How important are the essays in the application process?

My scores are at about the 25th percentile for the SATR and a little lower on the subject tests (750M, 720 Chem) and my grades were stellar (All A’s) until I had a personal issue come up and received mostly B’s (an A in Calc BC) for the mid-year report. However, despite all of this my essays were some of the best I have ever written and really described who I am. My question is twofold. First, would my essays have been looked at? Second, if they were looked at, how much of a determining factor are they?
Yes, I know that decisions are just around the corner, but I would like to see the perceived importance of essays compared to the actual results.
Best of luck to everyone applying!
Thanks in advance,
KG5APR

No one here knows those answers. (Well, almost no one.)

You “would like to see the perceived importance of essays compared to the actual results”…then you’ll have to wait for the actual results, which still will not tell you * exactly why * you were accepted or rejected.

Did you read the essays printed in the Tech? The series is called “Essays that Worked,” and ran for at least all of the 2015-16 academic year.

Even from reading those essays you will not get a sense that there were any which could have put an ailing application over the top, but that the applicants brought to the mix a vivaciousness, or introspection, or humility and vulnerability, which rounded out the way in which they could be viewed.

Hope it all works out for you.

According to MIT’s common data set, the essays are as important as your test scores and your GPA. In other words, they are important. MIT looks well beyond the tests scores and GPA to make their admittance decisions.

Thank you both for responding! I look forward to Pi Day because even if I receive a rejection, I know I tried my best. I hope that MIT will put grades and scores in context to my personal struggles last semester.

You can easily check the percentiles for previous years with regards to common scoring.

The essays are likely the only thing to differentiate you from every other statistical 1500/34+ applicant and EC’s that are common place.

Gotta have a hook.

Absolutely your essays will be read. And they are extremely important. Your scores only tell them if you are capable of doing the work at MIT. They don’t tell them what kind of person you are. It’s the essays and recommendations and interview that help them figure out who is a good match for MIT.

I know people with lower scores than you in subject tests who got in. And it’s not like they had a special hook, Essays are v important. Its like they score everything with a rubric are ranked very highly on it, like I feel like past a certain point your sat is already very good, and everyone applying just about has a perfect GPA so yuh. Essays are very important and what will set you apart. Also the INTERVIEW for mit is one of the few schools where it’s important

But tanking and having a lot of Bs might be what ACTUALLY hurts you. It implies you started slacking. My friend got into MIT got a letter from MIT that asked him about his grades and stuff cuz he had 3 Bs. Another friend of mine got the same letter with just 1 B, that said that they were worried about his academic performance. These people had already gotten in before making Bs. If you never had that many Bs before, from my experience, it sends a bad message to admissions. But what do I know? I’m just some random kid spouting MIT HORROR stories on college confidential. If your essays are as good as you say, you always have an excellent chance tbh

@sweatearl Thanks! I am worried about the midyear report, but it was due to a personal issue (medical). It has been diagnosed and is being treated as of now, so I hope I still have a chance! You can pm me if you would like to read one of my essays.

I don’t think I got to the stage where they read my essays…I got rejected which I expected

If you submitted an essay, they will definitely read it.


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If you submitted an essay, they will definitely read it.

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That is also my understanding, from someone who worked in MIT admissions for years.

Apparently not a lot. There is a thread on the Stanford board about a kid who was accepted with an essay that only had the words #BlackLivesMatter repeated 100 times.

^^^
I suspect there is more to that story.

Adcoms try hard to understand who the applicant really is. Essays are a valuable piece of that. If any applicant chooses to not take advantage of that opportunity, it’s their choice.

The “BlackLivesMatter” student has been invited to the White House under Barack Obama’s administration. Doesn’t say what for, but it must have been good. So, he could have gotten into those schools with just about any gibberish he wanted to put down.

Of course, it wasn’t MIT.


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Apparently not a lot. There is a thread on the Stanford board

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The argument is illogical. Even if it were true that Stanford does not weight essays heavily, that tells you nothing about how MIT weights them.

Doesn’t it prove the point that the resume carries more weight than the essay?

He got into Stanford. Each school has a different criteria.

If anyone wants to just write some gibberish for their essays for MIT and see how it works out. I’m not stopping you.

Essays are CRITICAL… Be honest and genuine to who you are, not a manicured mannequin of who you think they want you to be… If they think you will fit in and you meet the academic baselines then you have an admission letter


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If they think you will fit in and you meet the academic baselines then you have an admission letter

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Can you comment about the many who fit the above criteria whom they have no room to accept?