<p>I'm sorta worried. My essays are decent, not great. How large of a role would you say the essays play in the admissions process? </p>
<p>For my 2nd supplemental essay, I took a more broad approach to question instead of being really specific like the question asked. I still mentioned things like MRC and UROP. Do you think that it will matter? It sounds like the whole purpose of the essay is to determine a students demonstrated interest, and I was able to convey my interest well.</p>
<p>Essays are pretty damn important. It’s the only real way they can get to you know better outside your academics and ECs and writing a stellar one is definitely a big plus.</p>
<p>The interest essay doesn’t hold much weight. Many students write the same thing for every college and Michigan realizes that.</p>
<p>How important? It is required, but the essay alone won’t get you in. I think it may play a more important role when your credential is at the border line.</p>
<p>Eh, I’m not sure if anyone really knows how much importance they hold. When I applied, I felt very much like the essays weren’t that important at all, but then there are others (like Michael) who seem to believe they are worth a lot more. I’ve always thought the primary purpose of the essays were to sort of immediately discourage the non-passionate applications. Michigan (nor any school for that matter) simply doesn’t want to waste valuable time going through applications of people who have no interest whatsoever to attend, so it just makes sense to but some small hurdle for applicants to complete that weeds out applicants who don’t care. I wasn’t given the impression that they did much more than skim the essays just to write a 1 or 2 sentence summary on their eval sheets. That said, that’s just what* I* think the purpose of the essays are. I’m not actually sure, so maybe Michael very well could be right. Admissions doesn’t release any data about the essays, so we can’t say for certain.</p>
<p>If you are scared about your essays, it is most likely a smart idea to re-look at them to be safe. You still have 2 full days before you need to submit, so use it to make any last minute changes you need. Ask your English teacher about it if you need to, but time is running out so do it ASAP.</p>
<p>A really good one can help get you in by showing that you have potential to add something to the university community that they consider to be worth having. A bad one could suggest that you won’t add anything and could result in you being passed over. Most essays won’t change their opinion one way or the other. It is the best way to humanize your application. You want to come across as authentic and not as some caricature of what you think they want.</p>
<p>To continue my point, an admission counselor for Michigan lives in my neighborhood. Probably a 3 minute walk. So I do have some idea of how much they value essays, and they honestly will read your essays and get an impression of you. That impression can either be a positive or a boring vibe depending on the quality of your essay.</p>
<p>The more selective a university becomes, the more non-academic criteria are used. Essays play a significantly larger role in Michigan admissions today than it did 10 years ago, and the importance of those essays will continue to rise as the university because increasingly selective.</p>