If you could rank the requirements for an application, which ones are the most important and the least important to the admission committee? ie. the interview, essay questions, recommendations, extra curriculars, grades, ssat, etc.
thanks! xx
Because you yourself are the unique component in the admissions process (everyone else who is a serious contender will have the same or better recs, grades, scores, ECs), your interview and your essay are the two areas where you get to show what’s special about you and what you offer a particular school’s community. The interview is also an important vehicle for you to find out if a school is right for you, so that one goes both ways. The recs, grades, scores, and ECs are you on paper, but the interview and essay (even though it’s written, it comes from you inside) are where you can shine and where you can have the most impact. Focus on those.
In my opinion, from most important to least: interview (to judge demeanor), essays, extra-curriculars, grades, SSAT (the last two are assuming you’re average/above average)
SSAT scroes and GPA are usually the first criteria that the school would look at. If your numbers are significantly lower than the averages of accepted students in the past, chances are high that your application will not be further processed unless you have a very strong catch such as being a legacy, top athletes or an achieved artist/musician. In that sense, numbers are very important. But they are not all. The good numbers alone will not get you in. But if you have good numbers, you will not be pushed out at an earlier stage of admission process.
As @ChoatieMom said (and I agree with her 100%), you need to show who you are. You need to be differentiated from other thousand applicants with the similarly good (or better) numbers. That is where essays and interviews get in. You had better show how authentic you are via those vehicles. Then the school will define the fit between the school and you. If they feel there is a strong fit by getting to know you better through interviews and essays, you who would have 88% SSAT will get in while others with 99% may not. After all, recommendations and ECs are what’s telling them who you are and you can elaborate on those in more depth through interviews and essays.