How truly important are your essays?

ummsail
Tue, 13 Mar 2018 01:33:20 +0000

I think that strong stats- SAT/ACT/GPA- are more heavily weighted in general, because colleges want to know if you are a strong student, and will be able to do well academically, while at their college. The essays just add another dimension to the applications, and raise the bar. So, they’re looking at your personality, and looking for other aspects of you that they may not have considered, such as extraneous circumstances, or a unique upbringing. Something that would help admissions officers to build a “diverse” class. (I put diverse in quotations because that’s the ideal goal for colleges, but it isn’t always met.) Definitely make sure your academic stats are very strong, and then with your essays, go a little wild. Tell them something they can’t learn from looking at your basic reported information. As for the weight of the essays, every college will take them into consideration differently. I think that state schools might not use them as make or break-ers, but will definitely rely on them to single out applicants that are stronger than others, or provide a sort of context for said applicant’s scores. For example, a student attaining an unweighted 4.0 GPA with all APs, while working two jobs to help their family, would be given a lot more recognition. In addition, essays could explain to officers why an applicant couldn’t make a 4.0, and even buffer out the rest of your application. Essays can’t hurt you, unless you include information that will make you look bad, or add no value to your application. Essays are really a supplement, meaning that they’re not typically a decisive factor, but can definitely tip the scales. I hope this ramble makes sense…