drafts.

Character Counter

Characters with and without spaces for any piece of text.

Common App counting questions

How long should the Common App essay be?

The application enforces a range of 250 to 650 words for the personal essay and will not accept one outside it, so check your count before you paste.

Why does my word count differ from Word or Google Docs?

Counters disagree on hyphenated words, slashes, dashes without spaces and numbers. The Common App counts by splitting on spaces, so a word processor may give a slightly different figure. Use the counter in the application as the final check.

How many characters can an activity description have?

The description allows 150 characters. The position or leadership field allows 50 characters and the organization name 100. Spaces appear to count toward these limits.

Is there a word limit for Additional Information?

Yes, 300 words; the limit was reduced for the 2025–26 application, so older advice may quote a higher figure. The optional question about challenges and circumstances has its own limit of 250 words.

Does switching fields clear my text?

No. Each field keeps its own text while the page is open. Nothing is saved after you close the tab, so keep your drafts elsewhere.

How long can an honor title be?

The form allows 100 characters for each honor title. The Common App does not publish that figure in its guides, so check the counter in the form if you are close.

Is my essay uploaded anywhere?

No. The counting happens in your browser and your text is not uploaded or stored.