<p>Should a good applicant (SAT score close to 50th percentile, great GPA, ok ECAs…you know) change up his whole common app main essay if he gets rejected from his ED or EA college? </p>
<p>Even if he actually liked the essay that he/she wrote?</p>
<p>e.g. Kid applies to a top 10 college ED, but gets rejected (not deferred), then decides to apply to top 25 ranked colleges. Would re-writing the main essay generally be good advice?</p>
<p>bump 10char</p>
<p>If the school was “Top 10” ranked, then admission odds were a crapshoot if student’s in the 50th percentile scorewise, unless student is a URL or has an unusual hook. Read the essay again, ask several teachers and/or nonrelative adults to read it too, but likely the essay really didn’t have so much to do with the denial. I think many schools plan on accepting “x percent” of ED applicants, just like “x percent” of RD applicants, and thereby very strong candidates are denied admission nonetheless.</p>
<p>Even for a “Top 25” school, student needs to be in 75th percentile or higher to have an excellent chance of admission, it seems, and even then it’s still not a sureshot. I’ve heard plenty of stories of strong candidates that don’t get admission offers despite very strong application packages. Be sure to have some safeties on the school application list, where student fits the 75th percentile for sure.</p>
<p>I get what you are saying, but if the essay was any good, shouldn’t the applicant at least be deferred to the RD round?</p>
<p>It never hurts to have an essay looked at by someone new, but be sure it’s someone who understands what a college app essay should look like. And that’s not always the HS GC or teacher.</p>