With school just about over, I’m turning my attention to my Harvard supplement, which has been in the back of my mind for a while. How much did you guys write for yours?
I’m not going to strive for exactly 1.25729 pages because that’s the most common length here, but I would like some idea of whether this is most often written as a 1-page essay or one that’s closer to 3 pages.
What kind of school year??
@4kidsdad *For the semester.
As the Common Application has a 650-word limit, your supplemental essay should be about that length as well. A good rule of thumb is to keep it to one-page, double spaced, even if you have to decrease the margins or reduce the font from12pt to 11pt.
@gibby Thanks - I wasn’t entirely sure what level of detail Harvard was looking for, but this helps. I was dreading the idea of having to write three pages on a topic best summarized in one, and best detailed in ten.
Guess I’ll save it for the book I write and nobody buys.
,I agree with @gibby. The couple of cases I’ve seen of people who were accepted REA had essays that were approximately equivalent in length and depth to the Common App essay.
The supplemental essay is essentially a free opportunity to show another side of yourself from that presented in the Common App essay. It’s a great opportunity to create a more complete picture of yourself as a person. What you really want is for the adcom to get a vivid image of you, rather than relate to you as a list of accomplishments on paper.
It can even be one short paragraph.