<p>Any other questions? Before I applied to Harvard I realized that I hadn’t talked much about the purpose of the essay, something I would have really appreciated to discuss. I’d actually like to get a discussion going on the purpose of the essay. Is it more to showcase your personal qualities or your writing skills? For example, if you wrote a moving, stunning essay on going it alone, would that be as influential for the admissions committee as a pretty well-written essay on friendship? I’ll give my opinion as well a little later.</p>