Should I do the optional essay for college applications?

In the high-stakes world of college admissions, there is a golden rule that every serious applicant must memorize: "Optional" does not mean optional. It means "Test of Interest."

I know you are stressed, and I know you are looking for permission to skip these to save your sanity. But if I told you that you could skip them, I would be lying to you.

Here is why you must write the optional essays if you want a serious shot at acceptance, especially for the "reach" and "mid-tier" schools you mentioned.

1. The "Yield Protection" Trap (Crucial for Mid-Tier)

You mentioned applying to "mid-tier" schools. These schools are often more obsessed with optional essays than the Ivies. Why? Because they are insecure. They are terrified that you are using them as a "safety" school and that you won't actually attend if accepted.

The Signal: If you skip the optional essay, you are screaming, "I am just applying here as a backup plan."

The Result: They will waitlist or reject you to protect their "yield" (the percentage of accepted students who enroll). Writing the essay is the only way to prove you actually care.

2. It is Free Real Estate

Admissions is a game of limited space. You have very few opportunities to show who you are: one Common App essay, an activity list, and maybe an interview. The optional essay is free real estate. It is an extra 250-500 words to advocate for yourself.

Why would you voluntarily throw away a chance to show another dimension of your personality? If you are an athlete and a poet, and your main essay is about poetry, the optional essay is the only place to talk about the leadership skills you learned in sports. Don't waste the space.

3. Your Competition is Writing Them

You asked if everyone else is writing them. The answer is yes. The students you are competing against for those limited seats at "reach" schools are maximizing every inch of the application. If Candidate A and Candidate B have similar stats, but Candidate A wrote a thoughtful optional essay about how they fit into the campus community and Candidate B left it blank, Candidate A wins every time.

Many "optional" essays are actually just the "Why Us" prompt in disguise (e.g., "Tell us why you are interested in this major" or "How will you contribute to our community?"). If you cannot articulate why you want to go to the school or what you will study, the admissions officer assumes you don't know and don't care.

I know it is more work. I know you are tired. But you have worked too hard for the last three years to fumble the ball on the 1-yard line because you didn't want to write one more paragraph.

My recommendation for you:

Change your mindset: View the optional essay not as a chore, but as a strategic asset to explain something your main essay couldn't covers.

** Recycle intelligently:** You will find that many optional prompts are similar (Community, Challenge, Identity). Write one really strong "core" essay for these topics and tweak it for different schools.

Do not leave it blank. It is the difference between "Accepted" and "Waitlisted."