<p>How heavily does Dartmouth weigh essays in the admission's process? I'm just wondering b/c I've just always heard that Dartmouth really sees you "as a whole" instead of just numbers.</p>
<p>Essays are important…once you have the stats.</p>
<p>hmom5, what does that even mean? It doesn’t clarify anything that the OP doesn’t already know.</p>
<p>I share the same doubt as the OP in wondering exactly how essays are evaluated. “once you have the stats” is not an objective measure and i’m inclined to believe that essays are evaluated alongside your stats and not sequentially after them.</p>
<p>It means that a good essay will not get you in if you don’t have the stats, contrary to what many are led to or wish to believe. </p>
<p>The most selective schools could fill their classes several times over with kids who have superlative stats. So once you have crossed that indefinable stats barrier, the question is: what sets you apart? The essay is one of the things that can do that.</p>
<p>Little in admissions is measured “objectively”–other than the stats.</p>
<p>All you have to do to see the truth of Hmom’s statement is take a look at the Common Data Set. D and other superselectives didn’t get those SAT averages by accepting a bunch of kids with great essays and so-so stats.</p>
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<p>It means, that for unhooked students they want certain stats. This group has to balance the stats of the almost half of the class who were admitted with hooks, many of whom have below median stats. This will depend on what pool you’re applying in be it the Asian from CA pool, or the white kid from Georgia one. Once you have the requisite stats–and Dartmouth is especially numbers oriented–soft factors like essays and recs are used to determine who will get in and who will not. The are used to differentiate kids who look a lot alike, stats and activities wise, on paper.</p>
<p>As Consolation says, there is nothing objective about college admission.</p>
<p>and what would those stats be? 3.8~ GPA 2200+ SAT score?</p>
<p>It’s about rank, not GPA, a 3.8 could be val or top 30%. They will look for you to be very near the top of your class, 40% were val or sal last year.</p>
<p>A 2200 is the median SAT score. For the unhooked, unless you have a tip factor–low income, first generation, underrepresented state, sibling at the college–I’d want to be above that.</p>