<p>How important do you think the Tufts optional essays are?</p>
<p>I'm interested in this too... I would think they would be a definite advantage since Tufts loves when students go the extra mile.... I think it would show a lot more genuine interest, but then again, I'm not an adcom, so don't go by me lol</p>
<p>I never wrote the essay but I applied EDI and got in without an interview. However, I believe that writing an additional essay can't hurt - it can only help.</p>
<p>It is optional. If you can make it add to Tuft's picture of you, then by all means do it. If it's going to come off as repetitive, then you shouldn't write it. The same can be applied to most optional/extra things, such as additional teacher recommendations.</p>
<p>Don't hate me, but i just submitted the supplemental essay I had written for Yale (my most meaningful activity, expand)! I figured, why the hell not? I think it gave them an even better picture of me. I realized that every person I meet here had to somehow convey themselves through an activity list, essays, recs, grades and scores, and yet when I become friends with someone, it's because of the PERSON they are, not the summation of their activities and achievements. But they're all fantastic people, and I think that they got in because they got that across. If you can write an essay that further shows adcoms what kind of person you are, by all means, do it!</p>