<p>So say your safety school is a state university (second best in the public system for your state, the best one is my other safety), and you get to the end of the application, where the only real essay, the personal statement, is optional. Should I even bother with the personal statement? We were over there for a psych project two days ago and people got in with, like, sub-1000 SATs (on the 1600 scale); I got a 1480 and have a 3.94.</p>
<p>Basically, Id ont' knwo what to write my personal statement about, so I figured if I just don't do it 'cause it's optional, that's the better way to do it. Am I right in assumign that it's still really safe to not do it?</p>
<p>I think it depends on whether or not you plan to apply to the honors program in your state university or not. For example, I am sort of in the same situation that you are. Because I am in the top 10% of a Texas high school, I automatically gain admission to any public Texas university. However, I can't just hastily fill out my apps and be done with it (I'm not suggesting you were planning on doing this). If I want to apply to the honors program at any state university, I think that I need to spend a little bit more time filling out my application. I would suggest using one of your longer essays from your number-one school and then tweaking it a little to serve as your personal statement. You won't end up writing an entirely new essay, but it will show the state university that you care, hopefully.</p>
<p>Even though there is no reason why you should not get in at your safety, sometimes schools are weird and reject you b/c they know they are you safety (and not writing the personal statement might clue them in to that), so idk I would probably just use one of my other essays.</p>
<p>Just write something that tells a nice little story using proper grammar, as that shouldn't take more than 30 minutes. If you are at all interested in the honors program, then you should write like its your reach school.</p>
<p>Rutgers has an optional essay, but if you read the directions carefully you'll realize that if you want to be considered for scholarships then you have to submit the essay. Just don't spend too much time on it and move on. It's not going to have an effect on your admissions decision and public schools' merit scholarships are based almost entirely on your SAT score, GPA, and rank, so don't worry about it.</p>