<p>So what do I put here? Haha. There are no essays or anything. I feel that it is quite shallow for 'the best school in the nation/world.' My whole application rides on my one Common Application and any supplemental materials (which I lack, haha)?</p>
<p>You could offer an extra essay, or you could include a list of the books you’ve read in the past year. I don’t know that it’s shallow - it’s what you choose to make of it, so you get to determine how shallow or substantial your supplemental information is.</p>
<p>A lot of applicants do write that additional essay, and that no doubt makes the application a bit less shallow. I think Harvard recognizes that they don’t need to have the same sort of supplements that other colleges have (e.g. with an essay on ‘Why Colege XYZ?’), and that it’s not so much the application itself that matters, but what you done before that you can communicate on it.</p>
<p>A Harvard admissions counselor told us this fall that they read everything you submit. Between the common app and the supplement you have lots of options about what to include beyond the basic requirements. You dont want to flood them with trivia or with stuff that isnt very good, but you can think of it as a chance to put together all the different pieces to tell a clear and persuasive story about who you are and why Harvard is a good fit.</p>