I received “Golden Admission” to the Colorado School of Mines and the personal statement is optional on there. I have already written up a personal statement but I am still debating whether or not I should include it. Can a personal statement hurt my chances of admission?
If you are interested, then of course, write a statement, and pay attention to timing, this school runs a strange admission process. Do read through the CSM forum though, particularly the recent post about the implications of industry belt tightening. It is a free application, so just do it all. Golden admission means nothing much.
Blowing off “optional” can be construed as a signal that u aren’t really all that interested in the school.
Why on earth would you bypass an opportunity to give them another reason to say yes to your application?