College essays that made a difference - Princeton Review 2010

So how much does the essay count, anyway?
Essay fundamentals

As Jim Miller, Dean of Admissions at Brown University, once told us, “A great essay can heal the sick, but can’t raise the dead.” Most often (the main exception being those colleges that don’t require test scores, like Bates College) the two most important factors in your application are your high school GPA and standardized test scores. If you are reading this very early in high school, make getting good grades your top priority. When it comes time to take the SAT or ACT, prepare for it, and do well. If you’re reading this in the fall of your senior year and your GPA is in the toilet, this book is going to be of little use to you.

The consensus among most admissions officers is that the essay can both help and hurt you, but it can help you more. That is reason enough to put your best effort into writing it. It is, after all, the one part of your college application over which you have total control. This book is our way of preparing you to take command of that process with authority.