How much did you think your common app and supplementary essays helped?
Personally I think that mine helped me a whole lot. For the most part they may have been a huge reason why I was admitted. I got into UCB, Emory, and a couple of other schools I didn’t think I’d have a great shot at. They way I see it, my transcripts and test scores were good but not amazing. So, it ended up being my essays that set me apart.
There’s no way to tell for sure, but I think it made a difference. It seemed like a didn’t have a great chance to get into a couple places where I applied (my stats were solid but probably didn’t completely “wow” anybody), but I had a teacher review my essay and said he really liked it. So make sure you ask a couple teachers who you trust to review different drafts of your essays.
I wrote one essay. My teacher told me it needed a lot of work. I was really frustrated after working on it and eventually submitted the original copy to commonapp and still got into my first choice.
The essay is the cherry on top. If you have good stats, a bad essay will not hold you back.
@helewidis1005 Do you mean completely original, like there was absolutely no editing/grammar check/etc. or just that you didn’t edit any lengthy sections/change the overall essay structure?
I mean obviously I corrected grammar mistakes and obvious spelling mistakes, but I didn’t change a word of my essay after the first time I wrote it. (Also I should mention that my english teacher is hardcore so when she meant it needed a lot of work, she meant as in it needed more work to become spectacular) My point is, it doesn’t have to be a spectacular essay. It just needs to show that you aren’t a bad kid and can string words into sentences.
Essays can be the defining factors in some cases, especially for those with low stats or someone who is on the borderline. It depends the on the person, the college and the circumstances.
Certain colleges like UChicago tend to place a little more emphasis on the essays than most schools; it depends on where you’re applying.
@helewidis1005 I’m going to have to disagree with you. I don’t know what your first choice school was, but I know top 25 schools place lots of emphasis on the essays. I know four people who got into Stanford, and all of them received letters from admissions saying that their essays made them stand out. They didn’t mention anything about stellar grades and test scores. Essays, especially for highly ranked private schools, are super important, and can often make or break an application. Adcom is receiving thousands of apps that all look virtually identical in terms of stats and ECs, and it’s the essays and rec letters that give applicants the opportunity to stand out.
Mmmmm…It depends on what you consider “important”. A stellar essay isn’t going to get you in if everything else is ordinary, and an ok essay won’t keep you out if everything else is stellar.
I mean, in my case, I applied to Cornell Engineering and my essays were not great, But I had great ECs and great scores and had everything else was going for me. Yeah, your essay is “important” but its only one factor out of many.
It’s like the participation % in your grade. Yeah it does count and it is important, heck it might even get you from a B+ to an A-, but that extra 5% won’t really change anything if your test scores and project grades are sucky, nor will it bring you down if you were a solid student to begin with.
I also had friends get into West Point and Columbia, UPenn, Dartmouth, and Brown who said the same, they all agreed that it wasn’t their essay that decided anything, that- if anything- it was the most minor aspect of their applications.
However, I do agree that if you are looking to get into UChicago or M.I.T, they place a lot more emphasis on essays and interviews
My take about the essay is this: Nowadays, as the college admissions process gets more competitive, the essay becomes pretty critical. At a certain point, for the more competitive universities, applicants start to look pretty similar with perfect GPAs and stellar test scores. So, the college essay is the only platform (apart from interviews) in the entire application process where you can “speak” directly to the admissions officer. This is the only opportunity where you can showcase your passions and unique voice that set you apart from the rest of the applicant pool.
That being said, if you have terrible grades or test scores or you’re not a well rounded applicant, these academic factors will trump even the most amazing essay.
The more competitive the university and the more competitive the applicant pool means that the essay helps quite a bit. Your story outlining your life, passions, interests, breathes life into the application. In my experience, I do sincerely believe that my interests and passion about the business world really helped me get into Wharton; more specifically, I wrote about my first foray into business when I helped my dad run his art gallery when I was a kid. At Penn, they really do want to see that you’ve taken charge of your passions/interest to bring them to life and the essay let me highlight that.
See for yourself: here’s a link to critical admission factors for the college application process (middle of the page), and you’ll see that the essay is ranked #5 after tests scores/grades/strength of curriculum:
http://www.winningivyessays.com/what-everybody-ought-to-know-about-the-admissions-essay/