<p>So the way I see it there are 6 main components of a college application
1) Transcript
2) SAT/ACT
3) Extra Curriculars
4) Reccomendations
5) Interview
6) Essays</p>
<p>My question is, in your opinion, what percent of the total weight of your application is given to each of these areas? This of course is on the average; I am aware different colleges weight all the parts differently.</p>
<p>This is my guess:
Transcript : 25%
SAT/ACT : 25%
Extra Curriculars : 12.5%
Reccomendations : 17.5%
Interview : 5%
Essays : 15%</p>
<p>Sure, SATs are important but a high SAT will only tell them that you're at their competitive SAT score. Beyond a certain point I doubt it matters much. I think a low SAT can keep you out but a high one won't necessarily get you in.
ECs are also very important, they set you apart and show your passion. And I believe an essay can make or break an acceptance. The essay truly shows who you are and truly sets you apart.</p>
<p>I'll be going through the whole process myself though, so someone more experienced correct me if I'm wrong about what I've written above.</p>
<p>You're right about extracurriculars I should have given more weight to them; I suppose it's because I don't have many myself :) As for the interview, in the college books I've read, it seems that the interview has little bearing on an applicant's chances. I remember one statement to the effect that "one bad interview doesn't overrule four years of high school."</p>
<p>And 30% for SAT scores may be high, but I don't think drastically. The better the school you try to apply to, the better the scores you need. Your percentages say that your essay and your SAT scores share the same influence; that's empirically not true. Again from some of the books I've read, admissions readers claim that some 80% of applicants' essays do nothing for the applicant, 15% truly help the applicant, and 5% end an applicant's chances. These numbers may not be exact, but the ~80% number has been repeated. What you can infer from this is that an essay most likely won't hurt you, but yes, it can lead to an acceptance.</p>
<p>Also, the most important part of an application is the transcript. The transcript isn't simply 5% more than what the essay and extracurriculars are worth. You may be outstanding in your community and have a great potential with your SAT scores, but colleges want to see that you can do the work.</p>
<p>All that said, I'm simply regurgitating things I have read here on boards and in outside books. I'm also not trying (not intentionally anyway) to shape these percentages around my own strengths, as I have a 3.6 GPA, which considering the poorness of my school, is weak. Either way, I look forward to those who know more than I do :) It can only help.</p>