One of the school’s my daughter applied wrote a personal note in her acceptance letter referencing her personal statement. I can say that this REALLY raised her opinion of that school (she ultimately went elsewhere primarily for financial reasons, but definitely felt some sadness turning this school down, in part because of the personalization and connection they made with her in this way).
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nobody works harder on assisting kids with essays here than you.
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So on the one hand, I agree with the “good enough” concept in many ways, and think kids should really not stress about “impressive” essays.
On the other hand, we know from the Harvard lawsuit, and just what AOs say, that personal/fit factors play a very large role in determining which of the many academically well-qualified and active kids actually get admitted. And essays are one of the best opportunities for the applicant to help create a clear vision of themselves as a person.
And of course this is not a contradiction, because essays do not have to be “impressive” in the first sense in order to be helpful in the second sense. They just have to be personal, and all these kids are inherently capable of doing that.
Could essay strategy vary based on whether the college (or scholarship) is a reach, match, or likely?
A “safe” “neutral” essay that does no harm may be the best choice for a match or likely college. But could an unusual essay that may be seen as significantly positive at the risk of being seen significantly negative be worth a try at a reach college where the chance of admission with a “safe” “neutral” essay is low?
This certainly makes sense in theory. In practice, I suspect if you can come up with an unusual essay you think might help you in reachy situations, it is probably safe to use in less reachy situations too, because I don’t think AOs are typically interested in “punishing” kids for unusual essays. But in the end, applicants should feel good about their applications, so whatever approach makes them feel comfortable would likely be fine.
@ucbalumnus I am not suggesting anyone aim for a neutral essay. I think everyone should aim for an authentic essay. And I am hoping the idea that essays don’t have to be stellar, regardless of school, helps with stress. Whether the quality of essay matters for top schools depends on a lot of factors. I doubt many are make or break but a few are. I don’t believe students who are not gifted at writing at essays but may have other gifts to offer, need to stress excessively about their essays. Again, just do no harm and let the rest of the application carry the weight. (Yes there are exceptional essays but they are rare in my opinion.)
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I asked the exact question to an AO once. Here’s what she had to say-
“Essays are not the ‘make’ part of your application but they certainly can be the ‘break’ part of it. While good essays won’t get you in if you have bad stats, bad essays will definitely not get you in regardless of your stats. Don’t worry though, what we look from essays is interest towards our college and some commendable qualities. Your writing style doesn’t matter as much as you’d think and neither does the flow of the essay as long as the content is rich.”
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Essays are meaningfully at many schools. I am highly confident that they were the difference for my kid at several elite schools where so many candidates are academically qualified.
Always a good excuse to mention clam farts…
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OMG the clam fart thread!!! That is a classic!!! 300+ witty, clever posts in response to a very real “oops” by a student who accidentally contaminated his own essay to Yale. That thread is a testament to how threads can be written in a helpful, yet excruciatingly funny way. Don’t recall posters badgering them or being mean. Oh and yes… IIRC they got into Yale.
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One of my children has seen their admission file, and the head admissions officer noted that the common app essay was “done well”. So it clearly made some impact.
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