<p>I am going to apply to Penn as a transfer applicant. The optional short essay is something that I am not sure if I should submit. I pretty much talk about everything in the ComApp Essay, the Supplement, and the Extracurricular. However, I do want to use the optional essay to sort of recaptulate who I am as a person. However, I am worried that if I do this, I may seem redundant. Should I attempt to recaptulate everything into this one optional essay? Or, should I leave it blank? Also, any current UPenn or accepted UPenn students, do you mind reading my optional essay? Thanks, I appreciate it!</p>
<p>I am a parent of an ED applicant who was accepted last year. AM very familiar with what PENN might be looking for. I will read if you send via PM.</p>
<p>I highly recommend you use the optional 150 word essay to talk about something NOT in your resume, rec letters, or other essays. The goal of the application is so the admissions counselors can picture you as a person—what your academics are, what you like to do in your free time, what kind of person you are, what you’ve experienced, etc. It is to your advantage to speak about something not on other parts of your application simply because it will let admissions get to know another side of you!</p>
<p>I understand, but I already talked about everything! Hmm…I don’t know what to do. Some people liked my optional 150 word essay - they thought it was moving. And, it says to describe your identity and your day-to-day life experiences</p>
<p>It doesn’t say to ‘add’ to your profile. Here is the prompt:
Optional short essay (approximately 150 words): introduce yourself to Penn. Our aim is to better understand how your identity, talents, and background guide your day-to-day experiences.</p>
<p>It says to understand how one’s identity, talents, and background guide one’s day-to-day experiences. I feel that recaptulating and providing a moving paragraph does this.</p>
<p>When I spoke to admissions about this (prior to my acceptance), they told me it was just another outlet for Penn to get to know another facet, another side of you. I’m sure a moving and captivating paragraph will be an asset. But think long and hard–are there any other topics you could write about? Other topics that will be an asset/new feature to your application?</p>
<p>Honestly, don’t sweat it. I didn’t write the optional essay because I thought my overall application had everything I wanted to show. Therefore, if you feel the same way I did, there is no need to worry about writing an essay that may have a negative effect on your admissions decision.
(I applied ED and was accepted.)</p>