<p>Hey everyone!
I finally perfected the required essay-- now I have to do the Optional essay by tomorrow night =/ Is the optional essay truly optional? If I decide to leave it blank, will it hinder my acceptance? Advice is greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>Truly optional, I believe.</p>
<p>They wouldn’t have emphasized “Truly” if it weren’t, right?</p>
<p>I think it just gives you room to expand upon yourself if you feel that the other parts of the app didn’t really/fully present who you were.</p>
<p>Ya…it is truly option. However, I would still write something as it is just another opportunity to let the Adcoms at Penn know more about you.</p>
<p>Awesome, thanks guys! I really appreciate it!</p>
<p>coolkitkat, you should read the directions more carefully. </p>
<p>It clearly says “Truly… but not really.” :p</p>
<p>Good luck on your apps.</p>
<p>Yea, I showed the prompt to my AP English teacher and she says that the writer clearly implies the prompt is not optional. So if you want to get in, write it.</p>
<p>^Umm, yeah. That’s a load of crap. I know for a fact people get in without writing that essay.</p>
<p>I know for a fact that a couple Penn EDers got in without the essay.</p>
<p>AHHH i have the same problem coolkitkat! i’m working laboriously on the optional essay- i say go for it! you have nothing to lose if you submit it, but you have maybe everything to lose if you don’t? kind of negative… but true!</p>
<p>@marco: that was a sarcastic comment following the post above me.</p>
<p>Can doing it hurt you?</p>
<p>It is truly optional.</p>
<p>If you think your App covers what you want to convey to the AdCom then dont just write the essay restating previous parts of your App. However, if you have material in ur App which could use further explanation, then this is the perfect opportunity.</p>
<p>For the record, the application is due at 11:59PM on January 1, so you have two days to write the optional essay, not one.</p>
<p>I was accepted to Wharton ED without doing the optional essay, therefore it is truly optional.</p>
<p>My friend got in Vagelos ED without writing it. (Just to add on in support that it’s truly optional.)</p>
<p>Personally I wrote the Pg 217 essay before the common app or required supplement since I thought it was most interesting.</p>