Harvard non-mandatory supplement essay, worth it?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>I will submit my Harvard application within a few hours but can't decide if I should attach my supplement essay or not. It's non-mandatory (of course you all know that) and I've heard that it would just **** off an admission officer if the essay doesn't add any substantial weight to the application.
I know this isn't exactly the right place for an essay, but I would like the opinion of a second reader on whether I should attach this essay or just scrap it. Please take a look and comment!</p>

<p>My essay is about two books that have significantly affected me</p>

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<p>A totalitarian government and a delusional public with an illusion of freedom- George Orwell’s combination of these two elements in his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four tells a compelling story which serves as a reminder that freedom is indeed precious. The government completely controls history and news, and the public is gullible enough to believe everything the government feeds them with. It went as far as inventing a new language, the ‘newspeak’, eradicating any words related to rebellion so that no person can ever rebel against the government. As I read through the lines of this book, I realized how powerful words are and how strong the freedom of expression is. </p>

<p>Reading this book reminded me why I first felt in love with debating. The will to enhance my knowledge, and form and express my own opinions drew me into the debate club, which is now a very important part of my life. The idea of freedom portrayed in this book gave me courage; the courage that I needed to tell my parents that I didn’t want to study what they were forcing me to- Engineering. In my culture, going against one’s parents will is considered a felony, but I stood up for my interests and after months of arguing, I finally convinced my parents to let me study Biological Sciences.</p>

<p>Eckart Tolle’s A New Earth also played a big part in shaping my perception.The book underscores the importance of letting go of attachments and keeping calm at all times, inspiring the reader to look at everything around him or her in a way that is free of emotional bias. Two quotes from the author summarize the general content of the book: “The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it.” And “Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.” </p>

<p>A New Earth is a solid philosophical work and instantly became a hot topic of discussion at my Books and Philosophy Club. It points towards the similarities in the basic objectives of all religions, highlighting the notion of equality while showing how similar all humans are. Eckhart Tolle also contemplates on the Philosophical works of Jean-Paul Sartre and Rene Descartes, which I found very compelling due to my philosophical interests and that influenced me to look deeper into other works of both the philosophers. </p>

<p>Although I have read many books, and all of them played a part in shaping my personality, no other books have affected me as significantly as A New Earth and Nineteen Eighty-Four.</p>

2

<p>It’s a good essay, but quite honesty it seems very impersonal and uninteresting. More like a book report.</p>

<p>If you’re strong otherwise, I’d say leave it out. Don’t take me opinion alone, however.</p>

3

<p>I actually like your previous version better because it was more personal. You don’t need direct quotes from the books; the summary in the fourth paragraph is fine. That being said, the third paragraph becomes extraneous. I suggest that you add on the fourth paragraph from your previous version on CC, with a little refining so that it flows better.</p>

4

<p>First off, you should never post your essays on a CC forum, as it just invites plagiarism.</p>

<p>Secondly, one of Harvard’s suggestions is for a list of books you have read in the last three years that have been meaningful to you. While you could certainly submit this essay, other students will be submitting a list of 10 or 15 books, possibly with a sentence or two describing what they enjoyed most about their books. Your essay, in comparison, might look a tad bit skimpy next to similar essays. I also agree with seabasstiano – it seems impersonal, uninteresting, and for me, lacks a “wow” factor. I’m just not walking away going “Wow, this is a really well-read kid!” In addition, it might also take the focus off of your otherwise wonderful personal statement and essay about an extracurricular activity. Is it worth it? No, I don’t think so.</p>

5

<p>balderdash, you are right, the previous version was more personal (and thank you for taking the time to read it :stuck_out_tongue: ), but I thought that I should have included a bit more about the book. At the same time, I didn’t want to bore the admission officer with a very long essay, so I cut out my statements to make room for a better description of the book. I will tweak it a bit to make it more personal.</p>

<p>seabasstiano, I actually think rest of my application is sort of weak. My SAT scores would be somewhere around the 25th percentile mark of admitted students; I gave Cambridge A-levels and IGCSE so no GPA; ECs - a few, but I am very passionate about them; Common app essay - it’s about how my friends and I turned a street into a playground and how much the street/playground matters in my life, but doesn’t say anything about my intellectual side; Recommendation letters- I hope that they are good!</p>

6

<p>If it’s impersonal then definitely not worth it. I am submitting my application now and I am scrapping this. Thank you Gibby, seabasstiano and balderdash, for your quick responses :)</p>