Harvard Common App Question

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

One of the Harvard Common App questions says the following:

Your intellectual life may extend beyond the academic requirements of your particular school. Please use the space below to list additional intellectual activities that you have not mentioned or detailed elsewhere in your application. These could include, but are not limited to, supervised or self-directed projects not done as school work, training experiences, online courses not run by your school, or summer academic or research programs not described elsewhere.

So my question is does this question want me to expound on an intellectual activity that is done outside of school, or just to list any intellectual activity done outside of school that I didn’t list anywhere else in the common app (isn’t that what the additional section is for)? I’m already pretty sure it’s just latter, but I just wanted some more opinions.

2

Let’s use some critical thinking skills. Why is Harvard asking this question?

IMHO, it’s because Admissions wants to know MORE about who YOU are, how YOU think, and what intellectual activities YOU’VE pursued outside the strictures of the classroom. Admissions wants to understand YOUR commitment, drive, dedication and determination in self-directed learning. They want to know why YOU do the things that make YOU uniquely you.

While I’m sure some students will submit a laundry list of intellectual things they’ve accomplished outside of school – that’s boring, as it lacks an explanation for “why you do the things you do” and that’s really what Admissions wants to know. So, I think it’s best if you expounded on your intellectual interests outside of the classroom and why they are important to understanding who you are as a person.

If you haven’t done much intellectual activities outside of the classroom – that’s okay. I’m sure many athletes (recruited and non-recruited), musicians,and artists haven’t had much time to pursue intellectual activities outside of the classroom as most their time has been in practice, athletic contests, rehearsal rooms, performance, and the art studio.

3

I think eventually, before you submit, you have to attest
that what you submit is your own work.
Caution.