Hi! For schools like Michigan, where you have the option of writing 2 essays, should one of them always be the why X? I have two essays I've written for other schools that would be easier to adapt and just use for their other prompts, but is writing the why x more important for schools that are yield conscious? Even if it means not giving them 1 of 2 other really strong essays?
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There's no hard and fast rule! If you really love those other pieces, that's fine. But as an admissions officer, I think I'll usually be more interested in "why is this person interested in attending our school" rather than "what famous person would they like to have dinner with and what would they talk about?!?!?!" but that's just me.
Michigan gives me the impression that they really do want to know why you want to come to their school, so I would probably do so. I do think that if you're on the border of Admit/Waitlist, a good why x that makes the school think you have a high chance of going there will push you closer to that A.