@westcoastbestcoast thank you! This is really helpful. I only submitted on January 10, so it wasn't too long ago, but I'll at least start putting together a Why X letter/essay (I chose a different optional essay to submit with my application).
Also, re the email .... I did it. I was like...psh, optional survey..so I ignored it but I thought...maybe if I do them this one favor they will smile upon us and release our scores soon!!
... given in regard to submitting optional essays or providing addendums where ... by someone to only submit optional essays to the schools I ... out here, so I wrote optional essays for every application. Do ...