UPenn Optional Essays Forum

[nodiggity]

I know these are optional, but I am torn on whether to write more than one essay. The one I already have is quite strong. Has anyone gotten in when only writing one?

[FryBreadPower]

Depends on your numbers. You should probably right the essay if you are far from the medians in either direction. Obviously if you are going to write one, it should probably be the Why Penn essay.

[bdubs]

I think most people only write one. Each of them should probably wind up having some element of "Why Penn" even if the prompt seems, on the surface, to be about something else.

[Veyron]

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[Veyron]

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[Veyron]

I think most people only write one.

Huh? No. The minimum you should do is the required essay and Why Penn.

Edit: Sorry about the previous 2 posts apparently I triple posted.

[bdubs]

I think most people only write one.

Huh? No. The minimum you should do is the required essay and Why Penn.

Edit: Sorry about the previous 2 posts apparently I triple posted.

PS + 2 extra essays? I definitely did not do that. One of the essays, IIRC the five year plan, was functionally a "Why Penn" anyway. That was the one I wrote. I was under the impression that most of TLS only wrote one of the optional essays.

This does not apply if you are URM and are writing a DS (technically an "optional" essay at Penn).

[FryBreadPower]

I think most people only write one.

Huh? No. The minimum you should do is the required essay and Why Penn.

Edit: Sorry about the previous 2 posts apparently I triple posted.

PS + 2 extra essays? I definitely did not do that. One of the essays, IIRC the five year plan, was functionally a "Why Penn" anyway. That was the one I wrote. I was under the impression that most of TLS only wrote one of the optional essays.

This does not apply if you are URM and are writing a DS (technically an "optional" essay at Penn).

+1
OP-
It seems like most URM's write 2 (DS + Why Penn) and most Non-URMs write one (Why Penn)
Obviously this doesn't include the required PS

[Veyron]

I think most people only write one.

Huh? No. The minimum you should do is the required essay and Why Penn.

Edit: Sorry about the previous 2 posts apparently I triple posted.

PS + 2 extra essays? I definitely did not do that. One of the essays, IIRC the five year plan, was functionally a "Why Penn" anyway. That was the one I wrote. I was under the impression that most of TLS only wrote one of the optional essays.

This does not apply if you are URM and are writing a DS (technically an "optional" essay at Penn).

Reading comp fail.

PS + Why Penn (5 year plan)