Common Data Set · Section C7
Of the 143 colleges with Common Data Set filings in Trajecta's dataset, 64 rate the application essay very important in their admissions decisions, 56 rate it important, 14 considered, and 9 say it is not considered — as self-reported in each school's CDS section C7 ("Application essay").
No schools on this page match that search — browse the full college list instead.
The application essay covers your personal statement (the Common App essay) and each school’s supplemental essays. It is the main place your voice, judgment, and motivations reach the admissions reader directly, and at holistic-review colleges it often carries more weight than applicants expect — especially for distinguishing between academically similar candidates.
Princeton University#1
Stanford University#2
California Institute of Technology#4
University of Chicago#6
Rice University#7
Yale University#8
Johns Hopkins University#9
Vanderbilt University#10
University of Pennsylvania#11
Brown University#12
Columbia University in the City of New York#14
University of California-Berkeley#16
University of California-Los Angeles#17
Cornell University#18
Bowdoin College#19
Pomona College#20
Claremont McKenna College#21
Dartmouth College#22
Northwestern University#23
Washington University in St Louis#24
Amherst College#25
University of Notre Dame#26
Swarthmore College#30
Georgetown University#38
University of Southern California#39
Haverford College#44
University of California-San Diego#45
Barnard College#47
University of California-Irvine#49
Babson College#52
New York University#54
Tufts University#55
Bates College#57
Carleton College#61
Wake Forest University#65
William & Mary#69
Smith College#70
University of California-Santa Barbara#71
University of Washington-Seattle Campus#73
Villanova University#76
University of Miami#78
College of the Holy Cross#82
Vassar College#83
Brigham Young University#84
Stony Brook University#85
Purdue University-Main Campus#86
Santa Clara University#89
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University#109
University of Connecticut#114
Southern Methodist University#131
Syracuse University#138
Loyola Marymount University#144
Denison University#147
Auburn University#153
University of Maryland-Baltimore County#158
University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus#164
University of California-Riverside#174
Worcester Polytechnic Institute#176
University of California-Santa Cruz#183
Pepperdine University#229
University of California-Merced#264
University of Kentucky#371
United States Air Force Academy
United States Naval Academy
Massachusetts Institute of Technology#3
Williams College#13
Wellesley College#27
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus#28
Colby College#29
Emory University#33
University of Virginia-Main Campus#34
Davidson College#35
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor#36
Carnegie Mellon University#37
University of Florida#40
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill#41
Harvey Mudd College#42
Colgate University#43
Boston University#48
Boston College#50
Hamilton College#51
Middlebury College#53
Wesleyan University#58
University of Maryland-College Park#59
Grinnell College#60
University of California-Davis#64
Lehigh University#66
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign#67
University of Wisconsin-Madison#74
Florida State University#77
University of Richmond#79
Binghamton University#88
University of Rochester#90
George Washington University#91
Case Western Reserve University#94
Colorado College#96
Tulane University of Louisiana#97
Texas A&M University-College Station#105
Rutgers University-New Brunswick#106
Skidmore College#108
Brandeis University#110
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute#117
Ohio State University-Main Campus#120
University of Central Florida#125
Texas Christian University#134
University of Massachusetts-Amherst#135
The University of Tennessee-Knoxville#145
Fordham University#156
University of Delaware#157
Indiana University-Bloomington#170
American University#181
University of Colorado Boulder#185
Michigan State University#193
Baylor University#199
University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus#207
Drexel University#208
University of Oregon#304
Towson University#328
Texas Tech University#336
United States Military Academy
Harvard University#5
Duke University#15
Washington and Lee University#32
Northeastern University#46
The University of Texas at Austin#62
University of Georgia#81
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities#133
University of South Carolina-Columbia#187
University of Houston#201
University of Missouri-Columbia#227
University of Arizona#269
Howard University#289
The University of Alabama#339
Temple University#513
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo#75
Clemson University#103
San Diego State University#118
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus#211
San Jose State University#234
University of Iowa#270
University of Kansas#329
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University#345
Arizona State University Campus Immersion#380At most selective colleges, a lot: the essay is rated important or very important on the majority of Common Data Set filings, because it is the only part of the application written in your own voice. Essays rarely rescue a weak transcript, but they frequently decide between similarly qualified applicants.
No. Some large universities with formula-driven admissions mark the essay "considered" or "not considered" on their Common Data Set — their decisions ride on GPA, rigor, and test scores. The lists on this page show exactly which schools fall where.
Of the 143 colleges with Common Data Set filings in Trajecta's dataset, 64 rate the application essay very important in admissions, 56 rate it important, 14 considered, and 9 say it is not considered. Colleges rating it very important include Princeton University, Stanford University, California Institute of Technology, University of Chicago, Rice University.
Ratings are self-reported by each college in its Common Data Set, section C7. Every school links to its full data page. Explore the college rankings →