OPTIONAL (Truly) <-- Yeah, right.
Ha ha, yeah, because if admissions is at all competitive, you can't set yourself in a category with the students that did not bother with the optional essay. Weird... Do they actually write "optional (truly)"??
I don't know if calling the admissions people super-villians is the best idea.
LewisClark, you are totally a hero. I'm impressed with the great advice you gave, please check out the contributor page. I agree about the cliche, too.
It is also sort of cliche to write about the process of writing an admissions essay. For some reason, admissions readers often look down on anyone who tries to be clever by referring to the process of writing an admissions essay. "Don't refer to the essay in the essay," many people say, and I do not agree with them, but... we have to impress the admissions person... so... i thought I would mention this.
And yeah, it is not necessary to be so critical of them, ha ha! Revise, but keep up the brilliant writing. This really is good stuff.