Should I answer optional questions?
Not answering an optional essay can decrease your chances of being accepted to a school. A Northwestern admissions rep, for instance, said regarding their optional essay that they don’t accept anyone who chooses not to write it.
How do you address low GPA in optional essays?
To address the low GPA example, you could simply say, “My final term marks were lower than average as I was coping with an illness in the family.
Should you write the optional essay for law school?
Generally speaking, you should only write an optional essay on a given topic if all three of these conditions are met: Your personal statement does NOT adequately address the topic. A supplemental essay should not regurgitate information that exists elsewhere in your application.
How much do supplemental essays matter?
Admissions Officers Can Learn More About You While other application components like course rigor and grades are undeniably important, they don’t give admissions officers much sense of your personality. Consequently, supplemental essays can serve as a window into who you are and your character.
What is an optional personal statement?
Let’s start with a definition: Optional essays are essays that the school lists in the application in addition to the personal statement. They can come in many shapes and sizes: “Describe how you will add to the diversity of the student body at XYZ Law School.”
Are college essays important?
At the top 250 schools, your essays generally account for 25% of your overall application. This is only slightly behind the 30% for extracurriculars. Essays are actually ahead of the 20% for grades and coursework, 15% for test scores, and 10% for recommendations and interviews.
Are optional essays really optional?
Optional essays may help schools differentiate between students with similar qualifications. In addition, a strong “optional” essay gives the admissions officer more information to consider in their decision. However, there is at least one exception to the “rule” that optional essays aren’t really optional.
Is a 3.7 GPA good for law school?
All of the top-10 law schools had median GPAs of 3.7 or higher. Seven of these 10 schools had a median GPA that was at least a 3.8, and among those three had a median GPA that was a 3.9 or above. Experts say that one reason GPAs tend to be higher at prestigious law schools is college grade inflation.
Which is more important common app essay or supplement?
Are you asking about the common app essays? Because the common app ask questions that have a 640 word limit. Without knowing the specific applications, if the supplement essay is optional, the main essay is more important. The essay prompt for admissions is the same prompt for a scholarship at the same college.