one of my supplement essays was not too great… the other one was pretty good. the common app essay was also good.
Would that one bad essay kill my app or lower my chances? or just neutral?
thanks guys
How bad we talkin here? Like the “I am sooo smart” essay, the “Previous drug use” essay, the “I’m a freakin hero” essay, the “My life sucks” essay, the “Here’s my excuses for not doing well” essay, or the “Comedy routine” essay?
It’s like a generic essay… doesn’t really answer the prompt i feel.
What was the prompt… If you’re allowed to say, of course
What work of art, music, science, mathematics, or literature has surprised, unsettled, or challenged you, and in what way?
I don’t see how it could’ve been generic. There’s a lot of things you could’ve chose from.
What did you talk about? How was it off topic/
i talked about louis armstrong’s what a wonderful world (a probably over-used topic) and the time that it was released in (60’s) and peoples’ interpretations of the song changing over generations… but i only told of how i felt about it very briefly. I guess it answers the prompt somewhat… but not really personal i would say. would that hurt?
That doesn’t sound like a bad idea at all. I understand the feeling like you didn’t tell enough about yourself in an essay (I felt that way about one of my essays), but I think that what you chose to write about and how you wrote about it can give an admissions officer insight into you as a person, as well.
You’ll be okay, as long as your other essays were more personal and about you. I wrote a terrible essay for a supplement but a pretty good one for the other and I got accepted. You really never know…
How can anyone reasonably answer your question, @DatAsianboy? You’ve provided NO data regarding your qualifications nor the university to which the poor essay was submitted. Obviously, a marginal essay is never an “acceptance enhancer,” but if you have earned a 3.9 unweighted GPA, a SAT I aggregate score of 2300, and have taken many IB/AP courses AND you’re applying the East Swampy State it’s not going to matter. However, if you’re applying to HYPSM, it may be decisive. If you a want serious, authoritative answer to your inquiry, you need to provide appreciably more information.
I know that the above prompt isn’t a UC essay, but I know that for UCs at least, essays can’t hurt your chances; only help them. So a mediocre essay wouldn’t negatively impact your overall application, but at the same time, it won’t help you. Again, speaking only about UCs.
@northwoodian: “I know that for UCs at least, essays can’t hurt your chances; only help them.”
I’m sorry, but the foregoing statement appears illogical. Please provide documentation to substantiate it. Fundamentally, if essays can make other applicants more competitive, and if the the OP’s essays do not allow him to maintain parity, than the OP’s essays obviously “hurt his chances” of admission.
Unless another school uses it, it’s one of the supplementals for UVA.
supplement essays are just a small part of your whole application that the colleges are looking for. The colleges
won’t be focusing on your one supplement essay, they will also be looking at your grades, recommendations, etc. Don’t worry about it.
@TopTier when I met with an admissions officer at UC Irvine, I was told that ‘bad’ essays are overlooked in the admissions process, and therefore has no overall impact on your application as a whole. That way, the essay can only help you, not hurt you.
IMO if essays aren’t helping you but are helping other applicants then in a sense they are hurting you.
@northwoodian (re #1): No, you’re still miss the simple logic, even if the information from UC Irvine is correct (which I doubt). To demonstrate, four students apply to UCX: a, b, c, and d. They can admit only two, due to class size constraints. All four have absolutely identical admissions qualifications and potential, however, a submits great essays, b and c provide good essays, and d’s essays are poor. Who will be accepted? A certainly will be, either b or c will be, but d will not be – due to his poor essay (and remembering all for applicants in this illustration are identical, which I acknowledge does not realistically happen).
The point is, in this hypothetical example, d was denied due to his essays. An individual who believes that any part of an admissions file “can only help, not hurt you” (to quote you) is clearly (in my opinion) naïve.