<p>This has been confusing me for a while now. Originally, I thought Harvard was the same as Yale or other Ivies: you write one short answer (activities) for the Common App, one essay (about 500 words), and then one essay for the school's supplement. </p>
<p>On Harvard's supplement, however, the wording makes me think that this essay is completely optional. Is that true? I mean, I plan on sending in another essay regardless, but I'm just curious.</p>
<p>Yes, like it says, it's completely optional.</p>
<p>Sorry, I knew that was probably a stupid question, but it just seemed strange to me. While most schools now require 3-4 essays (including short answers), it seems like such a high-ranked one would require more than 2. </p>
<p>Anyway, thanks.</p>
<p>Harvard gets 20+,000 applicants. If they had to read 3+ essays from every applicant that would be impossible. A highly ranked college generally gets a ton of applications, you should remember that fact as well...that may be why Stanford (with all of its essays) asks for regular applications by Dec. 15, instead of the normal Jan. 1 or 2.</p>
<p>My brother got accepted, and he left the supplemental essay totally blank.</p>
<p>am12388 - how qualified was ure brother? could u share some stats with us?</p>
<p>i also did not write the optional essay and i was accepted</p>
<p>My brother is number 1 in our class of 165, with a gpa of 4.0 unweighted. For SATs, he got a 800 on verbal, 800 on math, and 750 on writing. He didn't do as well on the SAT IIs, but still over 700 on each. He wrote a strong essay for his common app, and didn't feel like he had anything else to say for the supplemental that would make much of a difference.</p>
<p>I myself have similar stats (a little lower on SAT I, a little higher on SAT IIs), and I wrote a mere 147 words for my supplemental essay. Fortunately we both got in, and I wonder whether being twins helped us stand out with the admissions committee.</p>
<p>I guess the moral of the story is, write a nice supplemental essay if you think it will help you, but if not, don't sweat too much about it.</p>
<p>I did not write a supplemental essay and was accepted.</p>
<p>Really, only write one if it REALLY adds to your application. they don't need to read 2 essays that say the SAME things.</p>
<p>Only write one if it is extraordinary and it shows a side of you that the rest of the application doesn't show. Otherwise, it'll detract from the rest of the app and the reader will be wasting his/her time reading a repetitive/spacefilling essay when he/she should be reading more important aspects of your app.</p>
<p>And it's kind of great how you can write literally ANYTHING for both the common app essay and the supp essay which is exactly what I did. The topics are merely "suggested". :)</p>