<p>hey is it true that if I put a ton of work into my essays, they can tip the scale and help you get accepted even with so-so SAT scores (2000+) at ivy's?</p>
<p>It's very doubtful unless your essay highlights some aspect of your life that indicates that you have something very special to offer. An example would be how you managed to be college bound despite being raised in foster care.</p>
<p>Otherwise, the colleges probably will assume that your essay is so good because it was written by someone else.</p>
<p>i disagree with that though, i mean with a good writing section / verbal scores they'll know you wrote it. but i'm talking the difference between good and rediculous...will the essay put you on par with kids with rediculous scores and so so essays</p>
<p>does that seem logical though?</p>
<p>Remember, ECs also count, probably even more than essays. The people with ridiculous scores and so-so essays may not even be under consideration when one considers how deep the field is of outstanding appliccants to such colleges.</p>
<p>SAT writing != college essay writing. And I doubt that college admissions officers are cynical enough to immediately assume you cheated just because your essay was good. To the OP, it would help if you had great essays/ECs or if you were an URM. I know someone who got into an ivy with a low score in the 1000s (though that is an extremely rare case).</p>
<p>Joker,
Regardless of the answers you get here, you won't get accepted if you don't apply. Do the best app that you can, and hope for the best while having safety and match colleges that you can afford and know you'd enjoy. Best of luck!</p>
<p>While test scores are numbers that everybody understands to be the same, essay quality depends on the reader, too. You may think you have written a superb essay. The reader in the admission office may not think that.<br>
If you can put a ton of work, it should really go towards improving GPA or test scores.</p>
<p>what do you think is the easiest ivy to get into / what do you think is are minimum standardized test scores for it?</p>
<p>Northstarmom, thats ridiculous.
According to your logic anyone with a score thats not well above 2000 is going to get rejected outright?
you're highlly overestimating the importance of sat</p>
<p>^^^ you can't overestimate it enough when there is a huge number of applicants with 2350+ SAT scores. We are talking of top colleges that everyone wants to go to.</p>
<p>Here's what the OP posted about himself on other threads. He is from NY, and has the below stats/achievements.</p>
<p>From what he has posted, I don't see anything that would stand out in an Ivy pool. Unless he's good enough at baseball to be a recruited athlete, I think that he'll blend in in an Ivy pool, which has lots of outstanding students like him. His ECs seem subpar for an Ivy pool. Anyone who wishes to check on what kind of ECs people have who tend to get into Ivies should just look at the various threads showing who was accepted and rejected.</p>
<p>I suppose that theoretically an excellent essay could tip someone in, but I'd think that someone with that kind of extraordinary writing ability would have very strong ECs and achievements related to writing, including higher CR and W scores. If a student's essay were to stand out due to a description of having overcome major challenges such as having been homeless, I'd think that the OP would have mentioned this in his posts.</p>
<p>The OP's being from NY, a state that is overrepresented in terms of outstanding Ivy applicants won't help him either.</p>
<p>Certainly, the OP should apply to whatever Ivies he's interested in, and should submit the best apps that he is capable of. At the same time, he should have solid safety and match schools that he knows he would love and can afford.</p>
<p>Also, some of the OP's questions here indicate a bit of intellectual laziness, and that could be reflected in his recommendations. For instance, why ask a board of anonymous stranges about "the easiest Ivy to get into" when one can easily look up Ivy admission stats on their web sites and in guidebooks? It doesn't seem wise to rely on anonymous strangers for such information that presumably could be very important as one decides where to apply.</p>
<p>"My GPA is between an A- and an A, and I've taken every single advanced course offered in my school, and I'm an IB Diploma candidate. I took the SAT: M-700 V-700 W-660 but I plan to take it over...and the ACT: Composite- 33, E-32, M-33, G-32, S-33...I have a 620 on the Math IC SAT II but I plan on taking the IIC, the IC again, and the U.S. history and I am going to work until they are all at or around 700. I also am the ace on my varsity baseball team, I won all league, I ran varsity cross country in 10th grade, I'm in the National Honor Society, the National Spanish Honor Society, and the National Science Honor Society, I am looking at a very nice recommendation from my guidance counselor and teacher recommendations should be equally nice."</p>
<p>I think it would take some pretty spectacular extra curriculars, accomplishments ect to compensate for scores that are not competitive enough. There are some applicants who have great SAT scores and grades but no real extra curricular involvement to speak of, but can write an amazing essay that might make them a compelling candidate, and also have great teacher recs. If the poster had 2200, he would probably still need some pretty amazing accomplishments.
Short of overcoming some great obstacles that would be unbelievably compelling I cannot imagine an applicant with 2000 SAT getting in on just the strength of his or her essay.</p>
<p>A "ton of work" is not needed and not likely to make much of a difference. Sure there are those rare essays which probably which catch your attention, are remembered and might make a difference. Most of the time, adcoms are looking for honest essays that reflect the character and personality of the applicant. They are experts at looking beyond the BS. Trying to fool them is not likely to work. </p>
<p>My D spent a great deal of time on her common app essays. Her english teacher helped to review the essays and made suggestions. All of these wonderful suggestions did not help her essays. She started with essays that reflected her personality and ended up with bland drivel. Fortunately she quickly wrote some of the supplementary essays. I will never know for sure, but I think one of her supplementary essays - which was written in under an hour - helped her gain admission to an elite school.</p>
<p>wow northstarmom, you need to relax immediately</p>