How optional are optional essays?

[Garbled]

Nothing more than a page

Thanks for the opinion, although i'm not sure i agree. I'll have to call the school.

[Candide]

Some people may think that I am crazy but I am not doing the optional essay for YLS.
I feel that between my academic accompishments, my 250 word required essay, my LOR's, and other accomplishments listed on the application that they will have enough information to admit me or not.
Who knows, maybe i'll stand out for not doing it. 
I guess i'll find out in a few months.

I bet a significant amount of applicants write their way out of admission by being repetitive or unsuccessfully trying to stretch their background to fit what's being asked for in the prompt.  Perhaps by telling us that it's an "option," adcomms are doing more than just looking for motivation; maybe they're also testing judgment.

[Tom]

Some people may think that I am crazy but I am not doing the optional essay for YLS.
I feel that between my academic accompishments, my 250 word required essay, my LOR's, and other accomplishments listed on the application that they will have enough information to admit me or not.
Who knows, maybe i'll stand out for not doing it. 
I guess i'll find out in a few months.

I bet a significant amount of applicants write their way out of admission by being repetitive or unsuccessfully trying to stretch their background to fit what's being asked for in the prompt.  Perhaps by telling us that it's an "option," adcomms are doing more than just looking for motivation; maybe they're also testing judgment.

That is my thinking exactly.
As I said, i'll find out in a few months.

[Garbled]

Some people may think that I am crazy but I am not doing the optional essay for YLS.
I feel that between my academic accompishments, my 250 word required essay, my LOR's, and other accomplishments listed on the application that they will have enough information to admit me or not.
Who knows, maybe i'll stand out for not doing it. 
I guess i'll find out in a few months.

I bet a significant amount of applicants write their way out of admission by being repetitive or unsuccessfully trying to stretch their background to fit what's being asked for in the prompt.  Perhaps by telling us that it's an "option," adcomms are doing more than just looking for motivation; maybe they're also testing judgment.

That is my thinking exactly.
As I said, i'll find out in a few months.

Yes, i'm sure that is completely true. I wouldn't write an optional essay unless i had something very important to say that i thought would add to my application. Good points.

[TheDecline]

Nothing more than a page

Thanks for the opinion, although i'm not sure i agree. I'll have to call the school.

I definitely would not write more than one page.  In most of the apps I have seen, it even says don't write more than one page.  Even if it doesn't explicitly say this, keep it brief.  If you give them a 3 page PS and a 3 page optional essay I doubt that they will even read both essays entirely.

[hex31169]

i agree with you guys, but my prelaw advisor actually said the opposite thing; she said that the content of the essays really doesn't matter at all, but that the schools want to know that you give a damn and actually went the extra inch for them...just throwing it out there

[Garbled]

Nothing more than a page

Thanks for the opinion, although i'm not sure i agree. I'll have to call the school.

I definitely would not write more than one page.  In most of the apps I have seen, it even says don't write more than one page.  Even if it doesn't explicitly say this, keep it brief.  If you give them a 3 page PS and a 3 page optional essay I doubt that they will even read both essays entirely.

Yes, you guys are probably right. I'll try to reduce the ramble-on factor and keep it short. I have this urge to give them lots of info because i think that it will help them get a better idea of who i am and market myself better, but it can mean that that they will read less than if you had just been brief. Does that make sense?

Thanks for the input.