50 Successful Ivy League Application Essays

  Do you recommend that students ask someone else to read 
their essay and give feedback?
A:
 You need some feedback because what you think is funny may not be 
to other people. You don’t want it to be over-edited where everything’s 
perfect, and you don’t need a professional editor. The essay could be a 
little unpolished, but I would have a friend or parent read it for diction 
and flow. You don’t want an essay in which you can tell that an English 
teacher went through it 45 times.
Q:
  How important is the essay? In your experience, has it ever 
made the difference between a student being accepted or 
not?
A:
 It all depends on where you are. If you are very strong academically, 
the admissions officers are verifying whether you’re the genius every-
one says you are. For you, the essay doesn’t matter as much. Also, if 
you’re in the low end, it doesn’t matter as much. It matters more for the 
students in the middle of the pool for that college. If we use the scale of 
1 to 9, the essay matters a lot for the students who are rated 5, 6, or 7. 
The essays have made a difference for students, but there haven’t been 

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50 Successful Ivy League Application Essays
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many students who have moved from the rejection to the accepted pile 
based solely on the essays.
Q: