<p>Did any of you get accepted without writing that particular essay?</p>
<p>“The optional essay in the Penn Application Supplement, asking you to submit page 217 of your autobiography, is truly optional. We even put “Truly” next to where it says “Optional.” Yet, people keep asking us if it really is optional. It is. Truly.”</p>
<p>Soooo, yes. 
Really, don’t get too stressed over it.</p>
<p>This question is asked ad nauseum, and my answer is the same: Not doing the essay won’t help or hurt you, but writing a solid one will help you. You cannot afford to waste a potential net gain for your application in such a competitive applicant pool, so write the essay if you really want to get in.</p>