<p>Well as the college application season comes to an end, I've been wondering about this question. </p>
<p>Are essays simply there to make decisions about on-the-edge applicants? Or can a remarkably good set of essays cause an applicant who wouldn't even be considered based on the rest of his/her application to actually be accepted? How much power do these things hold?</p>
<p>What are your thoughts on this?</p>
<p>I’m not sure.</p>
<p>That question kind of has many answers right?</p>
<p>It could make you, break you, or just add to your application if it is perceived as on par with your academic record etc.</p>
<p>Essay are very important, a lot of kids have similar scores and academics, but essays put you apart.</p>
<p>^
That’s true. It adds a personal voice which is important to many colleges. Some look for certain personalities…</p>
<p>Could an essay turn an applicant with mediocre stats into an admit at a high-tier university? (Let’s take Harvard for example). Surely essays don’t have THAT much power? </p>
<p>What I believe is that they’re there to simply add personality to the applications.</p>
<p>I’ve read that it is up there with transcript important.</p>
<p>One of my friends let him read his essays and he got into an ivy ED with less than impressive essays. Mind me they were good, but not “WOW”</p>
<p>I think it depends on the college. For instance, I’ve heard that U of Chicago places a huge amount of emphasis on the essay, and it can really make or break your application. Some schools on the other hand are almost purely academically inclined. Most of the time, however, the essay is a standout feature that simply sets you apart from others.</p>
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<p>I’m not sure how much relative weight the essay has compared to the other factors, but I did get a handwritten essay from Harvard about my essay. My impression is thus that a really vivid essay can make a big impression in the same way that can idiosyncratic awards. Will it “make up” for a weak transcript? Absolutely not. Can it tip an otherwise accomplished applicant firmly into the accept pile? Absolutely.</p>
<p>Listen to this piece of anecdotal evidence I have regarding essay importance. I know someone who legitimately received a 20 on his ACT a few years back. He applied to Harvard, and his essay was so funny, that it undoubtedly was what got him in, because universities like that are often on the lookout for the next Steven Colbert or Dave Chapelle to graduate from their university. How do you like them apples?</p>
<p>According to Hernandez in “A Is For Admission”, essays tend to fall into a few categories that become very familiar to admissions officers. There is a humorous list in the book- such as “How I Saved the World”, talking about devotion to some community service or service (however brief) in an underdeveloped country.
I’m sure that truly original essays can have an impact</p>
<p>Each school weights it differently therefore you might as well write a really great essay b/c if you are applying to 8 schools at least 1 will use it as the make or break decision.</p>
<p>To find out how important the essay is for a school you can get a good feel but these discussion boards & the specific admisssions office. Usually the state schools do not weight them that heavily.</p>
<p>Very strong essays can make up for weak stats for some schools. I lurked around a little bit on the “Where did your 3.3-3.6 GPA kid get in” thread and I saw at least 4 people who got into UChicago with less than 3.5 GPAs, and they all said it was probably because of their essays.</p>
<p>I’ve seen URMs, legacies, and less often recruited athletes attribute their admission to “fantastic essays”.
Of course an essay can make a difference. But I’ve seen the above often enough to bring it up.
One of the problems with Naviance charts.</p>
<p>I think CC makes essays out to be a lot more important than they are. They obviously won’t make up for a horrid transcript or abysmal scores. However, I do believe, and this is obviously just an opinion, that if an extraordinary essays is read by an admissions officer, that they’ll be much more attuned to accepting that student if the rest of their application was moreover on the average side. Of course a lot of small liberal arts colleges place a lot of emphasis on essays, like Kenyon for example. Also, if you’re applying as an English major for instance, I’m sure that essays play an added role.</p>
<p>Did you not read my post, haaayanna?</p>
<p>I think that WAY too much emphasis is placed on the essays.</p>
<p>First, how does the college know that your sister didn’t write your essay?</p>
<p>Second, why should some cute quirky essay you wrote take precedence over some kid who has great grades and SAT scores and ECs?.</p>
<p>I understand that in the UK and Canada, they go mainly by standardized test scores and grades.</p>
<p>That’s the way I think it should be, unless someone has truly extraordinary “non-number” qualifications.</p>
<p>I think that colleges have predetermined ethnic and geographic targets they are shooting for, and work backwards to achieve their desired goals/quotas, and use the essays and ECs as a way to apply subjective criteria to what should be an objective process, and to “justify” what essentially is reverse discrimination. I know that’s not a politically correct statement though. So the Asian kid might have great stats, but they give the spot to someone else because he purportedly wrote a good essay, or was the Editor of his school newspaper.</p>