How important is the Short Answer essay in college admissions?

<p>I am really not happy with my short answer. I've edited and even rewritten the whole thing several times, but I just can't seem to produce something good when they limit us to only 150 words. I feel like my long essay and supplemental essays are awesome, but I'm afraid the short answer will hurt my chances by alot. How big of a factor is it in the entire process?</p>

<p>Probably not as important as you make it out to be, but it is important as a judge of your interests. You might have brilliant essays/supplements but if your explanation of an extracurricular is sloppy, then that might lead them to make their own judgments about your entire EC list, and whether or not you did them because you were interested, or because they would be “impressive.”</p>

<p>Yeah I see what you mean. It’s just hard to really get through to the reader when there’s a limit of 150 words…</p>