How important IS the essay?

<p>So I was taking a look at Bing's profile on collegeboard, and it lists the "very important admissions factors" as rigor of secondary school record, stand. test scores, and academic GPA. The actual essay you write, however, is merely an "important" factor.
So my question is, just how important is it? Is it weighted pretty heavily into the decision? I have good scores and plenty APs but in the back of my head I have this nagging doubt that the essay might make it or break it for me....if anyone knows anything, please let me know!</p>

<p>It can make or break you. If you have similar stats with another individual but you have the better essay, guess who’s getting in. And guess how many applicants will be applying with similar numbers as you have to offer.</p>

<p>A lot of times, college essays are a way for applicants to make themselves “real”, so they’re not just a bunch of scores neatly compiled into a folder. And essays can make or break an application. Some schools may take the applicant with lower stats because that applicant had a killer essay. </p>

<p>And I definitely agree with fartman38…lots of people will have your stats - same SAT scores, same GPA/rank, same APs, same ECs. How else would they distinguish you from the other hundreds of applicants who are just like you?</p>

<p>I mean, don’t freak out about it too much if you wrote a good essay. I’m sure you’ll be fine as long as you didn’t complete blow the essay off. Good luck!</p>