<p>I'm going to be applying to a number of different colleges, but I want to make it clear to some of them that I have a really strong interest/desire to go to their school, that i have really looked into the programs that they offer, and that I will be a helpful and successful student around the campus. Would this information be appropriate for the optional essay to the college in addition to the regular CommonAPP essay? Or is that information appropriate at all, or would they just see me as begging?</p>
<p>Really confused on this one, thanks for your help.</p>
<p>No; it’s inappropriate. If you want you could apply early. The idea that you are a good candidate for acceptance should be in the rest of your application, so you absolutely do not want to say something like, “I will contribute to the intellectual vitality of the campus.” Saying that you really want to go to a certain school won’t help you get in. It’s the application they look at to decide. You can try to show interest by doing an interview, but if you loved a certain school you’d probably do interview anyway. Basically, if you can say in your application that you go gaga for a certain school, every other applicant can too.</p>