Just curious, is there anyone who got into Harvard without writing the supplement essay?
In years past, many admitted students did not submit a supplemental essay. However, as acceptance rates have plummeted, I think most students now submit the ‘optional’ supplement even if it means re-purposing an open-ended essay they submitted for another college (think Yale or Princeton’s supplemental essays, but not school specific essays such as UChicago or MIT).
My daughter didn’t write the supplemental essay and was accepted. She visited Harvard prior to applying and asked several existing students if they had or hadn’t, and answers were fairly evenly divided between those who had and had not. Based on this she decided not to, as she was pressed for time and didn’t think she could write a compelling essay.
My 2 cents - if they want you, they are going to accept you whether you write the supplemental essay or not. If you think submitting the essay will enhance your application, by all means do it. But if your essay isn’t strong, you might be better off leaving it out.