Multiple Supplements?

[markiemarbles98]

As I am polishing up my Harvard app, I am realizing that I would like to share another aspect with the admission council. Do you think it is a good idea to answer multiple prompts in the same document and submit it? Has anyone done this with success?

[gibby]

In Admissions circles (not just at Harvard), it’s thought that the MORE an applicant submits, the MORE they are trying to make up for being a LESS competitive applicant. So, it’s not advisable to submit multiple supplemental essays, and you should do so at your own peril: http://wiselikeus.com/collegewise/2012/07/thicker-files-less-competitive-applicants.html

There’s a saying in admissions, “The thicker the file, the thicker the kid.” It refers to those applicants who insist on including a two-page resume with their applications. They send copies of awards and articles that mention their names, extra letters of recommendation, graded papers, etc. I’ve found it’s almost always a student who wants to “go to an Ivy League School” (no particular one—just an Ivy of any kind). It’s almost impossible to talk them out of thickening their files, which is unfortunate because all it’s going to do is annoy most admissions officers.

Do not send six letters of recommendation when the application requires only one or two. Do not send a copy of every award/certificate/merit badge you’ve ever earned since Cub Scouts when noting your growth in that program in the extracurricular section will do (we promise that your Math Student of the Month Award from ninth grade will have no bearing on what admission decision you receive). **Do not write and submit a third essay when the application has only two prompts…**Overly thick files oftentimes make admission deans leery. What critical weakness are you trying to overcompensate for or bury deep within 50 pages of paper?”

Smart, accomplished, confident kids don’t need to submit extra materials. Don’t be bashful about your important accomplishments. Explain them clearly and proudly. Don’t bury them in a thick file.

[T26E4]

You don’t get to anoint yourself as someone who gets extra. Very bad strategy

[sherpa]

In Admissions circles (not just at Harvard), it’s thought that the MORE an applicant submits, the MORE they are trying to make up for being a LESS competitive applicant.

Or, as the adage goes, “the thicker the file, the thicker the applicant.”

[skieurope]

Or, as the adage goes, “the thicker the file, the thicker the applicant.”

I think @gibby already covered that.

[sherpa]

Wow. I read gibby’s narrative but skipped the quote block. Oh the shame.

[HodgesSchool]

I’m no expert, but I would guess the only exception to this rule is if you are an unusual applicant from a highly unusual educational background. (In other words, if you’ve homeschooled in order to have wild opportunities throughout the world, you might get away with a little extra in order to explain both the atypical academic part and the wild part.)

As long as you have an understandable context, don’t add extras to the application. Presenting a tight application will work to your advantage, even though it will require more work to produce. A long application with multiple essays showing different facets of your background can make it hard for ad cons to see you as a whole person. Instead, try to pull all your interesting parts together into a cohesive whole, showing how the parts add up.