I think most top schools take essays seriously, but I do think Chicago REALLY uses the essays in the decision process, just based on what I have heard. With that said, I am surprised that a school like U Chicago that seems hell bent on keeping their stats at a certain level (low acceptance rate, high yield) would not accept an ED applicant with a 36, unless there was an issue with the GPA that showed underachieving? Very strange. How bad could their essay have been? A student with a perfect ACT score should be able to crank out a decent essay and you would think that if they were applying ED, they would make sure it was good.