Can the Supplement Essay Hurt?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>In an act of rashness, I sent in my app to Harvard a month ago with a supp essay that I basically recycled from an MIT prompt. At the time, I was feeling pessimistic about my chances of getting into Harvard regardless of how good my essay was (the "It's a crap shoot for everybody" feeling), and I did feel like my essay reflected good writing ability.</p>

<p>However, I just finished writing my supp essay for Princeton, and I've realized that this new essay is WAY, WAY better than the one I sent for H. And so now I feel really, really bad. I do feel that my Common App essay was excellent, though, so my question is: </p>

<p>If my H supp essay seems mediocre or even insincere (I wrote about my desire to help others, albeit not as eloquently as I now realize I should have), could that ruin my chances for admission (my stats are on par for Harvard--2320 SAT, 4.000 GPA, etc.)?</p>

2

<p>Ruin? No. Affect? Totally. If you submitted an ostensibly “extra” essay that is not of a really high quality, it reflects something about your judgment as well as your writing skills.</p>

3

<p>Sure, a mediocre, insincere essay could hurt your chances just like an excellent essay could help your chances. 85%-90% of Harvard applicants have the stats that show they could graduate from Harvard. What gets people selected for Harvard are factors like essays, ECs, etc.</p>

4

<p>Aw, that’s too bad. Ah, well. My fault. :frowning: And I know I can’t be objective about this, but I don’t think my essay will necessarily be viewed badly (we’re always hardest on our own work, after all. Haha). It’s pretty much a 50/50 chance, depending on how the admissions people read it. It’s actually fairly well-written and describes my unique personality, interests, and background, so here’s to hoping… I got into UChicago and deferred at MIT with it, so I’m just gonna have to wait until April to see how things go. :&lt;/p>

<p>Thank you very much for your input, WishyWashy and Northstarmom! :)</p>

5

<p>If you got into U Chicago and deferred at MIT, I agree with you that you’re probably being overly hard on yourself about your essay. Maybe you’ll get into Harvard, maybe not, but you are very fortunate to already have a wonderful school like Chicago as an option One of my mentees is a freshman there now and loves it.</p>

6

<p>Yeah, I’m really happy that I got into Chicago. It was one of my top three choices, and I think that it’ll really fit my personality well. I’m glad to hear that you know someone who loves it there! Thanks again for your advice! :)</p>

7

<p>If you got into UChicago through EA, you have probably great essay-writing skills :stuck_out_tongue: So don’t worry</p>

8

<p>Haha. Thanks, ansar! That made me feel better. ^_^</p>

9

<p>don’t worry about it- I was in nearly the exact same boat as you :slight_smile: i wrote an essay for my common app that I thought was absolutely TERRIBLE - freaked about it for days… and still got accepted to Yale early :slight_smile:
SO. i think we’re always our own worst critic, and it’s really not as bad as you think it is :slight_smile: GL!</p>

10

<p>Thanks, fuzzyfirebunny (nice name, btw ^_^)! That definitely put me at ease too. And congrats on getting into Yale–that’s amazing! :D</p>