<p>i think the essays are important whether it be for admissions or scholarships. Probably a majority of the students are borderline and the essays can make a world of difference. As Zdub08 said, they wouldn't make the students write three essays for no reason. So definetly write a solid essay because it's way better to be safe than sorry.</p>
<p>niceilike: that's bc essays aren't a required part of the psu app. if they don't enhance the application, they don't consider it.</p>
<p>So do you guys think essays count more or less than teacher/counselor recs?</p>
<p>I think, IMO, the essays count more, becuase it is how YOU present yourself. I think an awesome essay can overcome a bad letter of rec, but a great letter of rec probably won't overcome a horrible essay. After all, YOU are getting accepted by the school, not the teacher/counselor. Hard to say though, I doubt there's a clear cutoff.</p>
<p>i think in general bad recs KILL you in the college process-most teachers, even if they DON'T LIKE the student, will still write positive things or say no. If the person who supposedly likes you/knows you best really doesn't, I think ur pretty much screwed. Weak essays on the other hand just show that you didn't put too much effort in, so it could hurt borderline students, but bad recs would hurt all students.</p>
<p>i thought she meant bad as in poorly written, not so much containing bad info about the student. in that case, yes, i think the rec could hurt you.</p>
<p>Actually I was just asking whether you thought essays were more important to adcoms than rec letters. Or vice versa.</p>
<p>Probably a tossup, I personally feel a great essay can overcome an avg. rec rather than the opposite (bc in the end, how much YOU care, not your teacher, makes the difference to them). But essays and recs are very subjective, so it's a difficult Q to answer.</p>
<p>is it too late to let them know now?
Whenever I went to my best friend *****'s house, I always came home wondering his dad could not use his left side</p>
<p>forgot a "why" in the middle. does it make me look retarded. it's my first sentence.</p>
<p>to be honest, i just read it and my mind automatically put the "why" in there, before i even read your bottom sentence. i think they will either do the same thing, or not care. i wouldn't lose sleep over it if i were you.</p>