How important is this, and is it actually optional? Or is it like the “Why Tulane?” essay where it is actually not optional, even though it says it is? I have already written the “Why Tulane?” essay, and my app is ready to submit. I forgot this was even a thing until I was double-checking my app. Thanks.
No supplement is “optional,” and every supplement is an opportunity to let Adcoms know a bit more about you, to see to how well you express yourself, and to hear what you have to say.
To build on what LoveTheBard expressed, this additional essay presents you with a great opportunity to review your application on the whole and see what it says about you - and what it doesn’t. Your academic record and rigor, test scores, extracurriculars all tell Tulane something about you. Perhaps there is something else that you’d like to communicate and this would be a good place to do it. Our D was involved in a time-consuming activity that we (her parents) thought was pretty mainstream. When she got one of these essays and was stumped, we asked her a lot of questions about what exactly she did and how her responsibilities had changed over 4 years. We learned so much about her love and passion for it, and heard more about how her organization was structured like a pyramid and she had learned and managed her way from “apprentice” to leader of a 14-person team at the end. She is fairly unassuming, so we had no idea. The essay wrote itself and she was able to show her depth of commitment, skill development, leadership, as well as bit of humor. She was awarded a scholarship for this EC. So - yeah, it’s a drag - but every essay is an opportunity to show another side of you!