<p>Hi CC community,</p>
<p>I'm applying to Harvard and I need some advice on the optional supplement, which reads:</p>
<p>You may wish to include an additional essay if you feel that the college application forms do not provide sufficient opportunity to convey important information about yourself or your accomplishments. You may write on a topic of your choice, or you may choose from one of the following topics:
- Unusual circumstances in your life
- Travel or living experiences in other countries
- What you would want your future college roommate to know about you
- An intellectual experience (course, project, book, discussion, paper, poetry, or research topic in engineering, mathematics, science or other modes of inquiry) that has meant the most to you
- How you hope to use your college education
- A list of books you have read during the past twelve months</p>
<p>I decided to choose the last one, the list of books. I thought it'd be something different, as opposed to a normal essay, of which I've done a ton already.</p>
<p>My question is: does this look like I'm lazy and don't want to write another essay? Do you think it will detract from the quality of my application? Does Harvard view all of those choices equally?</p>
<p>Thanks
DanTheMan2596</p>
<p>Plenty of people will do it.</p>
<p>Enough that it won’t make the folks in Cambridge think you’re just being lazy. And also enough that, from their perspective, it won’t be “something different.”</p>
<p>Don’t write an extra essay just for the sake of writing one. Only write one if you have something truly interesting and unique to share.</p>
<p>I had a similar question. Right now I am undecided between either an “Unusual circumstances in your life” or “What you would want your future college roommate to know about you”. </p>
<p>If I do the first one I would write about my junior wrestling season, cutting weight hard (went from 150 to 120 pounds), finding out my parents were getting divorced, and missing state qualifying by one point. It was the most stressful point in my life and extremely difficult for me to handle. However, it taught me a lot about hard work, dedication, perseverance, and self discipline.</p>
<p>If I did the second topic I would most likely use a variation of my Stanford “letter to a roommate” essay. It is short, concise, and one of my favorite essays I have written.</p>
<p>The reason I can’t decide is because I know the Stanford one is well written and while the other one may come off as a rise above adversity, I don’t want it to come off as an “unstable” applicant. What do you guys think?</p>