<p>Is it really going to hurt my chances if I don't write anything for the optional short answer?</p>
<p>bump/..............</p>
<p>i guess it can't hurt to leave it blank, but why would you neglect an opportunity to give them a sense of your wonderful personality?</p>
<p>how many people answered this?</p>
<p>what information would a person put ?</p>
<p>It's been awhile since I've looked at the app, but I think this is where you mention any hardships/disabilities etc. that they shouldtake into consideration when reviewing your app. I'm pretty sure I left this blank.</p>
<p>hardships as in parent divorce, sickness? not really a bad grade?</p>
<p>The prompt doesn't ask for anything specific. I wrote about my first time visiting the university. I originally thought that my parents were taking me to UCLA but they tricked me and brought me to usc.</p>
<p>Well, if you had some external influence that hurt your grades, perhaps you could mention that. I feel that there's a fine line between looking for pity and actually explaining something significant. </p>
<p>bluebeard: that's pretty funny about your parent's tricking you :)</p>
<p>wow, i just submitted the application
and i completely forgot to fill in that part
i think i put the hardships in the background section under activities</p>
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<p>_></p>
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<p>i don;t really think its necessay to answer that prompt...hopefully O.o</p>
<p>dude yeah that one is like for hardships and stuff</p>
<p>If you're applying to Annenberg, that's where your statement of intent goes. I was originally going to put like, "USC is my top choice!" (which it so is), but, alas, I had to actually put effort into it ;). Blah, it's not like I'm going to be able to afford it anyway.</p>
<p>All college apps have this optional box. Only put something if there was some event that affected your education (like I wrote the cancellation of a certain class meant I had to drop down to a lower level for the subject, which, without the explanation, would make it look like I dropped willingly out of laziness or something). Or you can put down anything that you didn't have the opportunity to clarify in other sections of the application. </p>
<p>It's optional - they most likely don't want to read stuff in that box that doesn't apply, so if you haven't got something to say, it's more than alright to leave it blank.</p>
<p>I wrote in the optional box.....i sued it to tell them why i wanted to do pre-med....because i didnt get a chance to state it in the essay. i dont think you'll be penalized for it at all.</p>