some schools like harvard and tufts have optional essays. How much will it hurt my chances if i dont do them?
<p>they are optional only for those candidates that are Intel winners, play regularly at Carnegie Hall due to packed houses, are a disabled kid who could throw a football 100 yards on a rope and has 1600's and 4.6 gpa, or is the kid of Bill Gates or Warren Buffet. For all others who think it optional, they are passing up the last chance to speak in your own voice to the adcoms.</p>
<p>^There's the jist of it.</p>
<p>"Optional" is the method by which sadistic adcom's get their jollies because they know it will drive applicants mad trying to determine if they can truly skip it. If this were an SAT question in the analogy section, it would look like this:</p>
<p>Optional: required</p>
<p>a. insist: demand
b. directive: order
c. mandate: command
d. You're darn right it is: You'd be a fool to believe otherwise</p>
<p>The more information you can provide an adcom on your behalf, the better, especially when they're <em>giving</em> you the opportunity, not having you try to force something truly "extra" into the process.</p>
<p>If the prospect of doing an extra essay is a PITA to you, then it's unlikely that Tufts or Harvard are a good fit in any event...at least that's how many adcom members would see it.</p>
<p>X-posted with Drusba, LOL!!!</p>
<p>if essays aren't your strong suit, don't do the optional ones.</p>
<p>i didn't.</p>
<p>did you get in chalk?</p>
<p>how do you feel about your apps?</p>