The data from admissions officers disagree:
https://www.nacacnet.org/globalassets/documents/publications/research/2018_soca/soca2019_all.pdf
Factors considered of Considerable Importance:
Grades - 74%
Strength of Curriculum - 62%
Standardized Test Scores - 46%
Essay - 23%
Recommendations - 15%
EC - 6%
Even adding Considerable and Moderate importance, the top three are each at 82-90%, Essays are at 56%, Recommendations at 55% and nothing else is over 50%.