<p>Would it be a mistake not to write a Why Duke? essay? My scores/grades/ECs everything else should be great, but would it hurt my application to not write it?</p>
<p>i imagine it doesn’t hurt your application, they explicitly state it’s truly optional so I would think they say that in good faith.</p>
<p>No it won’t hurt you. If you have time to write a good one do it, but they said that if you don’t answer the optional questions (most people don’t have academic research so they won’t answer that one anyway) it won’t hurt your application. I know people who didn’t write it and still got in.</p>
<p>It does say truly optional, so I doubt it would hurt you</p>
<p>why would you not put in every card you can? An essay is another way to show something positive in your thinking, outlook, experience or hopes on how to use Duke. With the applicant pool as big as it is, putting in the effort is worth it.</p>
<p>I believe it is truly optional. DD didn’t write one and was accepted ED.</p>