Completing Applications
Should You Write the “Optional” College Essay?
Updated October 2026. This is advice, not a universal rule. How a college treats optional essays varies, so follow each institution’s instructions and word limits for your cycle.
Students filling out a bunch of college applications may be happy to learn that an essay for one of their schools is optional. One less essay to write, right? Not so fast. An optional essay is a chance to share something the rest of the application does not show, and a thoughtful response can help. Skipping one is not an automatic penalty, since policies vary and some colleges say they give equal consideration to applicants who skip optional questions, but if you have something meaningful to add, it is usually worth writing.
Imagine there are two applicants being compared by the admissions committee. Both have 3.9 GPAs, AP classes, 1400 on the SAT, and varsity sports. The only difference is that one submitted a thoughtful optional essay and the other did not. The essay gives the committee one more way to understand that applicant’s interests and fit, and in a close decision, that extra information can matter. That is why it is often worth putting in the work to write an "optional" college essay.
Policies differ by college, so read each one’s instructions. For the 2026–27 cycle, for example, Northwestern University requires one short answer and offers optional short answers. It encourages applicants to answer at least one optional question, but it says it gives equal consideration to students who answer zero, one or two, and that answering more carries no extra weight.
Furthermore, many essays are very similar to one another across different schools. That means applicants can often adapt an essay they have already written, as long as they tailor it to the new prompt and college and stay within its word limit. Some colleges, including Northwestern, explicitly welcome repurposed writing.
If applicants have lower than average test scores or GPAs, an optional essay can be especially valuable because it provides new, additional information to the admissions committee and can add context to their academic record. Essays are an important part of the application at many colleges, so if there is something worth saying, write them.