<p>So I have a few drafts of my Harvard supplements and I can't decide which one I want to submit. Two of them are anecdotal and the other is a letter to your future roommate essay. In the roommate essay, I've included a lot of specific details about places at Harvard I'd be hanging out at and different classes/labs I'd like to study in. Would this seem too "try hard"? Should I stick to a more generic type essay? </p>
<p>Kind of worried about this.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>@ninalouise I’ve watched your Harvard dorm room tour before! (and I totally just watched like all of your other videos and subscribed). Your application advice video was really helpful! I think I am going to focusing on a past experience that has shaped who I am today and will shape my future. Thank you!</p>
<p>^^ Harvard doesn’t ask “Why Harvard” because an applicant’s desire to attend, or reasons to attend, or interest to attend, have absolutely no bearing whatsoever on whether Admissions accepts or declines a student. So, it would be waste of your time to write such an essay. Writing a supplemental essay that details something that Admissions could not glean from the rest of your application is the better way to go!</p>
<p>If the roommate essay shows something about your personality that the rest of your app doesn’t, then maybe you’ll stand out among the other anecdotal essays. Just don’t try too hard to flatter them so go easy on using the word “Harvard”</p>
<p>“an applicant’s desire to attend, or reasons to attend, or interest to attend, have absolutely no bearing whatsoever on whether Admissions accepts or declines a student.”</p>
<p>This is generally true, but I think there are narrow exceptions: if you are a student with outstanding academic credentials (meaning independent work or research) in a field where Harvard has unusual offerings not found many other places, I would absolutely talk about that in the application. If you’ve been studying Sanskrit, and you’re interested in Harvard because it gives undergrads access to superb graduate-level courses in the field, tell them. Ditto if you are a Math 55 candidate and your credentials show that you have the potential to excel there.</p>
<p>I also think that telling Admissions that you want to attend because it’s what your dad wants, or because you want to brag about being a Harvard student, could hurt an otherwise strong applicant. I marked down an interviewee who said his interest stemmed from parental ideas and he hadn’t done research on his own. </p>
<p>Totally makes sense. Thank you all for your help. I decided to stick with one of my more anecdotal/personal essays, especially considering that my common app essay is about working in the lab for the past couple of summers!</p>
<p>I have one other related question: If my research is definitely my biggest EC (I’ve won state and national awards), but I’ve already written my Common App essay about it, should it be the topic of my activities essay, as well? I think I would prefer have my activities essay be about my school’s student government (I’ve been a member since freshman year and I’m currently president) so that I can talk more about my involvement in my community - something that isn’t as prominent in the rest of my application. </p>
<p>So basically: Would it be weird that I don’t talk about my main EC in my activities essay?</p>