Harvard University supplemental essays

The prompts, one by one

1. Life experiences and contributionup to 150 words · Community

   “Harvard has long recognized the importance of enrolling a student body with a diversity of perspectives and experiences. How will the life experiences that shaped who you are today enable you to contribute to Harvard?”

   What it's really asking

   Two things at once: which community actually shaped how you think, and what you will bring to Harvard University because of it. The second half is where most drafts stop short.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Describing the community instead of your role in it, or choosing the one that sounds impressive rather than the one that changed you. "Diversity" as an abstraction, with no scene.

   The shape of a strong answer

   Pick a community you can describe with a scene, not a label. Show one moment where it taught you something or asked something of you. Spend the last third on what that means you'll do at Harvard University: a specific contribution, not "bring my perspective." At 150 words there is room for exactly one example, explained properly.

2. Disagreement short answerup to 150 words · Disagreement

   “Describe a time when you strongly disagreed with someone about an idea or issue. How did you communicate or engage with this person? What did you learn from this experience?”

   What it's really asking

   Whether you can hold a disagreement without flattening the other person. Harvard University is checking for intellectual humility and the ability to keep talking, not for who won.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Choosing a disagreement where you were obviously right and the other person obviously wrong. Or ending with "we agreed to disagree," which says nothing happened.

   The shape of a strong answer

   A real disagreement with a real person, stated fairly from their side. What you did in the conversation (not what you felt). What shifted afterwards, in you, even if your view held. Specific lines of dialogue help. At 150 words there is room for exactly one example, explained properly.

3. Activities and responsibilitiesup to 150 words · Activity

   “Briefly describe any of your extracurricular activities, employment experience, travel, or family responsibilities that have shaped who you are.”

   What it's really asking

   Depth on one activity: what you actually did, what was hard about it, and why it mattered to you beyond the title. Harvard University already has your activities list; this is the story behind one line of it.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Re-listing the activities list in prose, or choosing the most prestigious activity rather than the one you can say something true about. Starting with "I joined X in ninth grade."

   The shape of a strong answer

   Start inside a specific moment of the activity. Explain one problem you solved or one thing you built, with detail only a participant would know. Close on what it changed in how you think or work. At 150 words there is room for exactly one example, explained properly.

4. Future use of Harvard educationup to 150 words · Goals

   “How do you hope to use your Harvard education in the future?”

   What it's really asking

   Whether you've thought past admission. Harvard University wants a direction and the reasoning behind it, not a guaranteed career plan.

   Where drafts go wrong

   A job title with no reasoning, or a mission so large it can't be checked ("change the world"). Plans that don't connect to anything you've done.

   The shape of a strong answer

   The problem or kind of work that pulls you, one thing you've already done toward it, and what you'd need next that Harvard University provides. It's fine to say the plan might change; say what wouldn't. At 150 words there is room for exactly one example, explained properly.

5. Roommate short answerup to 150 words · Short answer

   “Top 3 things your roommates might like to know about you.”

   What it's really asking

   Personality in a sentence or two. These are read fast, often together, to see whether a real person wrote the application.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Trying to be impressive in 50 words, or trying to be quirky on purpose. Both read as effort. Repeating something already in your other essays.

   The shape of a strong answer

   Answer the literal question with one concrete, specific detail you'd actually say out loud. Short sentences. One thing, not three. If it makes a friend smile, it's right.

Every US applicant also writes the Common App personal statement: 650 words, seven prompts. Don't repeat it here; the supplements are for what the statement didn't show.

A self-check before you submit

Cover the school name and read the essay. Then cover your name and read it again. It should fail the first test (it only makes sense for Harvard University) and pass the second (only you could have written it). If it passes the first test, it's a brochure. If it fails the second, it's a template.