<p>Hi
I have a question about optional essays, are they really required/expected??-meaning that if you don't write them is it detrimental to your acceptance chances? </p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>I won't say that it is detrimental if you don't write it but if you do write it, the optional essay adds another dimension the college can use which to evluate you.</p>
<p>I know that when my daughter applied to Tufts last year she did write the optional essay and felt it afforded her an opportunity to show another part of herself. maybe it worked for her as she was accepted , however I am quite sure that there are people who did not write an optional essay who were accepted also.</p>
<p>My S treated the optional essays as required, not only for what sybbie said about it being a way to add another dimension to his application, but also because it shows that he is interested enough in the school that he will go to the time and effort to write (yet another) essay. I think it separates the kids who really want the school from those who might just be throwing their hat (and $65) into the ring to see what happens. The more elite the school, the more this applies, I imagine. </p>
<p>Think of it this way, if the ad com of the school sat down with you for 15 minutes to chat about you and how you might fit into the school and then looked at her watch and offered to talk with you for another five minutes even though technically the interview was over, would you leave or stay and talk? And if you said, "No, that's okay. I've said all I want to say about me," would she think you cared a lot about the school?</p>
<p>good points, my only concern is that i have at least 8 supplemental essays to write not counting schools which don't even use the common app (i.e. umich, gtown etc), so is there any way to recycle one essay for the supplements (obviously disregarding the why X essay) or is there any one topic which can be used for most supplemental essays without modifying it a lot??</p>
<p>The more opportunities you take to communicate with a school, the more the school will (1) learn about you, (2) know that you really want to attend that school, and (3) get the impression that you work hard for what you want. Definitely take advantage of any chance you have to convey that image.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>thanks! so are there any responses in regards to my 2nd question: "so is there any way to recycle one essay for the supplements (obviously disregarding the why X essay) or is there any one topic which can be used for most supplemental essays without modifying it a lot??" any advice would be much appreciated</p>
<p>If you have the possibility of writing on a topic of your choice, then you can recycle essays.</p>
<p>My daughter wound up being able to use 1 of 2 essays for each of her apps except U-Mich (boy, that one is a bear). She wrote the first last spring in English class, a personal statement about her main EC, which also touched on certain aspects of her personality. The 2nd evolved from the NMS application and actually turned out to be a strong essay about her main academic interest, with related personal stuff. For some apps she was able to use one for the personal choice essay and one for the optional essay.</p>
<p>Some schools are also asking for a piece of graded work to be submitted (none of my d's schools, but several of her friends have had to do this). If your colleges don't require this, perhaps you could submit a good essay from one of your hs classes that only needs a few modifications to be suitable for a college app.</p>
<p>You are going to feel so good once you get those essays done!</p>
<p>thanks to all who responded!</p>
<p>My d was able to use both of her essays for apps but had to write a special one for Pomona (where she got accepted ED) because neither was applicable. Hope you get them done soon enough so you can enjoy the holiday vacation!</p>
<p>My son chose to use just a random, extra essay he had written a few months before for a different school. Who knows if it helped in the end, but I thought it provided just that ONE MORE entryway into his life and style of writing. I would certainly recommend it.</p>
<p>sybbie, my compulsory essay in the common app has answered one of the optional essay questions in Tufts' supplement: "Describe the environment in which you grew up and how it shaped your personal goals." Should I just ignore the optional essay? or should I do: "Offer an editorial on a topic of your choice" even though Im not good at doing editorial? Thanks.</p>
<p>ledyana i have the exact same problem w/tufts and cornell! So is it better to write another essay reiterating what i had for my common app or just not send a suplement and risk looking unintersted. Also the editorial question for Tufts scares me bc most of editorials are quite political and i don't want to risk offending someone from another poltical party...so is it better to just ignore the question all together??</p>
<p>Hi Ledyana & Politics26</p>
<p>Instead of sending all of your common apps at one time, Have you considered sending the common app for Tufts separately. </p>
<p>Since the essay in your common app, answers the Tufts optional essay question keep it as the optional essay question. (my daughter tweeked her essay just a bit to answer one of the questions on the Amherst application)</p>
<p>Since the common App allows you write an essay on the topic of your choice, you can write another essay on the topic of your choice, Copy and paste it in the common app space and use it as your main application for Tufts and then send it off. That is the beauty of sending the common app on line, you can make changes and save them.</p>
<p>:( but I have sent the Tufts' common application two days ago :( what should I do?</p>