How much do essays matter?

[Anonymous]

Are supplemental essays more/less important than common app essay? Have heard a lot of chatter about the primary use being to obtain info that is otherwise unavailable due to Supreme Court ruling. Then again, with test optional, it seems like they may have extra importance. Not even sure how decisions are being made anymore…

[Anonymous]

Depends on where you apply. I had one apply for WM, which flat out said that the optional essay wasn’t option and mattered a lot. In general, SLACs care more, because they can help in assessing fit. And large state schools have too many applications to spend much time on them.

[Anonymous]

It will depend on the college. I know that UCLA for instance tends not to be particularly interested in them because they get a huge number of applicants and can choose from those with the highest GPAs. I have been told sometimes the essay section is just read by their AOs as a tie breaker.

Others will put a lot of weight on it.

So its going to depend...

[Anonymous]

I read supplemental essays can be more important bc schools ask questions specific to their institutional goals, etc. AOs are also aware that many students get extra help with the personal statement for the common app, but may not get as much for supplements.

[Anonymous]

Write a decent essay that reads like it was written by a 17 year old. No essay is going to overcome a weak GPA or test scores. But an essay that either has bad grammar/spelling, is hard to follow the train of thought, or is over polished can be used as a reason to reject.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends on where you apply. I had one apply for WM, which flat out said that the optional essay wasn’t option and mattered a lot. In general, SLACs care more, because they can help in assessing fit. And large state schools have too many applications to spend much time on them.

+1

If they offer supplementals, they are NOT optional. Take the time and effort to do them. I'd think the supplementals are more read than the Common App essay

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Write a decent essay that reads like it was written by a 17 year old. No essay is going to overcome a weak GPA or test scores. But an essay that either has bad grammar/spelling, is hard to follow the train of thought, or is over polished can be used as a reason to reject.

Shoot, I guess my child who writes first drafts better than most final drafts done by well educated adults (and likely the vast majority of Admissions people) will be rejected because they are “too good” at writing. Geez. No one can win these days!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Write a decent essay that reads like it was written by a 17 year old. No essay is going to overcome a weak GPA or test scores. But an essay that either has bad grammar/spelling, is hard to follow the train of thought, or is over polished can be used as a reason to reject.

Shoot, I guess my child who writes first drafts better than most final drafts done by well educated adults (and likely the vast majority of Admissions people) will be rejected because they are “too good” at writing. Geez. No one can win these days!

Oh, yawn. Like anyone buys that. Also, PP was talking about tone, not saying writing shouldn't be good. Hopefully your kid is better at reading comp!

My kid wrote like an old lady, but she is an old lady in a teen body. Still, I encouraged her to omit phrasing that sounded like someone's mom. She was admitted to several T15.

I think essays are useful for colleges to learn more about a student to see what they might add to the class. I also think they are a way to demonstrate interest -- colleges want a good yield, so the supplements might tell them who seems seriously interested.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I read supplemental essays can be more important bc schools ask questions specific to their institutional goals, etc. AOs are also aware that many students get extra help with the personal statement for the common app, but may not get as much for supplements.

This. I've also heard from VT rep that their essays, while short, are very important in their process. They don't even look at the common app essay.

[Anonymous]

No. One. Knows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[quote=Anonymous
My kid wrote like an old lady, but she is an old lady in a teen body. Still, I encouraged her to omit phrasing that sounded like someone's mom. She was admitted to several T15.

I think essays are useful for colleges to learn more about a student to see what they might add to the class. I also think they are a way to demonstrate interest -- colleges want a good yield, so the supplements might tell them who seems seriously interested.

This made me laugh 😂

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. One. Knows.

Very true. I think it would be far to assume, however, that at highly selective colleges, where every applicant is rolling with a 4.0+ and a 1500+, they matter a lot. It's the one place on an application where a student can really differentiate themselves and get an admissions officer to advocate for them at the table. For less selective colleges, I don't think they matter that much these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. One. Knows.

The people who ask the rep from each school know the answer for their schools.

But it’s true that there’s no answer for all schools.

[Anonymous]

If heeding the advice of "experts" and not writing essays about anything found elsewhere on your application, it can be quite difficult for the average student to find something to write about that would truly be meaningful in the eyes of a prospective school.

[Anonymous]

DD has heard directly from admissions people that Virginia Tech and Boston College value the supplement essays. I’d guess the schools that ask for supplements think they’re important.