All the Bells & Whistles: Should You Submit That “Extra” with Your Application? (Probably Not).
Photo by Catherine Hughes at Unsplash
Optional extras are like seasoning in cooking. A pinch of salt can transform a dish. Too much, and you ruin the meal.
Every fall, we watch students drown in “optional” extras. An extra letter of recommendation? Maybe. The “Additional Information” box on the Common App? Could be useful. A creative portfolio, a research supplement? Tempting.
But here’s the thing: optional doesn’t mean advisable. Colleges aren’t secretly waiting for you to dump more PDFs into their portals. And admissions readers most certainly don’t want anything more to read. So, how do you decide what “extras,” if any, to submit?
Here’s how to think about what belongs — and what doesn’t.
Extra Letters of Recommendation
When to include: Think about what your teachers and counselor might say in their required letters of recommendation. Now ask yourself if there is another adult (think boss or mentor, not a family friend) who has a significantly different perspective. If your potential recommender would contribute something genuinely new and important, this could be one to submit.
Whom to ask: Did you do research under the mentorship of a professor or lab director who can speak to your specific skills? Does your longtime boss have a lot to say about your customer service skills? If you’re asking for an extra recommendation, make sure it’s from a person who knows you in a very different setting from school.
When to skip: If it’s more of the same. A third teacher echoing what your English and math teachers already covered is not adding anything to your application beyond more material for the admissions officer to read. Colleges don’t need six voices to be convinced.
Bottom line: Quality over quantity. One compelling extra rec can matter. Three redundant ones can backfire.
The Additional Information Section
You may have noticed that this section was reduced from 650 words to 300 this cycle. Take this as a clear sign that colleges do not want you to write a bonus essay. Use it only if it changes how admissions officers might read your file.
What to include:
An explanation: Are there anomalies in your grade history due to illness, a school strike, family circumstances? Provide a short statement.
Necessary context: Do you have significant responsibilities at home, unusual school circumstances, or limited course access? Share that information here (but be brief!).
Critical resume content that didn’t fit in the Activities section: Some students–but definitely not all–have more than 10 substantive and relevant activities to highlight on their applications. Use this section for the key extras but don’t bother with that one season when you played golf in 9th grade, or that one time you volunteered at a race for three hours. Make it count.
Bottom line: Think of it as an explanatory footnote, not a stage for more performance. We cannot emphasize this more: DO. NOT. WRITE. ANOTHER. ESSAY.
Creative Portfolios
When to include:
If the work is outstanding. For visual arts, performance, or creative writing, outstanding usually means that it has been recognized at a regional, state, or national level — or is of portfolio-review quality for specialized programs.
If you’re applying to programs where portfolios are expected/required (fine arts, music, architecture, theater).
If you’ve taken the time to curate your work. If you’re submitting an optional portfolio, don’t just cobble together some of your latest paintings or quickly edit videos of you dancing. You must spend time carefully crafting your portfolio; otherwise, don’t bother to submit.
When to skip:
If you just “like drawing.” There’s nothing wrong with sketching for fun, but uploading your doodles for Harvard is not strategic.
If it’s filler. Admissions officers can tell when a portfolio is rushed or thin.
If you don’t have enough material. Check the submission requirements for schools that list them and use that as your baseline. Have what they want? Great. If not, instead consider using a supplemental prompt to write about your creative passion, particularly if it’s important to your narrative.
Bottom line: A poor quality portfolio can hurt you so only submit creative work if it’s truly excellent — not just because you enjoy the activity.
Research Supplements
When to include:
If you’ve done serious, high-quality research. Published work, conference presentations, or projects supervised by university faculty all count.
If it demonstrates independence, originality, and rigor beyond a class assignment.
When to skip:
If it’s a 10th-grade history paper, no matter how proud you are of it.
If the research isn’t polished. A messy or underdeveloped supplement weakens, rather than strengthens, your profile.
Bottom line: Research supplements are for actual contributions to knowledge — not class projects.
The Rule of Thumb
Admissions officers are reading thousands of applications. Extra materials should clarify or elevate your profile — not clutter it.
Before uploading, ask yourself:
Does this add genuinely new information?
Would my application be incomplete or misunderstood without it?
Is the quality exceptional, not just “good for my age?”
Unsure? As always, as your counselor! If the answer is no, resist the urge. Less really can be more.
