Duke University optional essay. Do i do it?

usernamelm
Sat, 13 Dec 2014 01:55:38 +0000

My son did not do the optional essay, and was accepted ED yesterday. All the Duke people we heard talk about it definitely stressed that it was optional.

Interestingly, it felt “dangerous” from an admissions perspective for him NOT to speak in that space, as it may feel “dangerous” for a (say) transwoman to speak about gender identity in the main common app essay. But it seemed the right thing to do.