So i know that EC and your essay are equally important but i was wondering upon what holds greater importance.
If they are equally important by definition one can’t have greater importance than the other…
In any individual case, one might carry more weight than the other- but that is in the context of the larger story. So, the student whose single parent needs them to mind the younger siblings from 3-6, so they can’t do a lot of after-school type activities, writes a great essay about what he has taken from. that and what he plans to do going forward? well, the essay ‘matters’ more. Equally, superb ECs, but a badly written essay will weigh the other way. At least in the admission simulation exercises that I have done (a fair few at this point), both are always in the context of the whole: who is this student- stats, lors, essays, ecs- what are the plus and minus elements for the class we are building?
And if you are shooting for highly selective schools it’s pointless to speculate, b/c there will be so many applicants where both are ‘above average’.
I would agree with @collegemom3717 , a lot of it depends on context. Speaking from personal experience as someone who doesn’t have a strenuous/disadvantaged context (like the example given of a student with a single parent), I would personally put equal importance, with a slight tilt towards the essay, which is a really fantastic opportunity for you to distinguish yourself. Also, strive for quality over quantity - if you’ve got 10 ECs listed that you kind of participate in, it’s not going to make up for a bad essay. Again, it depends on the context.
Just adding on… Also, check the Common Data Set of each school (it’s a Google search away), and in section C is a list of what that college finds important for sections such as ECs, essay, GPA, test scores, and some others.