Admissions Factors
Colleges That Consider the Essay
135 of 149 colleges say they weigh application essay. 54 rate it very important and 14 do not consider it.
Very important (54)
- Amherst
- Auburn University
- Barnard College
- Bates
- Bowdoin
- Brown
- California Institute of Technology
- Carleton
- Claremont McKenna
- College of William & Mary
- Columbia
- Cornell
- Dartmouth
- Georgetown University
- Haverford
- Hofstra
- Johns Hopkins
- Kentucky
- Miami
- Miami University-Oxford
- Northwestern
- Notre Dame
- NYU
- Penn
- Pitt
- Pomona
- Princeton
- Purdue
- Rhode Island
- Rice
- Southern Methodist University
- Stanford University
- Stony Brook
- Swarthmore
- Syracuse University
- The University of Tennessee-Knoxville
- Tufts
- UC Berkeley
- UC Irvine
- UC San Diego
- UC Santa Barbara
- UC Santa Cruz
- UCLA
- UNC Chapel Hill
- University of California-Riverside
- University of Chicago
- USC
- UW
- Vanderbilt
- Vassar
- Villanova
- Wake Forest
- WashU
- Yale University
Important (54)
- Baylor
- Binghamton
- Boston College
- Boston University
- Brandeis
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Case Western
- Colgate
- Colorado State University-Fort Collins
- CU Boulder
- Davidson
- Delaware
- Denver
- Drexel
- Duke
- Emory
- Florida
- Florida State University
- George Washington
- Georgia Tech
- Grinnell College
- Hamilton
- Harvey Mudd
- Indiana University-Bloomington
- Lehigh
- Marquette
- Michigan
- Michigan State
- Middlebury
- MIT
- Oberlin
- Ohio State
- Oregon State University
- Rochester
- RPI
- Texas A&M University-College Station
- Texas Christian University
- Texas Tech
- The University of Texas at Dallas
- Tulane
- UC Davis
- UIC
- UIUC
- University of Central Florida
- University of Maryland-College Park
- University of Massachusetts-Amherst
- University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus
- University of Oregon
- UW-Madison
- Vermont
- Virginia Commonwealth University
- Wellesley
- Wesleyan
- Williams
Considered (27)
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Buffalo
- Cincinnati
- Clemson
- DePaul University
- Florida International University
- George Mason
- Harvard University
- Houston
- Howard
- Iowa State
- James Madison
- Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College
- NC State
- New Hampshire
- Northeastern
- Temple
- The University of Alabama
- UConn
- UGA
- University at Albany
- University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
- University of South Carolina-Columbia
- UT Austin
- Utah
- Washington State University
Not considered (14)
- Arizona State University Campus Immersion
- California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
- California State University-Long Beach
- Florida Atlantic University
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Mississippi State University
- Ole Miss
- Penn State
- San Diego State
- San Jose State University
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- University of South Florida
- West Virginia
Frequently asked questions
Which colleges do not consider application essay?
14 of the 149 colleges here rate it "not considered": Arizona State University Campus Immersion, California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, California State University-Long Beach, Florida Atlantic University, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi State University, Ole Miss, Penn State, San Diego State, San Jose State University, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of South Florida, West Virginia.
Which colleges rate application essay as very important?
54 colleges: Amherst, Auburn University, Barnard College, Bates, Bowdoin, Brown, California Institute of Technology, Carleton, Claremont McKenna, College of William & Mary, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Georgetown University, Haverford, Hofstra, Johns Hopkins, Kentucky, Miami, Miami University-Oxford, Northwestern, Notre Dame, NYU, Penn, Pitt, Pomona, Princeton, Purdue, Rhode Island, Rice, Southern Methodist University, Stanford University, Stony Brook, Swarthmore, Syracuse University, The University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Tufts, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz, UCLA, UNC Chapel Hill, University of California-Riverside, University of Chicago, USC, UW, Vanderbilt, Vassar, Villanova, Wake Forest, WashU, Yale University.
Each college's own Common Data Set, Section C (first-time, first-year admission). Last checked 2026-10-08. Each rating is the college’s own answer on its Common Data Set. Colleges that left the row blank are left out.
