Iowa State University

Iowa State University asks for no writing of its own and marks the Common App personal statement optional. Optional does not mean ignored: if you send one, it is read, and it is the only writing in your file. If the statement is already written for other schools on your list, submitting it here costs nothing and gives the reader something no transcript shows.

That cuts both ways. With no supplement, there is no second chance to show fit or interest in writing, so the one essay has to do all the character work on its own.

Applications are reviewed as they arrive, so an early file competes while the most seats are still open, which is a reason to finish the statement sooner than any printed date forces you to.