I know quite a few people who submitted research abstracts for award-winning/published scientific research as their Harvard supplementary material, but I’m wondering whether there has been any successful Harvard applicants who submitted their humanities/social science research abstracts (like IB extended essays etc)??
On the Harvard website, it says “please only submit them if you have unusual talents”. It’s quite hard to quantify if my humanities/SS research paper is exceptional since there are not many avenues for publishing such papers at the hs level - any advice?
Yes, a few students do submit humanities projects to HYP as supplementary materials. It is rare, but so are the talents of these students. Here’s a real-world example from 5 years ago: A 17 year girl, while applying to college, had her one-act play produced Off-Broadway along with other noted playwrights like Christopher Durang and Neil Labute. The NY Times gave her play a rave review and the girl submitted her one-act and the review as supplementary material. FWIW: The girl matriculated to Yale. That’s the level of competition you will have when submitting your humanities project, so make sure whatever you submit is really something extra ordinary that demonstrates your “unusual talents.”
^^ Exactly! That’s why Admissions uses the phrase “unusual talents” as they are looking for just that. HYP are not going to be impressed with just the proficienty good IB paper.
And, keep in mind that when you submit supplemental materials those materials are then compared to all other students who have submitted something similar. IMHO, that increases the stakes of your application. Therefore, most applicants are better off not submitting anything extra and just submitting what is required.
Do you think adding a brief overview of my paper in the Additional Information section of the Common App might work better? The reason why I’m thinking of elaborating on my humanities research (though definitely not as impressive as the Yalie in your example!) somewhere in my application is because it ties in with my larger academic interests in college and worldview (but my essays are already occupied with other topics)
It’s difficult to know if putting something in the Additional Information section is worth it without knowing precisely what you might say. My gut says don’t do it, instead talk to one of your recommendation writers and see if they can mention it in their LoR’s, as that would carry more weight.
@gibby I’ll discuss it with my teacher recommender - thanks for your advice!
I was just wondering if you know whether it is common practice to elaborate on activities (eg put a more detailed resume) in the Additional Information section?
Aside from your transcript, the next MOST IMPORTANT part of your application are your teacher recommendations. If you have done something outstanding in humanities – enough to warrant including it in the Additional Information section – then your teachers should also mention (reinforce) the issue. If a student mentions their overwhelming interest in humanities, but that is not backed-up in the LoR’s an Admissions Officer is inclined to wonder why they didn’t.
@gibby Yes, I get it! I will make sure to ask my teachers to reinforce my interest in the humanities & talk about my project. Thank you very much once again
I think that the example Gibby gives is a little extreme. I would call admissions and ask them. Not a student who answers the phone though.
If you are contemplating submitting writing done for school, most likely the teacher can provide info on your talent, as Gibby said.
But I think it is helpful to remember that Harvard wants to know you better. Submitting things in that light is much different from the kind of competitive striving that many see as part of the process. If you have a deep interest and have done a lot of work on it, and have something to show for it, you might want to submit it- just ask.
Remember admissions is all about the mix of students in a class, and the individual is important mainly in the ability to contribute to that mix. If you think a supplement can help Harvard know you better, in a way not possible with the rest of the application, consider it. If you think it shows how you can contribute to the “mix”, ditto.
But call and ask.
ps an interest in humanities/SS will be valued since so many want to go into STEM or ultimately business/finance
@compmom thank you! I’m an international student so it’s a bit hard for me to make a call - what do you think is a suitable length for a creative writing portfolio submission though? For SS research, I understand that a short abstract would suffice.
You could e-mail a question I suppose. Creative writing is a little different than a scientific abstract though. Have you been published or won any awards? Do you have a lot of confidence in your work? You don’t want to give them a lot to read. They are very busy…Didn’t mean to mislead you!
@compmom Thanks so much for your reply! I’ve decided not to submit a creative writing portfolio as it might not help too much (if at all). I will just try to show my writing through my essays instead!
@compmom Also, I am curious about this: you mentioned “admissions is all about the mix of students in a class, and the individual is important mainly in the ability to contribute to that mix” - how should this affect my application? Do you mean to advice that I portray myself more with a spike? (I’m not sure if I can adequately assess what I contribute to the mix since I don’t know the profiles of other applicants)
I just thought that was an interesting piece of advice but I’m not too sure how to proceed with it. THanks!
^^ @kandykoloredbaby: I’m sure @compmon will give you her take on it, but here’s mine:
Every year, about 1660 seniors GRADUATE from Harvard. Most of those seniors have been heavily involved with an assortment of concentrations (majors), extracurricular activities and sports. If an orchestra is LOSING 10 seniors who play the tuba, Admissions needs to find prospective freshman who can replace them. If you play the violin, and last year Harvard took 16 students who play the violin, you may not fit “the mix” of what is needed this year. The same can be said for academics. If you apply as a STEM major and Harvard is looking for students interested in the romance languages, it will be easier for a student that has shown demonstrated interested in romance languages than a student interested in STEM because they contribute to this years’ mix. Ditto for the male-female ratio of applicants (maybe this year more girls than boys applied, but Harvard is seeking to keep the same mix of men and women – so men may have a better shot this year than women). It’s a dynamic, fluid, unpredictable variable which changes from year-to-year. As such, students shouldn’t waste their time and energy thinking about what they can’t control.
Exactly, the “contribute to the mix” aspect of admissions cannot be controlled, and therefore, anyone who does not get in, should realize they have not really been rejected as an individual but rather because of something about the whole group : )
I was also referring to the way diversity of interests in a class can result in the cross-pollination that Harvard considers a big part of the experience there. In other words, as I have written here before, a composer may help a drama group choose music, a writer may help a math major write up a proposal, a film person might do a project on dance or on anthropology etc. In the dorms, informally, students share a lot of their interests as well (and have normal parties etc. too). I think the ideal class is rich in its potential for students to affect and educate each other. (This is true anywhere and a similarly rich experience can happen at many schools of course.)
@gibby@compmom Thank you so much for your insights! Yup, I get it now - I guess this is a key part of the admissions which really can’t be controlled : ) I’ll just have to leave it up to fate (and the AOs)!
