Chance me! How important are essays for these schools?

Chance Me / Match Me
1

<p>White Finnish male.
GPA: 3.9
SAT: 1980
Top 5%
4 AP Classes (my school only offers them to seniors)
Editor of the newspaper</p>

<p>Here are some schools I applied to: Reed, Bard, Bennington, Marlboro, Skidmore, Hampshire. </p>

<p>I don’t really have many ECs, but the one thing I think I do have is excellent recommendations and essays. So, given a good show on those fronts, what kind of a chance do I have at some of these schools?</p>

2

<p>Google for a school’s “common data set” and check section C7; “Application essay” will be checked with one of Very Important, Important, Considered, or Not Considered.</p>

<p>E.g., Reed’s is at [Reed</a> College 2009-10 Common Data Set SecC](<a href=“http://web.reed.edu/ir/cds/cds0910/cdssecc200910.html]Reed”>Reed College 2009-10 Common Data Set SecC - Institutional Research - Reed College), “Very Important.”</p>

<p>I’d guess match (meaning 50/50) for Reed, but for internationals, chances go way down if you need financial aid.</p>