<p>Hi! I graduated in 2013 and am taking a gap year. I had applied to schools before I graduated but chose none of them because of my gap year I was planning. So now I'm reapplying to one of the same schools I applied to before-is it ok if I use the same essay I used last year to get in? I tweaked it a bit but it's basically the same one that got me in before, can I use it again this year?</p>
<p>I don’t see why not.</p>
<p>I would change it. The college likely wants to see that you’ve grown and changed during a gap year put to good use, not that you are the same person at the same maturity level as you were when you first applied. Perhaps if there’s somewhere else on the application where you can talk about your gap year you will only change the essay slightly.</p>