<p>Essays are a tricky thing. For my Penn essay a few years ago, I wrong a three word response to the “submit page 217 of your autobiography” and for my Duke essay, I used a very general and unremarkable essay that I had written for a class assignment. Needless to say, that essay did not address the prompt whatsoever. Duke and Penn were two schools I did not care much for, so I was willing to take a chance. I got into both schools. </p>
<p>On the other hand, a student I know who was rejected by Michigan a couple ago strongly believes it was her essay that kept her from getting in. She was a 4.0 student with a 2280 on her SAT and her application was completed in October. However, her essays were very poorly written. </p>
<p>In other words, it really depends who reads the application. Some members of the ad-com will really care bout the essays, others will not.</p>
<p>This said, if an applicant takes the school they are applying to seriously, they really should make an effort with the essay(s).</p>