Not too long ago, my school invited the Dean of Admissions from a prominent school in our area, Rollins College, to talk to our faculty about what it takes to be accepted into today’s top colleges. He explained that a student’s application is like a balance scale. Everyone has good grades, activities, and SAT scores or they don’t bother to apply. (And if they did apply with poor grades or SAT scores, then they would be automatically cut from the pool of candidates.) So all of the scores go on one side of the scale. On the other side of the scale is what makes the difference: the essay.
He said that they consider the essay as the deciding factor as to whether to offer a student admission or not. I found this fascinating and decided to put this to the test. I contacted several other universities like the University of Florida, University of Central Florida, and even Florida State University and learned the same thing. The essay is the deciding factor.
Why is the college application essay so important?
The simple answer is that it gives the university a snapshot of who you are as a person. They want to know more about each person’s character. They want to know if the student would be a good fit for the university. Take the two essays that the Dean of Rollins gave as an example from our own school:
The other student told about her life growing up in the family business of running carnivals. Her story gave insights into the hard work and different kinds of people with whom she interacted. Her story was mesmerizing because it was deeply personal and made the reader naturally reflect.
The bottom line: The carnival essay was deep and the other was shallow. How can one compare traveling to living the carnie life? So, it seems obvious to say that the carnie student was granted admission while the other was not.
Want to more about how to write a college application story?
Read this post or check out this workbook that guides you through the process of writing your best essay!
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