Advice for Optional essay write up

Thank you for your thoughtful response.

Again, it is very difficult for me to make a specific recommendation without knowing what's in the other essays as well as what your goals and previous experience are. Include in the optional the subject matter that is most distinctive about you, reflects who you are, and reveals something not found in the other parts of the application.

Good luck!

If I may add my two cents into this, in my optional essay I wrote about my struggle with an illness in graduate school. I addressed this in my optional essay because I left Northwestern's PhD program in organic chemistry to deal with it. I felt the admissions needed to see that me leaving the program is not a reflection of a lack of maturity but rather a decision that I needed to make and which I ultimately showed was a very positive motivation in my life. In my optional essay I talked about how my struggle and my decision to leave graduate school affected other aspects of my life positvely.

If you do mention your wife's passing I think it might be useful to talk about how it has affected your motivation in your life and how despite the fact that it was undoubtly one of the most difficult things you experienced it made you the person you are today. Personally I think if you frame it this way you can write not only about your wife's passing but also about all the other things you mentioned.