<p>A Princeton admissions representative came to my high school earlier today and talked about the relative weights of application components. Surprisingly, here was his list, from most to least important:</p>
<p>Having heard so much about the importance of the essay, I was really surprised when this person talked about how the essays "won't get you in or keep you out" and how the essays weren't the most important thing because they are the last thing that's read.</p>
<p>For those of you familiar with the admissions process (or would like to make some guesses), what are your opinion(s) on this? Is he right? Is he bluffing?</p>
<p>You need to have the great grades, the great scores and the great recommendations. If you have all 3, you are in the mix. If you don’t have all 3, you are unlikely to be in the mix – unless you have some other hook. Then your essays will come into play. So I do think the essays are important to distinguish, differentiate among these top applicants. Otherwise, the admissions committees might as well throw in all the 2300+ SATs, 4.0 GPAs and best students ever, into a hat and pick out a handful. I’d agree with the admcom rep’s statement – the essay alone won’t get you in or keep you out – but it is a way to differentiate among excellent applicants.</p>
<p>I’ve also heard that one of the biggest red flags in an application is a suspicious essay. Adcoms are wary of overedited essays with too much outside help. That may be a reason that the essay is down a bit in the hierarchy.</p>
<p>While I have absolutely no inside information about the process, this list is not at all surprising to me. Your transcript reflects four years of classwork and the rigor of your curriculum and clearly it is and should be the most important factor reviewed by an admissions officer. Your recommendations should confirm the type of student you are–a positive factor in the classroom, inquisitive, open etc. Your test scores confirm that your school doesn’t unduly inflate grades and give an insight into how you perform under pressure. Personally I have never believed that the essay, while interesting and sometimes compelling, should be as important as these other factors. Moreover, unfortunately, there is no way for the admissions officer to confirm that a student wrote it on their own.</p>
<p>Thanks to all those who have responded so far! </p>
<p>Other schools of similar caliber (e.g. Pomona College, Claremont McKenna, Caltech) whose admissions sessions I’ve attended have stressed the essay(s) as one of the most important portion of the application (only time when you speak directly to the admissions officer, only time where it’s your voice, only time when it’s not someone else judging you, etc.). Perhaps Princeton is an anomaly?</p>
<p>While each school will probably weigh the components of the application differently, you might want to view the admissions sessions with a slight degree of skepticism. For example, in its Common Data Set, Claremont MacKenna indicates that the rigor of the curriculum and test scores are “Very Important” while the essay is viewed as “Important.” <a href=“http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/ir/CDS2010_2011.pdf[/url]”>http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/ir/CDS2010_2011.pdf</a> (page 7)</p>
<p>I don’t really understand the need to know the weight particular schools apply to each component of an application. Grades and recs are the result of long term performance; test scores are certainly influenced by preparation but are also a snapshot of one day’s work (unless you go pay someone to sit the exam for you). The essays, as all the schools will tell you, are the place where students have the most control. You get to choose how you want to come across to a school.</p>
<p>You’ll be working your hardest to present the best possible app, in all areas, so unless there’s a red flag in one part of your app and you’re shopping for the school that deemphasizes that piece, what difference does it make? And at hyper-competitive schools, you’d have to have an extraordinary accomplishment to offset a throw away essay.</p>
<p>In hindsight, I think the essay and recs had to be what got D in. So many kids have stellar grades, her scores weren’t extraordinary, but her essay was (unbiased opinion here) sweet, revealing and humble and probably echoed what her teachers had to say about her (we never saw the recs, but teachers did speak to me about her). She wrote it herself, had her English teacher read it and I never saw it until after she sent it (maybe even after she was accepted, I really don’t remember).</p>
<p>So my advice (based on one experience) is do the best job you can on the essay, and don’t be afraid that your topic is too mundane. Make it readable and revealing (unless you’ve got something to hide).</p>
<p>For elite universities, my sense of it was that because virtually every applicant has near perfect transcripts and test scores, with probably stunning recommendations, the essays become the actual thing that determines admission.</p>
<p>Princeton may put more weight on the objective stats, in the sense that if the applicant is not objectively qualified, the essay won’t help. That’s at least what I think.</p>
<p>Please don’t everyone forget that students have been rejected solely on the basis of the LOR. Even the top curriculum, top grades, top score students with excellent essays. Universities want to make sure they are accepting students with integrity and thirst for knowledge and all that other good stuff. Colleges have ability to read between the lines, and teachers and guidance counsellors the knowledge to write something bland that will red flag an application.</p>
<p>I always thought that Harvard/Yale/Dartmouth were a little less focused on scores. Then again this is really splitting hairs and is all perception.</p>