<p>I have no idea what to write for the optional portion of the application. "If you think additional information or material will give us a more thorough impression of you, please respond below." Is this space to write another essay of our choice, or should we use the space to elaborate on other parts of the application, like awards we received? </p>
<p>Also, is the 100 word essay describing our cultural background in part 1 optional? I've heard it is, but will it hurt us to not write anything? I'm American with no interesting heritage or cultural diversity, so I can't think of anything to write there.</p>
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This is a space to write anything you want. Absolutely anything you would like the admissions officers to know about you, put it here.</p>
<p>Of course, you’re also free not to write anything in that space – many people do not use it. It is there in case there’s something else you would like to say.</p>
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Yes, it’s optional. Any optional parts of the MIT application are genuinely optional.</p>
<p>Are you sure that the cultural background essay in Part One, Section One is optional? I don’t see where it indicates that fact. If it is true that this essay is not required, I think that it should be made clear on the application. Someone might be stressing over a section they could leave out. I think for some people that question might be too similar to the, “Describe the world you come from essay.”</p>
<p>On Matt’s blog entry from 9/19/12 ([Your</a> Freshman App Questions | MIT Admissions](<a href=“http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/your-freshman-app-questions]Your”>Your Freshman App Questions | MIT Admissions)), someone asked:
And Matt answered:
</p>