<p>Agree with kevo0822. I believe at the Tufts session I attended in September 07, they made a point of saying that the Optional Essay is just that-OPTIONAL. Obviously, the ultimate show of interest is applying ED, but there are other ways, too. My D, who applied RD and did NOT write the optional essay, did the following: interviewed, attended a session when Tufts came to her high school, visited twice and also spoke with faculty in her department of interest. </p>
<p>Good Luck to all of the ED folks.</p>