<p>Is it advantageous or wise to include additional materials, e.g. an extra essay, personal reflections, a brag sheet of my many other achievements, etc., when the colleges do not specifically require them?</p>
<p>If you feel like you need to add them in order to give the admissions officers a complete picture of who you are - e.g., if you do something important that doesn’t fit into the normal application and you want to make sure it’s represented - go for it. Likewise, if you’re “on the edge” for a particular school in terms of admissions, an extra (short) essay could be helpful.</p>
<p>But don’t go overboard. The rule of thumb I’ve heard is that you shouldn’t attach more than two additional documents, and you should try to keep them as short as possible.</p>
<p>Do not send an additional essay. Admissions officers who review thousands of applications have neither the time nor the inclination to read another essay. Do not send “personal reflections”; that’s just another name for another essay.</p>
<p>Include a “brag sheet” only of things that are IMPORTANT and that you did not have room for in your application. This is ONLY for things that add something. For example, you do not need to explain what “Treasurer - Senior Class” means. But if you won an award for a science project, you could explain in a few words what the project was. (The fact that you state it as “my many other achievements” scares me; there are few high school seniors with “many” achievements not mentioned elsewhere in their application.)</p>
<p>Be kind and aware of the admissions counselors’ time.</p>