<p>On the optional essay that asks the applicant to tell about something he/she created : "Tell us about something that you have created. This can be, for example, a design, a device, an object, an idea or concept."
Am I supposed to write "lyrically" and make it sound like a story/college personal statement, or am I supposed to get technical and write scientifically? (I am writing about my research project)</p>
<p>Happy Holidays to everyone ^^</p>
<p>I think it could be either - mine was kind of.. both! I told it like a story, talking first about how I thought of my research topic (watching swirls of milk in tea, heh), then about designing a procedure and about a cool solution I had to a problem, then about another really cool solution to another problem hahaha <em>using linear algebra to solve experimental difficulties! YAY! hahaha</em>, then about all this other stuff I want to study/do. It was a story, but I was specific enough about the methods, which involved using ideas from multivariable calculus and linear algebra in experimental methods, that they would make sense to anybody who knew multivariable calculus and linear algebra, and I was also specific about the stuff I want to continue with, which involved some discussion of image processing… so yeah! mine was a personal statement and it was technical. so do whatever you want! but I think they want to see what YOU gained from the experience, and what YOU like about the creation/work, so I would actually guess that it shouldn’t be ALL technical… but really, just take the opportunity to show them that you match. however you can best do that, go for it! sorry, hope that helped. but I think it’s very open-ended; write however you feel comfortable writing.</p>
<p>Mine was not “lyrical” at all. I was actually worried after submitting my app and reading how CC people treated it as a supplemental essay…mine was by no means “essay”-ish. I just told things in a straightforward way (what I did, the experience, and what I gained from it- was pretty concise, only 13 lines on the print preview of the application), and it seemed to be okay (I got in EA). I’d say do what you’re more comfortable with, and don’t worry too much if it isn’t “lyrical”- content is more important than flowery language.</p>
<p>Would it be bad to not write the optional essay? Do people who don’t write it get in?</p>
<p>i didn’t write their optional prompt and attached another of my own essays (influential person), and i got in. i also know someone who didn’t do any of the optional stuff and got in (she went to RSI, though…).</p>
<p>@tongchen: Where did you attach it? Other optional information part?</p>
<p>There are those who answered this question prosaically, and those who were very creative. I read about someone who wrote about baking a cake! My son wrote about a genetic algorithm he worked on for several weeks.</p>
<p>frutiaspice: yes, the optional info part. i think that box has unlimited space. : )</p>
<p>How about both? :)</p>
<p>I didn’t write hte optional essay, and submitted one of my own. I was deferred. I’ll be writing it and submitting it to supplement my app.</p>
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The optional essay is, in fact, totally optional, and people who don’t write it certainly do get in.</p>
<p>ye but mollie wouldnt you say people who choose to write the optional essay generally have a better chance of acceptance than those who dont? I think it would be in his/her best interest to write it</p>
<p>Well, maybe, maybe not. </p>
<p>I haven’t been working progressively on my essays over the course of this fall–I’ve thought about them a lot, and written drafts, but as of right now, none of the 12 essays and statements I have to write before Jan 1 are finished. </p>
<p>If I were to write something extra for MIT, it would probably end up written at the last minute, and so it might not reflect well on me or whatever I chose to write about. This wasn’t quite the way I’d planned on doing college apps, but I ended up with some extra committments and activities this fall, so it can’t really be helped at this point.</p>
<p>Lyrical or technical?</p>
<p>Try sensual!</p>
<p>I think writing last minute essays are actually a better reflection of who you are (although they may not exactly be your best writing and I definitely don’t advise waiting till the last minute - which I happen to have done to myself)… you aren’t worrying about how you should sound and what will get you accepted - you just write to get your essay done and what ends up coming through is really YOU!</p>
<p>do you think they really like essays that sound so genuinely you? sometimes i want to be genuinly myself, because i’m pretty cool, but i’m afraid they’ll think i’m not serious enough.</p>
<p>also.. do you think it’s a good idea to use this fractal i drew? it’s beautiful. its handdrawn stars. i could just write about it and mail in a picture… cuz i haven’t really done anything spectacular and i feel my star fractal is a good representation of who i am… i like to make math beautiful…</p>
<p>i think fractals are cool! you should send it in!</p>
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No, I think that people who write really great optional essays are more likely to get in – it’s not just writing the optional essay that’s useful, it’s writing it really well.</p>
<p>Moreover, I think that people who want to write the optional essay are more likely to be the kind of people who get in. In the same way, I don’t think that having an interview per se raises one’s odds of admission to MIT, I think that being the kind of person who wants to interview at MIT raises the odds of admission.</p>
<p>the fractal essay is a really good idea…</p>
<p>I really can’t think of a whole lot for the optional essay, so I just wrote about when I wrote my own little minesweeper program; it was basically a downgraded version of the minesweeper available on windows with an upgraded smiley face… I added a tiny bit of technical detail and kept it short and sweet < 200 words</p>
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<p>I don’t know how many times I’ve posted this in this forum, but I wrote my main essay about my deathly fear of closed shower curtains, and my which-department essay opened with “I blame my love of biology on my feet.”</p>
<p>All of my college essays were like that- completely not serious (my UChicago one ended with God getting kidnapped by a group of students while Optimus Prime led a counter attack in the Div School coffee shop- and I’m dead serious). But every one was genuinely me.</p>
<p>Heck, if a college doesn’t like the real you, would you even really want to go there?</p>
<p>EDIT: Also, this whole having a tapedDuck and a duckedtape thing is really throwing me off.</p>