Does the admissions office care more about GPA or extracurriculars? Can someone with an average GPA still be admitted into a fantastic school?

GPAs, SATs, PSATs and any other source that can be used to determine the readiness of a student is important for entry into college. This is why it is important to study hard and do well on all test while in High School. The most important years in high school are your freshman and sophomore years. Focus on doing well, take as many AP classes as possible that will give you an edge upon entering college. Edge meaning extracurricular classes that gives you college credits. Colleges and Universities look at this especially the private schools and the public ones. The other thing to think about is the competition. The other students that are applying to the same schools you are probably applying too if their GPAs and college entry exams are higher they will possibly give them an edge. The other important point is financial aide: higher scores brings more money.

Vera, it's a good question to consider here. Yes, college admissions counselors care deeply about both your GPA and your extra-curricular activities (clubs, organizations, sports, volunteering, etc.) However, there's a stronger emphasis on your GPA, simply because they want to see what you've done in your classes - both the classes you took and the final grades you earned - before they make a decision whether to offer you admission. The stronger your GPA, the better chance you'll have of gaining admission into some good schools. Once they see how successful you've been, it helps them determine how successful you could be at a college campus. Admission into a fantastic school (Harvard, Yale, Rice, Stanford, etc.) almost always comes with an excellent GPA (at least a 4.3 and above), strong records of extra-curricular participation and success, and other activities to demonstrate how much you stand out among your peers. In terms of writing a good personal essay, the best insight I can offer is to simply be yourself. Walk the reader through an experience you had where you chose to overcome a particular obstacle that kept you from reaching a meaningful goal in your life. The more you share, the better chance your essay has of making an impact on the reader. I hope that helps!

Best of luck,
Matt