Just got an email confirming that my application is complete!

Application completed July 9. no interview yet

Why does this school have seven secondary essays wtf

2 are optional

optional is never actually optional

I would agree with this as well but for EVMS they are pretty specific and I could only answer 1 of them the other just didn't fit my journey.

this is not good advice

except it is. this is a general rule for most schools. just do a quick google search. not completing it could either be held against you, have no impact on your application, or you lose the opportunity to gain a few points that could help you get an interview. better to be safe than sorry

if its a very specific question that you have no connection to, forcing an answer will hurt you. its optional for a reason, especially if they have multiple other essays

that does not apply to the two optional questions for this school. if the optional question was regarding ties to a state that you don't have, of course don't answer it. that's obvious. but for the optional questions for this school, they are broad enough that almost anyone can answer it. and generally, its like that for most schools