<p>I'm wondering what you guys wrote for the Harvard supplement since it's really a open question. Did you guys do some EC/academic related thing or a personal hobby that affected you in some significant way? </p>
<p>I just want to make sure my supplement is not totally out of line and seems too weird to fit in with what the adcoms are looking for. :S</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I didn’t write about anything academic or hobby-driven, since the bulk of what I’ve accomplished (and described in the activity list) is a testament to those interests. My closest uncle has been convicted of a very serious crime, but being around him in spite of the stigma it has lent him shaped me in a positive way, so I wrote about our relationship. I felt uncomfortable being so open in an essay, but I think it was honest and real. Hopefully, that counts for something.</p>
<p>Mine was a very short piece on some health problems I’d had when I was little/a looming one that I was afraid would get bad again. It was just like “I’ve gotten through some bad stuff in my life, so I know I can handle other challenges life throws at me, too.” It was, I think, less than 200 words.</p>
<p>Mine was just the “how a book impacted me”. Not that much, but interesting</p>
<p>Mine was about a hobby that’s a little off-the-wall. I tied that into things like science and leadership and stuff like that… Hopefully it hits the right tone instead of coming off like I just want to restate my resume.</p>
<p>Oh wow what a great variety!! I’m debating between two pieces I’m writing: one is about my uncle and how his running a herbal shop affected me, and the other is about reading my own diary and reflecting about my life…</p>
<p>The first one was, I think, better written but the second one would probably make a creative essay if I could somehow make it work… any suggestions?</p>
<p>I talked about how I strongly believe the need for people to express their opinions and how this influenced me in one of my ECs.</p>
<p>I wrote about my how my Grandfather has influenced me - he was a Harvard grad, but I didn’t really talk about that much. It was mostly how he pushed me to strive for my best, and how I felt when he died.</p>
<p>Mine was about Glenn Beck, my dad, and culture. It was a conglomeration of me vs my parents’ generation.</p>
<p>I wrote a short play addressing the question: “How do you think the world will end?” based on theoretical physics and suburban conformity (it’s actually just my Chicago essay recycled lol). It’s sort of a zany, I guess heavy-handed satire. Prooobably should have written something a tad more serious haha.</p>
<p>^If we were supposed to write about something serious, I have no chance. I wrote a comical essay about living with a paranoid sister. Serious is not is my Word dictionary.</p>
<p>Wrote mine about how a friend that ended up in jail on drug charges ultimately inspired me to write a study that placed me at ISEF.</p>
<p>@jake1313: holy thats intense… theoretical physics and suburban conformity? Okay now I have no doubt that I’m sounding like a kid writing about uncles and stuff :S</p>
<p>i wrote about my schizophrenic grandmother who lives with us…it ended up being 900 words >.< no time to cut it down before SCEA</p>
<p>Didn’t write one. I regret it incredibly…</p>
<p>didn’t write one too.</p>
<p>I just made a list of all the books I’ve read this year. I want to major in Economics, so I had 4 or 5 finance/economics books on there. I think I only had abut 26 in all, but they were all great books!</p>
<p>My supplemental essay addressed the question “Why Harvard College?”</p>
<p>if we write an essay on something other than the possible topics, should we be writing our topic at the top of the document?</p>
<p>Probably, just so the readers know which direction the essay is going and what to expect.</p>