<p>This is just a sort-of fun, wondering type thing, BUT: If you absolutely have one of the best essays in the pile, like its polished and professional-sounding and creative and it makes your admissions counselors think and go 'wow that's cool and mature', but your stats are mid-pile at a highly-selective school, how much can an essay help?</p>
<p>There are many tales of a great essay doing the trick--but obviously something else in the app should support the idea that you write well, otherwise they'll never believe you wrote the essay yourself. At the very top, though, kids have outstanding stats and superb essays--that's what highly competitive means.</p>
<p>A great essay can't overcome bad stats, but if you are in the competitive range for a school, a really great essay can only help you.</p>
<p>I have heard the same thing as scarletleavy. A great essay will set you apart from other applicants with similiar STATS, but not against other applicants with higher STATS.</p>
<p>However, I did read a blog by an admissions officer at I think Cal Tech? indicating that an excellent essay may give them reason to go to bat for you, despite having lower STATS. M.I.T. also says something about essays and how they want to admit people not numbers although it appears most admits to M.I.T. are real people with real numbers!</p>
<p>Lastly, I have read that gpa, rank and SAT scores are 75-85% of the application.</p>
<p>I was also told that a truly outstanding essay would be remembered in the admissions office, even if you are not admitted. Of course, this does not do you any good. However, for me personally -- if I get rejected and the admissions sends me a note indicating that my essays were some of the best they've read and that I was truly a unique person with outstanding qualities but could not be admitted due to poor STATS -- I would be just as happy, believe it or not! I would much rather be remembered for my personal qualities and character than my STATS, anyday.</p>
<p>if you're out of the running the best essay in the world isn't going to change that. But if you're in the race, it can DEFINITELY put you over the top.</p>
<p>A great website is a blog of real MIT adcoms; see what THEY say about essays at <a href="http://matt.mitblogs.com/archives/meet_the_admissions_officers/index.html%5B/url%5D">http://matt.mitblogs.com/archives/meet_the_admissions_officers/index.html</a></p>
<p>yeah i read somewhere that if you're borderline, then a great essay can really help push you into the safety zone, but only if you are borderline or very close to it</p>
<p>Well, my situation is a bit of a sticky one. B/c my stats would be competitive, except that I was very ill for awhile, which brough my GPA down below what is usually considered "competitive" level... I have not gotten any schools to give me a straight answer on how much they will consider me.</p>
<p>most schools DO have an optional section that allows you to describe any extenuating circumstances. Do you plan on filling those out?</p>