If a Personal Statement (not a "Why Us?") is described as optional, is it really optional?

elcs76
Wed, 15 Aug 2018 22:06:01 +0000

If a college has it’s OWN application and there is a space for your essay and also a space for a personal statement that says it is optional for most kids unless they are considering taking a gap year or have extenuating circumstances, should my D still write one anyway? She has uploaded her common app essay for the “Choose Your Own Topic” prompt but then they offer this “optional” personal statement. I know that the “Why Us?” optional essays are never really optional if a school is one of your top choices, but in this case it is a top choice but there is no “Why Us?” prompt. Does that make sense?

I guess I always thought the personal statement was the same thing as the main essay and this extra personal statement section is a bit confusing.