How Long Should My College Essay Be?

Hi, I need some advice. I'm supposed to be writing my application essay for college , but I'm not sure how long the length should be. The essay is supposed to be page 98 of my autobiography. They said the essay couldn't be longer than 32,000 work roughly 4-5 pages. I'm thinking that would be over kill, and the people who were reading it would get tired of it, and lose the entire essence of the essay. Maybe around 2,500-4,500 words is suffice, since it is supposed to be from a journal type entry... I'm thinking of writing a short, concise captivating essay but is this too short? :/