<p>'cause I got in anyway!</p>
<p>Who else got in without writing that silly optional bit?</p>
<p>I got in but I wrote the essay. </p>
<p>To be safe.</p>
<p>Glad you got in without doing it though, must feel empowering! lol. :)</p>
<p>well it wasn't optional for those (like me) who applied to pratt (engineering)</p>
<p>I didn't write the extra essay and got in.</p>
<p>That makes 2 in this exclusive club. If the count hits double digits I will be shocked. I know how the general CC population is :)</p>
<p>Make that a third. And I declined the interview, too.</p>
<p>what extra essay?
maybe i wrote it but i dont remember..
i dont think i did though</p>
<p>I wrote the essay, and I got in. My "Why Duke" was breath-taking and refreshing. :)</p>
<p>Shall I say it first, or do you two want to?</p>
<p>NURRRRD</p>
<p>I applied to Pratt as well, so the essay wasn't optional for me...It was pretty generic though. But I didn't do the research one and still got in! :D</p>
<p>My optional essay sucked.</p>
<p>Ahh, I got in though. ^__^</p>
<p>I didn't write the extra essay and I did get in :) Oh and for the "Why Rice" essay I wrote like 5 sentences and still got in :)</p>
<p>(Just to clarify, my point was that those little "Why College X" essays aren't always that big a deal. Sorry if it was confusing talking about Rice in the Duke thread!)</p>
<p>I didn't write it.</p>
<p>I don't think it's silly though, people who have a lot to say about why Duke specifically works for them ought to say it .</p>
<p>One thing is true for sure though: they really DO mean OPTIONAL. Future applicants, don't waste your time or their time writing a "Why Duke?" essay if it's going to be completely bland and uninspired. Just writing the essay without anything unique or at least "you-specific" to say isn't winning you points for effort.</p>
<p>didn't write the optional essay and got in...good feeling; proves my guidance counselor wrong on saying "nothing is optional"</p>
<p>I didn't :) and I got in</p>
<p>you guys are cheap...make us pratt ppl feel bad...T_T</p>
<p>I didn't write it and I got in.
looks like they really mean it, when they say "truly optional".. (at least for Trinity)</p>
<p>BUT i had an awesome interview</p>
<p>My son wrote a "Why Duke?" essay and was waitlisted. I thought it was very good and very specific, but I wonder if his essay inadvertently contributed to his <em>not</em> being accepted. He highlighted several aspects of Duke as being important to him which he discovered only by digging deep into the website and which I imagine Duke administrators might not see as school strengths. Thus, I think his optional essay may have made admissions officers question his "fit" with Duke. As a Duke alumna, I actually tried to dissuade him from applying because I don't think he's a good match temperamentally to the Duke vibe. He was barely fazed by the Duke result, partially because Duke was never his top choice and partially because he's already been accepted at Chicago, a school that <em>is</em> a top choice for him. As a kid with a penchant for intellectual pursuits, a wry sense of humor, and minimal interest in competitive athletics, I think Duke admissions officers may have correctly seen my son as an interesting applicant who'd find be an out-of-the-mainstream student if he were to attend Duke and thus unlikely to accept an offer of admission had one been offered. Maybe I'm overanalyzing and rationalizing a random result, but not all results which appear random truly are.</p>
<p>Yes. They mean optional.
I wrote it, but the only reason why I wrote it was because I could think of an interesting answer for 'why I wanted to go to Duke'.
It's that simple. If you can't think of something to write, don't write it!</p>