NYU GSAS optional essay

  1. plenty of Orthodox Jews in NYC schools (other than perhaps Fordham).

  2. Already covered elsewhere, so don’t make the readers waste their time on something to rehash.

  3. Divorce is extremely common. What impact did the LD marriage have on you? (your mom is not applying)

  4. Plenty of small college applicants. Moreover, that will be obvious when they look at your transcript. OTOH, if you milked cows at 4 am to pay for the small college tuition…