<p>I was just wondering how much emphasis colleges place on the essay.</p>
<p>I wrote what I feel is a great essay outlining my love for baseball and its effect on my life-I really feel that I showed my personality and substantial emotion. I also believe my teacher recs are amazingly astute in this nature. I know SATs (I only managed a 1320 M/V and 670 W) are the factor most stressed by people here, and they probably are, but how important are the essay and recs? I realize that EVERY factor (grades, SATs, EC's, etc.) are important, but where do the essay and recs rank in importance?</p>
<p>essays and ranks are important only in distinguishing you from others like you. say if someone applied with a 1500, most likely they would pick that person over you, but say someone applied with a 1350, then they would read both of your essays and choose with one they liked best...offcourse its not just one other person your competing with...its many but you get the point</p>
<p>It really depends on the school. If you're applying to some of the top schools, or a large university, you have to pretty much accept that the admissions people are going to narrow down the pool by things like GPA and SATs. At smaller schools with fewer apps, the approach is much more holistic.</p>
<p>I read a book on college essays and an admissions counselor talked about a study that found that essays hurt the applicant 3% of the time, help the applicant 2% of the time, and have no effect 95% of the time. She basically said sit down, be yourself, and just write your essay in your own voice.</p>