I said at many schools - many schools they are optional, many grant admission by a GPA/ACT index and that could be a boost, and I know a prof on the admission committee on a top 20 school where I live and she flat out told me that if the GPA and test score are below standards, they are rejected - or as she says, we don’t have the capacity, to read in depth each and every essay.
You can look on each school’s CDS to determine the importance of the essay for each college - because you have thousands of colleges so probably thousands of methods.
What I said was - no one truly knows - so i wasn’t stating a fact but saying we have no idea if the essay is important. There are kids that get in with lots of typos (that we know), there may be kids rejected because of typos (that we don’t know).
My personal feeling is at the smaller, higher end schools they probably carry more weight but the person I spoke with didn’t say they don’t read them - she said for kids that are obviously no, they throw them aside.
The OP is talking about changing their essay - and therefore is assuming that it carries such high importance that it would be worth doing so. Forgetting that I am against doing so, i’m just questioning - even if it’s kick butt, will it necessarily have as much impact as they think.
Why i said - may not be read.
You think Indiana U is turning down a 4.0 and a 36 - even if the essay was filled with expletives?
Don’t know - but highly doubt it - i think that person is accepted period, end of story.
I think…and may not be read.
I’m not giving a guarantee or fact - just an opinion. I’m doing this to let the OP know - don’t overthink it - do your one essay for Common - and alter your school specfic essays if there are any (and yes, IU has one).