What is Harvard looking for in an interesting essay? Most applicants obviously have fabulous academic records so does the essay really play a role in setting an applicant apart?
of course,
Of course.
Why are you asking about “Harvard” only? If you’re Harvard material at all, I hope you’re applying to a wide suite of schools as well – and they’ll need the same essay. The schools want to see if you have any depth – what makes you tick. Your role is to determine if you have any depth and if anything makes you tick and if you can convey that in 500 words or less – simple, eh? What are they looking for? Anything you want to convey. Hopefully it has depth and character.
^ Depth and character; that pretty much hits the nail on the head.
If you read many essays from students that go to top colleges, they don’t just write about how losing the big game taught them to never give up, or how their parents’ coming from a poorer background motivated them to work hard. They take even the most mundane and cliched topics, and say something new or profound. Not forcing it; it’s just a reflection of people who are often deep thinkers. Many students have those golden unique experiences (ie. living abroad for a year, being a famous figure skater) that make it easier to do this, but a good chunk of them are just about normal experiences, so it’s not so much about the topic.
And character. These essays tend to have a storytelling feel to them. Students will use active tense, dramatic words, dialogue, descriptions. They paint a picture of what they’re writing about. Not using a thesaurus, and not being so abstract that it takes away from the substance of their story.
When it comes down to it, the essay is really the chance to set yourself apart from other applicants. Done right, it will complete adcoms’ understanding of who you are.