Hello Everyone,
I am very aware that admissions essays are rather important at all top-tier institutions. However, it is never really made clear how much each institutions values the essays. I ask because I am a good writer and am hoping that my essays will give my applications a significant boost. Anyone with info please respond. I am looking at the following colleges:
Claremont McKenna
UCs (namely UCLA and Berkeley)
Stanford
Reed
Princeton
Pomona
Bowdoin
But please feel free to include information on these other schools if you have it, for comparison purposes:
Williams
Amherst
Swarthmore
Harvard
Yale
UChicago
Hamilton
All of them care about it equally. When you are applying to schools of that teir everyone has the scores, grades, rank, leadership, etc. The only way to differentiate yourself is through the essays.
I hope these are not the only schools you are applying to, otherwise, you may end up going to a cc no matter how good you may be!
@uclaparent9
I understand, but my safeties don’t require essays.
In my experience, UChicago stands alone as a school that values certain essays more than other schools. I’ve seen many, many students who don’t quite make UChi’s grade in more quantifiable areas get accepted because their essays hit the UChi “sweet spot” in the supps (nerdy, creative, outside-the-box, intellectual, curious, analytical, etc.).
Tip. Swarthmore and Princeton read the essays before they read anything else.
All of the schools care about essays quite a bit, and are a major factor when deciding on who gets in. Think about it like this - after a Stanford admissions team has admitted all the Intel ISEF finalists and world-class musicians, they have about a good 1,500 spots left, and about 35,000 qualified applicants. None of them have anything exceptional to really admit them over, and they all look rather similar on paper, so you have to look at who they are as a person when deciding who to admit. A truly unique essay will instantly set you apart from the pack, as in the case of Brittany Stinson (http://www.businessinsider.com/high-school-senior-who-got-into-5-ivy-league-schools-shares-her-admissions-essay-2016-4)
Each of the colleges you applied to views essays a bit differently. From anecdotal experience, I think that UCLA doesn’t put to much emphasis on essays, but a good one is still important to stand out in the largest applicant pool in the country. Berkeley, being a very liberal school, likes to see students taking unique standpoints on political issues, and narrate their conquests for change. Stanford and Chicago both weigh essays rather heavily, preferring essays that uniquely demonstrate a student’s intellectual vitality (their desire to learn, application of skills in unique ways, and ability to find inspiration and interdisciplinary connections in almost anything).
One anecdote about Pomona: when we went to Admitted Students Day, I was on a parent tour without my D (who was attending a student event). The tour guides were the officers from the Admissions Office. My tour guide asked us the names of our students. I mentioned my D’s name, and the officer immediately remembered something from her essay. Also this was April and she had applied ED1, so he must have read it in early December. And her essay wasn’t about some super unique topic. The point is they really pay attention to them.
Thanks everyone!
@myyalieboy I did not know that! Thanks.
My D2 put a lot of time into all her essays, did not scrimp on any of them. She was very specific in any “Why College X?” essay, and spent a lot of time on the school specific prompts. She got in everyplace she applied, including UChicago and Swat (on your list). You of course need to start with a very strong common app essay, though.