I’m applying to transfer to Harvard (unlikely obviously).
One of the transfer questions is: “briefly discuss a book that has influenced you.”
The current book I’m thinking of writing about is “the unintended consequences of section 5 of the civil rights act” by Edward Blum.
Edward Blum is a legal strategist currently involved in an affirmative action lawsuit against Harvard
Can I write about the book, link it to Edward Blum and his passion for fighting against injustices and for equality, and link that to my own passion for fighting against inequality and injustice? I can link the book to influencing me by showing that even ordinary people have to fight against abuses they see in society.
@suzy100
No.
Should I be?
I can’t see why admissions would be biased, as long as I can justify why the book has influenced me. I’ve done a lot of work in my local community.
I could link me doing that work in my local community to being influenced by Mr Blum etc and his book. It shows that you must always fight for what you believe in and never give up (I mean Mr Blum has been fighting passionately and never gives up etc.)
Is it a good idea to be deliberately provocative? Because that’s what it is: provoking. Find another amazing lawyer who fights against injustice and strives towards equality. The lawyer Bryan Stevenson comes to mind. Read his gripping book “Just Mercy.” There are many others who are fighting against real injustices that rip families apart and cause untold misery. Write about the book “A Hope in the Unseen.” Write about “Infidel”, or “I am Malala,” or “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.” There are dozens of books that can reflect your work in the local community that aren’t going to deliberately annoy (or worse) the admissions committee at Harvard.
Honestly, I can’t imagine why you would think this is a good topic. Write about Blum’s book if you like, but understand you are likely throwing away your application fee.
If think it shows poor judgement and will likely be viewed as such (or they’ll think you’re uninformed which is just as bad).
@Lindagaf
You’re 100% right. I think I’m going to refrain from being deliberately provocative, no matter how tempting that would be. And you’re right that it would obviously come across as provocative. I have a few other books in mind but they’re all so damn mundane.
My worry is my application is literally going to be as cookie-cutter as humanely possible: 35 ACT, academic, Asian, Upper-middle-class, into STEM, done a lot of work in local community.
I’m obviously not going to write about Mr Blum (although he is a personal hero of mine). I do feel it’s slightly unfair that I can’t write about him though as he is my hero.
But who said this process was fair …
The problem with a book like “Infidel” or “I am Malala” is that I risk being critical of islam and even though I do have strong opinions on islam, I can’t exactly express them even if someone anti-muslim is president.
Thank you anyway.
@chercheur
I would disagree that I’m not informed.
But what happens if Mr Blum is my personal hero? Why should I not be able to write about my hero?
Damn that harvard admissions committee …
I didn’t say you were uninformed; I said they may think you are uninformed and not know about the connection to the university.
You’re an intelligent person. Just use your best judgement, and do what you feel is best. No regrets!
@chercheur
You’re right. It would be seen as poor judgement.
I don’t think they’d think I was uninformed because it’s clearly obvious that the book above is incredibly niche and full of legal arguments. I mean I’ve read it and understand it but no-one would go out of their way to read it unless they were going to be provocative.
And the adcom would be right. I probably was intending to be provocative, and as much as I like being provocative, I can’t be 
Who says it’s “unfair that I can’t write about him though as he is my hero.” No one here said it’s unfair to write about him. Although personally I do not condone Blum for using and exploiting Asians for his own agenda, be my guest, write your essay about your “hero.” (Do you seriously think the likes of Blum truly cares about the likes of you and me, Asians?) LOL. Ultimately, you can only be true to yourself, right, provocative or not?
If you really want to write about Blum’s book, do so. If you aren’t accepted, then that’s not the place you want to be, anyway.
@TiggerDad
No, it’s unfair that I’d risk my already minimal chance of admission IF I wrote about a personal hero of mine. However, if I wrote about another litigant who wasn’t currently involved in a lawsuit with the Harvard corporation but say the DOJ for an injustice, I’d have a higher chance of admission.
I’m going to try and avoid discussing Blum and his intentions. That’s a conversation for another day lol. 
I mean it’d be obvious to the admissions committee that I was deliberately being antagonistic. I’m not a complete moron you know. They’d know it was intentional that I wrote about Blum to get a reaction from people in the admissions committee.
Besides, I’m not insane enough to risk it. I worked hard to get recommendations, raise money for my local community, not about to throw that away just so I can be what young people are calling “edgy.” Lol.
@chercheur
I’m pretty conservative and I know the opinions I have would probably be pretty conservative compared with the rest of the student body.
Unfortunately, I’m going to play the game here and not write about it. I’m going to write about something really liberal and more in keeping with the adcom.
Good luck, @lordrohan731 . Things tend to work out the way they’re supposed to.
@lordrohan731 - “No, it’s unfair that I’d risk my already minimal chance of admission IF I wrote about a personal hero of mine. However, if I wrote about another litigant who wasn’t currently involved in a lawsuit with the Harvard corporation but say the DOJ for an injustice, I’d have a higher chance of admission.”
Okay, I get that you’re not, in your own word, a complete “moron.” That came across very clear. What hasn’t come across very clearly, then, is what’s the purpose and the intent of your post to begin with, then?
@TiggerDad
Well, I was originally thinking of writing it BUT obviously, I had some doubts that it would come across as provocative. I just wanted to confirm that whether it was really that provocative i.e. if one person had said, “go for it, the adcom aren’t going to care as long as you can justify it” then I’d probably have written about it.
I mean I was intending for there to be a little provocation, but not so much that it would anger people. Besides, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s a bad idea. I’m going to write about Bernie Sanders: “Our revolution: a future to believe in” but mention that I’m conservative but link his book to my conservative views and how you should keep fighting for what you believe in, even though I disagree with Bernie.
You know what? I’d be the one who would say, “go for it, the adcom aren’t going to care as long as you can justify it,” so go ahead and please yourself. Of course, the question remains, can you justify it? You can. Easier said than done, LOL! But, truly, I don’t see why not. Don’t flatter yourself, however, no one here is angered by your post, just amused, that’s all.
@TiggerDad
I mean amused is the ideal response but I don’t think anyone here really is that “connected” to the decision if you know what I mean. If the adcom was amused and not annoyed/angered (by angered, I don’t mean like chair-throwing rage but just grrr …), I’d be perfectly happy with it.
Lol. Amused + memorable is ideal.
@lordrohan731
Again, don’t flatter yourself thinking that “If the adcom was amused and not annoyed/angered,” that you’d “be perfectly happy with it.” What makes you think that your application can even go past the “amused” or “annoyed” or “angered” phase? Well, I don’t know that, either, but one sure way to find that out? Go ahead and write your essay on Blum. Be sure to let us know of the result. Harvard, by the way, isn’t as biases as you or anyone think, so give it a chance.
I don’t think writing about it would just be a provocation. I think the committee would perceive it as a legal threat. These are the people whose judgement, fairness and character is being called into question by the lawsuit. It’s not a theoretical political debate for them. It’s their job and an essay of that sort would constitute a very personal attack as opposed to if you wrote the same essay to get into Oxford University or University of Michigan. No one wants to feel pulled into a trap which is going to be how it feels to them, rightly or wrongly, and your app would just get shoved into the “no” pile.