I’ve been planning my essay for quite a while, and am confident it will be top notch. I’ve been wondering how much this actually factors into admission though, since for all the admissions officer knows, you have a dad who’s an English major who wrote it for you. It just seems like there are enough variables that the essay would be a minor factor.
<p>The essay is one component of many different factors. It can tie together the picture of who you are. The only good thing about the application process is that it allows you, 16, 17 or 18 years of age to take the time to evaluate where you are coming from and what you are seeking right now in your life. It's good to take stock from time to time. Coming from your heart, I think it can make a difference.</p>
<p>Remember that just because it top-notch for you, does not mean it's really top-notch to others. Get some readers opinions on it, preferably close friends or English teachers.</p>
<p>With the whole dad+ English major thing, I think the adcoms have done their job long enough to know what's HS students quality and what's a really high quality as well. </p>
<p>Overseas said it nicely, and I like the last sentence.</p>
<p>It depends on the college. State U's are very numbers-driven, so if you have the stats, you can still get in with a bad essay. On the other hand, many of the most selective schools are character-driven, so to speak. I personally believe that most people underestimate the power that the essay has on a person's application. It's very rare that a person will be able to get in with a bad essay unless he's extremely qualified (perhaps even overqualified, and assuming the college in question doesn't have a bout of Tufts Syndrome), but essays are often what gives marginal applicants the boost to get accepted.</p>
<p>Here's how I like to think of the role of the essay: All of the components of your application are supporting your effort to get into a particular college. If you don't spend the time to write a good essay that also supports your effort, the other components will have to endure more (that is, be scrutinized more heavily) in order for you to get in. More pressure leads to a greater chance of something "breaking," which results in failure, or in college admissions parlance, rejection.
Considering that the essay is one of the things that you have complete control over, it's quite foolish to neglect the essay. After all, people don't neglect academics, ECs, test scores, or anything else and still believe they have as good a chance at getting in as they would have had they not neglected a part of their application.</p>
<p>one word: huge</p>
<p>The number one thing that adcoms care about is difficulty of curriculum, then gpa/rank, and then standardized test scores. For the very selective schools, they won't split hairs between applicants who have high academic measures. Instead, they will next look at the EC's, essays, and recs. You want to look unique and stand out from the crowd. They would prefer that you have one/two activities that you are passionate about rather than a long list of unrelated activities with little involvement in any. (Large public universities are more numbers oriented.)</p>
<p>The head college counselor at S's boarding school does not get terribly excited about the essay component. Most of the kids at the school are good writers, and turn out good essays. He doesn't regard the essay as a huge factor in the application. It has to be "good enough" to support the rest of the application, and in some cases it can be a big help in revealing something about the student that doesn't come through as well in the students stats. He does not think the students really need to sweat over it.</p>
<p>I liked the first 6 responses very much. They validate what our experiences have been relative to the most selective schools (as one poster mentioned -- versus the Publics that are more stats-focused due to regulation, size of campuses, & published eligibilities).</p>
<p>Privates being more interested in the "building-a-class" aspect -- because they can afford to be, naturally -- the essay is important as an element of personality, character, commitment -- i.e., what can't be "measured" by a score or a grade. Do not be fooled by the Common Data Sets or by a particular adcom member claiming that an essay doesn't mean much. Yes, as a stand-alone, it would rarely be deterministic. But it is definitely "in play" when separating the wheat from the chaff. Two recent examples from actual life:
(1) A student we know very well with very high stats & impressive e.c.'s & unmistakably high IQ which was visible in her apps, applying to same selective schools as her classmates, was rejected & waitlisted from every single competitive U except one. (This particular U is less interested in certain aspects of character than the others are.) Classmates, some with stats & accomplishments a little lower than hers, were accepted to many of those same schools. Her essay ranked of privilege and I'm-such-a-rich-girl-I-don't need-anything-in-life. I was appalled at the content of her essay & begged her parents to discourage the student from submitting it.</p>
<p>(2) A very high-stat UC Berkeley applicant, during this recent cycle, was rejected due to a poor essay: this was a published result. [That is why it is also important not to dismiss the essay component for publics, either; since UC does not allow teacher recs, & since they rely on Comprehensive Review, the essay for UC is actually quite important.] In this case, the applicant showed little enthusiasm for the school & seemed unwilling to articulate what he could bring to the campus and what excited him about the place. There was also a touch of the cocky element that the above student showed; ('I shouldn't have to get specific; isn't it obvious why I belong here?' -- that type of attitude.)</p>
<p>Overseas, I thought you said it well. Nicely put.</p>
<p>ok, thanks for the feedback. I'm definitely going to have teachers and friends check my essay, I'm just confident in my writing abilities is all I'm saying. As for them knowing if its your parent or not, I'm not sure how easy it would be to tell the difference between a top H.S. student and an adult who writes well. There's no way in hell I'd wnat my parents writing mine, I'm just saying, I wonde rif the marginal students basically have other people writing theirs.</p>
<p>The adcoms read a lot of essays. I would certainly not say that all adults can write better than all high school students, but there is something about an adult's editing that can be spotted. I think it has more to do with word choice than grammar. At any rate, there would be a red flag if an applicant with less than stellar SAT CR & Writing scores applied with an obviously ghost written essay. At any rate, content is much more important than style in the essay. You would to stand out from the crowd. Not so much as a great writer, but as a unique individual who will bring something special to the freshman class.</p>
<p>All the comments above are very relevant. I'd add one more, that of paying SPECIAL attention to any off-beat or idiosyncratic essay that a school asks for. The stanford "write a note to your roomate", for example. I think the colleges use this to help gauge your interest in them. A lot of essays can be submitted to almost any college with just a few tweaks, but these topics require you to come up with something fresh for just that college. A student who is dreaming of Stanford will make that answer as good as they can get it, while someone who is blasting out apps to the top schools will re-use their essays where they can and put less effort into a question like this.</p>