<p>From an AP article by Carole Feldman published at USAToday.com:</p>
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"It's an urban myth that a student who has goofed off his whole academic career can get in with a come-from-behind epic struggle in which the essay serves as the primary tool."
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<p>How</a> much do college admissions essays matter? - USATODAY.com</p>
<p>This quote from the article seems to sum up a lot:</p>
<p>“By the time high school seniors start filling out their college applications, much of what admissions officers will use to give a thumbs up or down is set. No wonder there’s such angst over the college admissions essay.”</p>
<p>That’s a key point, Lumine. Since it’s one of the few controllable elements in the application, there’s a tendency to invest it with more importance than it deserves.</p>
<p>with the exception of UChicago, lol. </p>
<p>I remember when I went to Chicago’s Open House, the Admissions Officer gave an order of importance ranking:
<p>“I remember when I went to Chicago’s Open House, the Admissions Officer gave an order of importance ranking:”</p>
<p>I interpreted this differently. Basically, they look at standardized test scores first to determine if you’re in the ballpark, then they look at everything else without any consideration given to the test scores (if you’re in their range). If you aren’t, they look for things to redeem your low scores, but yes, they look at them in that order.</p>
<p>Well if you’re applying to HYPSM and have all the stats, the tiebreakers are the essays and, to a considerably lesser extent, the interviews.</p>
<p>I don’t know how much my actual essay helped me, but I submitted a lot of supplemental essays about my electrical engineering projects. I think those helped a lot more for my reach schools than my match schools. My real essay was about yoyoing.</p>
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<p>Exactly. With so many 2400 SAT, 5.0 GPA, 293843 leadership position kids applying to HYPSM etc, the essay is really the only thing that will make an applicant stand out. It gives adcoms a much more personal look into the applicant’s life.</p>
<p>It can heal the sick, but not raise the dead.</p>
<p>^ I heard the same thing from a Harvard admissions officer. Quite true.
If you’re borderline, that’s almost the only time it makes a significant impact on your application.</p>
<p>^and the typical CCer fits that description, especially for those top 10 schools.</p>
<p>Friedrice, you are right. I have students who say, “I’ll write a killer essay, and that will get me into (school of choice.)” It will not make up for a 2.4 GPA and 860 on the SAT with most schools. But I do believe it can make a difference if you are on the borderline. So, you should hope you get a set of excellent English teachers who can shape your writing into the quality that the school of choice seeks.</p>
<p>I think a really bad essay can get someone rejected a lot of the places for showing a lack of commitment.</p>
<p>My friend was a typical amazing scores/ECs/grades/everything, but he was also an incredible writer. He was editor of the newspaper, won multiple awards for writing, submitted an award winning short story of his as a supplement and wrote one hell of an essay. The Tufts admissions officer actually wrote him a personal letter saying that his essay was the only one that made him laugh out loud and spit out his coffee. </p>
<p>He applied to Harvard, and I’m completely sure that between his writing supplement, his incredible essay, and a great interview (he is very personable, and the interviewer was a playwright as well!), they could really see who he was and put him in the accepted pile.</p>
<p>He already had the credentials for Harvard, but those personifying aspects like the essay really helped push him over the fence</p>
<p>Many of the comments here have summed it up nicely. The more competitive the school, the more important the ESSAYS (plural!). Beyond the CommonApp, schools with supplements, as well as schools with “uncommon” applications like UChicago, will ask for multiple short and longer essays. They’re ALL important, and should be treated as the best way to describe aspects of yourself not otherwise evident in your lists of awards, extracurriculars, accomplishments, etc.; i.e. don’t use the essays just to list achievements again.</p>
<p>I applied to a few smaller LACs, and my first accepance was by Elmira. My counselor called me on the phone to tell me, and to say that I had been awarded a substantial scholarship. Then he told me how wonderful the admissions committee thought my essay was (I wrote about my very difficult decision to quit Irish dancing, something that had been a large part of my life for years). Although i ultimately did not wind up going to that school, the comment definitely left a good impression. Schools, especially small ones, do notice the essays. It may not be the make-or-break-it part of the application, but it it definitely something to help you stand out of the crowd (and maybe earn some extra merit scholarship) :)</p>
<p>The most valuable part of the article is the statement not to write about community service but rather to write about a moment in time. This is very useful to the college applicant.<br>
However it does not discuss what a previous poster mentioned: The importance of the short essays. I have heard a college info sessions that the schools look very closely at these since they feel the long essay has been heavily reviewed and edited by others and the short answers are more likely to reflect the student’s true character, interests and writing ability.</p>
<p>And then there are the kids who write the essays and are accepted at UofCh, Williams, Amherst, etc., and rejected Yale and Harvard or vice-versa. (And a lot of kids apply to all of them, and submit the same or similar essay) You can do your best, and it still doesn’t mean a thing. I think it depends on what the other essays were that year, and if you stand out in that bunch for that particular reader. It’s still a crap shoot.</p>
<p>I’ve evaluated countless seniors’ stats and been invested in just about as many applications and decisions over the years. I’ve also judged scholarship essays and other writing “competitions” (for what that term is worth). My candid opinion, after seeing what college admissions has become these days, especially Ivy/elite admissions, is this:</p>
<p>The subjectivity factor is high. The dividing line between those eligible for consideration and those who end up immediately in the denial pile is quite sharp. I’ve had to fight hard to remain objective and not allow my personal moods, local circumstances, prejudices, et al influence my judgments. Admission officers operate in a similar fashion. They’re human too.</p>
<p>In the case of Ivy/elite admissions, especially in the ED/EA pools, the applicants are so similarly qualified that it would be hard to bring in a substandard group. Thus (getting to my point here, finally), small things can make a big difference. Essays, although certainly not a "small’ part of the application, can have subtle but significant influences on folder readers.</p>
<p>The single biggest mistake I see applicants making in their essays is writing what they think the admissions officers want to read, rather than writing what they (the applicants) want to SAY. If I had a dollar for every stilted word or phrase I’ve seen, I may not be concerned about gasoline prices these days.</p>
<p>Harry Bauld’s little evergreen essay book has a memorable example of an ideal essay lead: “I do some of my best thinking in the bathroom.” If I saw that opening in an application essay, I’d wake up, sit up, and take notice. I have to wonder if some of the seniors I’ve come across have ever had an original thought in their life. “Know your audience,” I always say. Who are these people who will be reading your writing?</p>
<p>I always get a kick out of Andy Rooney. He tells it like it is and isn’t afraid to venture a controversial position. Need some examples? Picture any of these as a lead in an application essay. Think they would wake up a groggy folder reader?</p>
<p>“Computers make it easier to do a lot of things, but most of the things they make it easier to do don’t need to be done.”</p>
<p>“Death is a distant rumor to the young.”</p>
<p>“Don’t pin much hope on the mail, and when the phone rings don’t expect anyone wonderful to be calling.”</p>
<p>“Happiness depends more on how life strikes you than on what happens.”</p>
<p>“I don’t like food that’s too carefully arranged; it makes me think that the chef is spending too much time arranging and not enough time cooking. If I wanted a picture I’d buy a painting.”</p>
<p>“If dogs could talk, it would take a lot of the fun out of owning one.”</p>
<p>“If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it.”</p>
<p>“Nothing in fine print is ever good news.”</p>
<p>Now that’s how to start an essay. Give an admissions officer a break. Give him and/or her a taste of something different. Show them that you have an interesting–possibly UNIQUE–outlook on the world, either as an observer or as a participant.</p>
<p>How much do college admissions essays matter? Enough. Enough for you to put some real thought into grabbing some attention and putting an interesting spin on things, even the mundane.</p>
<p>I have read all the comments above. I think essays are a reflection of your ability and in some part say who you are and what you desire. I am thinking very seriously about applying to the states to study at the tender age of 48!! I have started an open university degree course in the humanities, which is marvellous, but I know I would develop greater skills and my whole experience would be better if I was with other like minded people, ie college students. However, I wonder if my age is against me? Does anyone have an opinion on this.</p>