<p>Does essay really count in colleges with hostilic admissions? And can it make up for bad gpa/sat scores? </p>
<p>If your GPA and test scores are not in the published norms in the common data set, admission isnt likely. </p>
<p>Essays are important for more selective admissions because it gives them more of a face for the application. Otherwise they don’t know much about you. It also emphasizes applicants ability to communicate and advocate for themselves, something they value. </p>
<p>GL. </p>
<p>this is how i see it:
for a super strong applicant, a non-stellar (but obviously non-terrible) essay isn’t going to destroy them if they were gonna get admitted anyways.
for a average/very good applicant, the essay will be more of a factor
if your test scores/gpa aren’t up to par, your essay won’t help, or it has to be REALLY REALLY stellar (like out of the world stellar)</p>
<p>For each college, look up the common data set section c and you will see the admission criteria and the importance the school gives the essay relative to the other factors.</p>
<p>The way I see it is that for non-hooked applicants with stats and ECs that are in range, the essay can definitely be a differentiator. Even for hooked applicants with a non-super hook (like being a legacy or having perfect scores but not being a highly-recruited athlete), essays may make the difference. It’s rare for essays to be able to make up for bad scores/GPA, but that may happen in the ED round where there is less competition.</p>
<p>The essay doesn’t make up for a low GPA/SAT. However, if you’re around the 50th percentile but below the top 25% for GPA/Stats it can make a big difference.
At schools with admission rates below 30%, stats/GPA must be stellar AND THEN your essay must help you stand out (since the appliant pool at these schools is exceptional).</p>
<p>"'I have a 2.8 gpa in high school. My sat scores are 660 math 500 reading 540 writing. I come from Moscow, Russia. I was in the US only for 4 years. Have a good essay about that! My averages through high school are 87 first year, 78 second year, 84 third year, 88 first semester of my senior year."</p>
<p>No essay is going to get you into a top school with those scores. But you don’t absolutely need a top school in order to find a good job and be successful in life.</p>
<p>^2.8/1700 can be mid 50% at many colleges (check out Colleges that Change Lives). There, your essay would make a difference.
<a href=“http://ctcl.org/”>http://ctcl.org/</a>
In addition, take the TOEFL. Study for it in order to have a high score (it’s not easy but you have a definite advantage over kids raised abroad their whole life). Having a TOEFL score will highlight your status as an ELL and will allow to read your grades and test scores “in context”, which is crucial at holistic admisions schools.
Here’s a list:
<a href=“http://www.collegesimply.com/guides/1700-on-the-sat/”>http://www.collegesimply.com/guides/1700-on-the-sat/</a></p>
<p>Thanks guys! This is really helpful! I will take the TOEFULL this week. </p>