The schools I'm applying to don't seem to ask for Why X statements. Should I be writing them and sending them as optional statements anyway? Or should I only do that for my top choice school? Or is it better to not write a Why X statement and instead write a diversity statement? I'm just so confused...
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This is a SUPER COMMON question, @Gcastillo1513! I promise that other folks are also wondering about this!
My advice is always that you shouldn't give the admissions office something that they didn't ask for. If they wanted it, they would have given you an option to give it. Believe me - I spent plenty of time building my school's application every summer after getting lots of feedback from our committee and things we needed to tweak/add/delete, so if I wanted a Why School X then I would have put it in there.
I'll grant some grace if you have a VERY specific interest in the school. Examples could include friends presently at the school, professional colleagues who have attended the school and are recommending it to you, a specific dual degree program that makes the law school unique, or something like that. In that case, I think this is something worthwhile to mention on the addenda. But - and this is a big "but" so it should really be more BUT - keep things tight. One brief paragraph where you lead with something along the lines of "I want to take a brief moment to explain my sincere/personal interest in __ School of Law." That line acknowledges 1) I'm going to keep it tight, and 2) it implicitly acknowledges that you're going beyond what's been asked so you don't want to intrude.
I hope that helps!