I think 1 essay was eh, my school has dozens of valedictorians, and few here go to ivies. Help.

[gibby]

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I don’t agree that LORs get that much attention

Then you really don’t understand what colleges are looking for. This from William Fitzsimmons</p>

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Recommendations from secondary school teachers and counselors are extremely important at Harvard and at many other colleges, particularly those with selective admissions processes. Faced with more academically qualified applicants than places in the freshman class, our admission officers review the two required teacher recommendations and the counselor report with great care, often commenting on them in writing on “reader sheets” in each application.</p>

<p>We often project the recommendations themselves onto large screens so that all members of the Admissions Committee can see them during the subcommittee and full committee review processes in February and March.</p>

<h2>Recommendations can help us to see well beyond test scores and grades and other credentials and can illuminate such personal qualities as character and leadership as well as intellectual curiosity, creativity, and love of learning. Along with essays, interviews, and other materials in the application, recommendations can offer evidence of an applicant’s potential to make a significant difference to a college community and beyond."

</h2>

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but doesn’t mostly everyone get great LORs

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<p>Everyone tries to get get great LoR, but many don’t. This from MIT: <a href=“How to write good letters of recommendation | MIT Admissions”>http://mitadmissions.org/apply/prepare/writingrecs&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<h2>

**We receive thousands of recommendations like this each year. It is all positive, but it doesn’t give any real depth to the candidate. In this instance, the reader is left feeling the writer is reaching for something to say. **Honesty and trustworthiness are certainly admirable traits, but they are not uncommon among the nation’s top college applicants.

</h2>

<p>And this from Marymount: <a href=“Marymount California University's Admission Blog: When Recommendations Attack! (The Worst Letter of Recommendation We've Ever Seen)”>http://marymountcollegeadmissionblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/when-recommendations-attack-worst.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<h2>

most bad letters aren’t actually crafted in spite. They’re usually written by well-meaning favorite teachers who had no intention whatsoever of ruining your hopes and dreams. But, like Lennie in Of Mice and Men, they love you so fiercely that they squish you to pulp in the vise-like grip of their good intentions.

</h2>

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I would guess essays or ECs go second.

You are correct about essays, but don’t seem to understand why colleges ask for a list of EC’s. This from Harvard.</p>

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The term “extracurricular activities” covers an enormous amount of ground. We are interested in whatever a student does: in addition to school extracurricular activities and athletics, students can tell us of significant community, employment, or family commitments. There are many who spend a great deal of time helping to run their household, preparing meals and caring for siblings or making money with a part-time job to help the household meet expenses.</p>

<p>Unfortunately many schools have had to curtail or eliminate extracurricular activities and athletics, or they charge fees for participation. In addition, many students cannot afford expensive musical instruments or athletic equipment — or have families without the resources to pay for lessons, summer programs and the transportation networks necessary to support such activities.</p>

<p>**Admissions Committees **keep these factors in mind as they review applications, and are concerned most of all to know how well students used the resources available to them. Extracurricular activities need not be exotic — most are not — and substance is far more important. A student who has made the most of opportunities day-to-day during secondary school is much more likely to do so during college and beyond. This applies to academic life as well as extracurricular activities.

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