<p>Almost everyone who posts on chances forums leave a brief note saying "Great essays, great recs." For one thing, that is a very, very succinct way to deal with one of the most important parts of the application. It gives no hint on how well the recs tie in with your accomplishments, and what the essays are about. And lastly...I just really doubt that such a large majority of people have great essays and recs. Admissions officers at TOP schools are NOT generally impressed by the quality of the essays. The general comment is "90% plain bad, very few extraordinary" Just because YOU/your acquaintances like it....And also the content of recs is very important; do they focus on personal characteristics or academic prowess? Is it concise or flowery?</p>
<p>I think to enhance the accuracy of these posts people should present their essays to language teachers and ask the teachers to rank the essays in a decile compared to the average admissions essay students aiming for similar schools have shown them [the teachers]. They should talk about how well the recs and essays tie in to their extracurriculars and what the focus is. These two factors, added together, may not equal the importance of extracurriculars, but they are VERY important....</p>