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College Essays Are Not As Important As My GPA, Right?
High school seniors who are applying to colleges have lots of data points to share with their prospective colleges:
- GPA
- SAT score
- ACT Score
- Extracurriculars
- Transcript (let those AP classes shine!)
- Letters of recommendation
One may think that should be enough for a college admissions officer to evaluate an applicant, so why is an essay part of the application and why is it so important? This post won't rehash the plethora of articles explaining why, because if you search for it online, you can read dozens of expert opinions. Instead, this post connects the dots between the "WHY essays are important" and "HOW you should craft your essay" so that you can craft a compelling essay.
Differentiate Yourself
👍 WHY: personalize your journey
🎉 HOW: show them
Your GPA doesn't demonstrate your values. Your SAT score doesn't demonstrate your character. Your ACT score doesn't demonstrate your interests. etc.
If an admissions person looks at two applicants, both with the same GPA, SAT score, and ACT score, with similar extracirricular activities, similar "This kid is great!" letters of recommendation, how do I know which student has more grit, has overcome struggles, cares more about community rather than their social media presence, has dabbled in some really unique activities outside the school, how they think? That's where the essay comes in: you are more than a sum of your test scores.
Give them a face
👍 WHY: colleges don't pick students in a vacuum
🎉 HOW: let them see who you are
Similar but a bit different from above, you want to differentiate yourself and also give them an understanding of who you are. Schools are looking at an applicant as an individual but also how they would fit in with the rest of the student body. To really understand that, they need to know your personality, what makes you tick, what makes you laugh, how you interact with others. Let your essay be a great representation of what matters to you so they can decide that they want you to be a part of their diverse community.
Show your growth
👍 WHY: ability to self-reflect on your growth
🎉 HOW: describe changes
People's lives aren't linear, their learning isn't linear, their interests aren't constant. Their struggles come and go, their environment constantly changes and sometimes there are extenuating circumstances. So every college applicant has a story about where they were and how they are doing now, that isn't just reflected in grades. The essay is an opportunity to demonstrate all that: you are a living, human being who changes as they mature and changes with the world around them.
Capitalize on diminished legacy influence
👍 WHY: heavier weight on your personal narrative
🎉 HOW: let your intellectual vitality shine thru your writing
Many colleges are doing away with factoring legacy in college admissions. (Legacy means that if a parent or close family member attended a certain college, the student might have extra weight to get in.) Because schools are stopping to use legacy admissions either voluntarily or by legislature, the opportunity slightly opens up to non-legacy applicants who can stand out in other ways to gain an edge. Academic excellence (GPA, test scores, rank, etc) still takes a prominent role, but there is now more room to dazzle the admissions officers through their essays, to see how their writing skills reflect their thinking skills, to tip the scales in their favor.