<p>Ok...just how imporant are the essays for transfers? I had a 3.5 in HS, with a 1250 SAT. Not great, but not bad. Average I suppose. Now I'm at a community college and have a 4.0 with 17 credits so far, and plan to transfer for the fall of 2008. A lot of people have commented that these stats give me a fairly good shot to transfer to a lot of good schools, but the essays are worrying me. Quite simply, I don't write that well. It isn't choppy or unreadable, but I don't feel my essays are particulary fascinating or standoutish (yeah..that's a word...>_>). Will essays really cause me to be rejected from some schools I would have had a decent shot of being accepted to?</p>
<p>It depends on the school's selectivity. I personally feel it is imperative that you write clever, standout essays. From experience, I know that stale essays can keep you out, all other factors being competitive. If I had to pull a number out of my ass, I would say essays are 50% of your app, with the transcript/strength of schedule comprising the other 50.</p>
<p>Holy crap...o___o</p>
<p>Why, what schools did you have in mind?</p>
<p>UNC..UVA...a few others, but UNC and UVA are my top choices.</p>
<p>You've probably seen this but UVA considers the essay quite important.
U.Va</a>. Office of Admission Essays</p>
<p>Essays are key.</p>
<p>Bleh...-curls into a ball and realizes he can't transfer now-</p>
<p>why dont you just finish 2 years at your CC and then apply to uva? that way you dont have to worry about essays or any type of competition...theyll just hand you your offer (this is assuming youre in a VCCS).</p>
<p>I'm not in Virginia..</p>
<p>Don't be fooled: nobody has Pulitzer-worthy essays and essays don't necessarily have to be off the wall or even clever, for that matter. Their purpose is for you to show off how well you can verbally express yourself and show a part of yourself that you want adcoms to see. You need to be unique and separate yourself from the herd, but not in a way that is silly or offensive (unless you apply to UChicago). Just be yourself and selectively give adcoms the best reflections of your life/academic experiences.</p>