<p>I know that it says that the optional questions are truly optional but will not writing about the "outside research" question have a real affect on my admissions chances because as an international there have been close to none who have actually done outside of school research and not being able to answer this has me pretty stressed</p>
<p>It truly is optional and if you don’t write it your application will most likely be evaluated as if the essay never existed. Furthermore, I think if you don’t have any real research experience, you should not write anything. Trying to pad your application or essay with superfluous fluff and meaningless things could backfire and leave you in a weaker position than if you had left it blank. </p>
<p>Research is not something that everyone likes or have to do. This is true for when you are in college, for after college, and most certainly for high school students.</p>