<p>I know about their scoring system during the admissions process, including the essays. But something just doesn't make sense. Their common data set puts Level of Applicant Interest under "Considered." If they do care somewhat about interest, then why would they make the Why Duke optional? I mean, Duke is a very prestigious school, but not as much as HYP -- the ones whose prestige is so high they don't really care how interested an applicant is. I know there are people at CC who made it in without the essay and that if you don't do the essay your CA personal statement will just have more weight, but I'm still not entirely convinced.</p>
<p>If your talking about an optional essay for duke
Then you should definitely write the essay unless you won intel for curing cancer or something lol</p>
<p>When they say it’s optional they mean it. This isn’t some sort of gotcha game that they play. If you feel comfortable enough with your application that the optional essay isn’t going to add anything else to it then by all mean skip it. I doubt you are going to get any other answer from any official or unofficial source.</p>
<p>I’ve never understood the agonizing over this essay. If you’re applying to a college, presumably you have reasons for doing so and can express them intelligently. Seriously, how difficult is it to write a ~250 word synopsis of one’s reasons for being interested in a school? I’m constantly surprised by the number of students who take the time and effort to get good grades for four years, study hard for the SAT, develop extracurriculars and leadership, etc. but balk at writing a short paragraph. :rolleyes: </p>
<p>Writing a good essay will help you. Opting out may not hurt you, but it doesn’t help either. Something to keep in mind at a college that has an RD admit rate below 10%.</p>
<p>U can get accepted without it. U might as well do it…</p>