<p>Hey guys, I'm new to CC but so far it's seemed to be a pretty good source of info.</p>
<p>Regarding the essays, I heard a stat from a Northwestern rep that the majority of the essays didn't significantly alter the fate of the applicant (i.e. most didn't help someone who wouldn't have gotten in to get in and vice versa). I was wondering if any of you knew how common this train of thought was. Are essays more commonly used just to find out more about your personality or is it also important to have excellent form and structure in addition to content? I'm a pretty good student with high grades and test scores, but somehow I have some struggles with these essays.</p>
<p>Simply, is it worth it for me to try to keep making my essays better and better or would it be more efficient to try to write essays that wouldn't get me rejected? I hate to sound like a slacker, but in reality I just don't know if the extra stress and effort would be worth it for me.</p>
<p>Honestly, my answer would be "it depends where you're applying". If you're applying Ivy then the essays are the only way you can make yourself different from the 'crowd' (because everyone else will have the grades, SAT's and GPA). If you're applying somewhere else..say Northwestern then as far as i know the essay may in fact not make such a big difference (as long as you write somehting sensible).</p>
<p>I think it is important to use the essay to differentiate yourself at any selective school that gets a lot of applications. If you don't make yourself stand out in some way, you risk getting lost in the piles of stellar applications. Anything you can do to distinguish yourself is important. In addition, schools that offer merit scholarships without requiring a separate app for the scholarships may use your admissions app to award ... so a good essay can help there, too. The application process is worth your time! If you have so many apps that you can't do them all, you may want to ask yourself if you really need to apply to that many schools (this said by a parent whose kid applied to 10 schools ... I know why you do it, but you need to realize that it does take time).</p>