<p>Left and right, I'm seeing 4.0 geniuses with beautiful ECs and spectacular community services be rejected from the colleges that people had always dreamed about. Everybody applying to Harvard (or any other college) will meet the academic standards that admissions officers expect, and just about everyone will perform something substantial to their community. </p>
<p>Heck, my friend possessed/did the following
A 3.9 GPA
2100+ SAT
Drum major of marching band
Member of three honor societies
6 year All-county band member
3-year Pit Orchestra member
And that's the surface...
He got rejected/waitlisted from JHU, Rice, Emory, three Ivies, Berkeley, and many others. The only university he was accepted to was Rutgers NB, 6 year pharmacy program - the same program that my other friend, 3.2 GPA, 2000 SAT, much inferior ECs, was accepted too.
He was an Asian (applied as a US citizen) who always said that he struggled on essays.</p>
<p>Are we underrating essays and interviews? From this forum I've gathered that the value of the GPA and SAT trumps the value of the essays - the words that determine our character. It's always seemed that the essays and interviews made up only 15% of the application. With 2011 being the most difficult year of admission to date, and 2012 likely to overtake that,do these two hold more power than we thought?</p>
<p>I believe so. I mean, I applied to colleges as an international applicant (I’m a Canadian citizen), so I already knew beforehand that my chances were dismal. My GPA was far from perfect too, since I had transferred schools a lot throughout my high school career (3 schools in 4 years, resulting in a 3.8 UW GPA), and I couldn’t take any APs at my senior year high school since it didn’t offer any, even though I’m self-studying for English Lit, Calc BC, and German. Also, as a result of transferring so much, I couldn’t really get involved with in-school activities as much as I wanted to. So to recap: international student, non-perfect GPA, no AP courses senior year, not enough in-school EC involvement. Basically, I went into the whole process not expecting much at all. </p>
<p>But I turned out better than anyone would have expected, most likely because of my essays. My Common App essay won a Silver Key in the Personal Essay/Memoir category of the Scholastic Writing Awards, and the other supplemental essay that I also sent to the majority of my colleges was praised by everyone who read it. In the end, I was accepted to UC Berkeley and UCLA, and even though I didn’t get into any of the Ivies I applied to, I somehow managed to snag a spot on Columbia’s waitlist, which I’m sure would not have happened if my essays had not been good. I’m currently trying to get off Columbia’s waitlist, but I’m just posting this to show that a good essay really does a lot more than most people think.</p>
<p>Essays are extremely valuable – they can distinguish you among other stellar candidates or leave you in the pack. </p>
<p>Interviews? In general – Meh. Don’t dribble over yourself or wax about Nazi ideology or stab the interview with your stirring stick and you should be fine. But they are looking for spark and engagement – if you have it.</p>
<p>The essay perhaps, but probably not the interviews – if interviews were really important they would specially train the interviewers to try to standardize results. I think the interview perhaps work as a fail safe to catch students who might be able to hide undesirable traits in their applications.</p>
<p>Let’s not forget the letters of recommendation – a “perfect” student can easily be derailed by comments such as “brilliant but arrogant” or “is a loner, doesn’t enjoy interacting with his peers.”</p>
<p>I’m totally convinced I got into USC based on the strength of my essays and interview as my SAT was on the lower side of the applicant pool. So, yes.</p>
<p>I’d say essays and recs, but not interviews, are very important. </p>
<p>It’s not just that those two are important in their own right but that they can animate your entire application, shine a light into those corners of your activity and awards lists and explain everything in a greater context. A good essay, in short, can unify and bring to life an entire application.</p>
<p>Essays are VERY important…that is wat i have always heard and always believed. IMO, after your SAT is in a decent range, and your gpa too, essay is the main factor.
Interviews…everyone says tthat they are no very important,…hell, some even get in without having one. How can they be important? I also read this article written by a Brown interviewer who said that the university didnt listen to him when he practicaly begged them to take this one kid who he thought to be awesome…so-meh.</p>
<p>I’m beginning to believe the essays are weighted far heavier in the process that we anticipated. And not just the big common app essay but all the smaller essays, paragraphs, one word answers on the supplemental applications. My biggest advice to any student approaching the application process next year: start early, devote a week to each application, write many drafts of each essay and supplemental paragraph, try to be original in the subject matter you write about and in the writing itself and don’t take a “safety” school for granted by putting together an essay the day it’s due. You will get turned down, even if your credentials are higher than what the school website says they are looking for. That seems to be the result of so many students I know this year. People keep asking me why I think my S got accepted to so many of the Ivies and top tier schools on his list- certainly being Valedictorian helped as did the high GPA and SATs and outstanding community service and ECs. But for these schools, that is not enough - what percentage of students applying have those same credentials? Probably a lot. I think the single biggest reason for so many acceptances in a year when so many of his friends were rejected from the same schools - and these friends are all in the top percentage of his class - was the enormous effort and creativity he put into all of his essays, whether the school was an Ivy or a safety school, a great deal of thought went into every word written. Many of his peers wrote all the applications over a few days and submitted them at the final hour. No one’s writing is so strong that they can produce a quality essay in that time frame. So, for those of you who are juniors and will be facing this process next year, do not take the essays and supplemental paragraphs for granted. They could just be the difference between an acceptance and a rejection.</p>
<p>Applications are viewed holistically. At great schools, your entire profile is important. Simple as that. A average essay looks just like an average SAT score, and an great essay looks just like a great SAT score. Neither one alone will get you accepted or rejected, but it certainly can work for or against you (obviously).</p>
<p>The admission process is so strange that it’s just impossible to credit an acceptance or rejection to an essay. The tiniest part of your profile can perk the interest of an admissions officer. It could be a particular phrase in your essay or it could be your last name. It’s that weird.</p>