Well, most active and passive basses when you don't use EQ are very similar. After all, the front end of your head is basically an active preamp! An active bass merely moves part of that EQ circuit into the bass where it more convenient to adjust while you are playing.
In the Common Application, it says that the Personal Essay should be at least 250 words, and attached on a separate sheet (presumably, if you're submitting it online, you attach a one-page file).
Essay question length depends on the question if the question has about five parts to it then you should have about five paragraphs but no matter what you should at least write about three or more paragraphs on all essay questions if possible, cuz i understand that some question may not be able to write that many questions but you should have more then one paragraph.