Last weekend before round 1 deadline! Good luck and pick up your pace everyone!
So with regards to the Sloan, or in general, any MBA admission optional essays, I had my thoughts, but I find that it is explained by this article very well. I will share the link here and an excerpt from it.
" Not everyone needs to write the optional essay, and by opting to not write this essay, you are not at any kind of disadvantage. The optional essay is an opportunity for you to explain problems or issues that the admissions committee will likely notice anyway, and by proactively addressing the topic, you can essentially “get ahead of the scandal.”
........................................... There are many reasons to write the optional essay, but you should absolutely not feel that you need to write it. If you have nothing to explain and have generally performed well, you should not submit an essay that you wrote for a different school just to fill the optional essay space or write a new essay that simply repackages your strengths. If nothing about your candidacy needs further explanation, you are in an advantageous position and should take a step back and appreciate your situation, not fret about it. "
Long story short, if you messed up somehow or you feel your candidacy can be negatively affect by something that is not due to your fault or things you could control (ie. you got straight two F's on your first year economics courses, or you decided to take a year off school when you were 21 to do a gap year), then by all means, explain it with the option essay. On the other hand, if you are a straight A student, with solid work experience for a few years, and did relatively decent on your GMAT, you don't "have to" write one.The full article's link is posted below.
https://www.mbamission.com/resources-the-optional-essay/