WS length

[The Hoosier Oxonian]

I'm applying to several programs that want the WS to be "no more than 20 pages". Can anyone who's been through this speak to how hard-and-fast this limit really is? (My WS, after some trimming, is down to 21 pages, which is slightly over the limit but doesn't seem like enough to justify cutting an entire section.) Will a 21-page WS likely cause my app to be thrown out, or is that close enough to get away with?

[Indecisive Poet]

From CUNY's website. My thought is that 1 page off would be fine, but don't do anything egregious. It couldn't hurt to email the programs you're applying to and ask them.

Edited November 22, 2019 by Indecisive Poet

[indoorfireworks]

I just emailed and asked. Between 10 schools, there was a lot of variance. Some said 20 pages max including references, some said 20 pages of writing, plus references. Others said 20-22 pages of writing was fine. IMO, it's not worth guessing and it's not like anyone's going to penalize you for asking.