Note to readers: First of all, if you are reading this in December of 2013, this was written for last year’s apps; on the other hand, much of what I say still applies to Harvard as well as to other colleges that want you to write about a book or intellectual experience this year, so in those cases you should have a look, but keep in mind that some of the information linked below is protected and available in full only to clients or subscribers. You may e-mail me to get a subscription, which is normally only $15 dollars for the application season, thoug if you use my editing or college advising services, the subscription fee is deducted from your first editing job or I will give you access to the private blog as soon as you pay for your first edit. I do give a free editing sample on a single college application essay–serious inquires only to: wordguild@gmail.com. You’ll need to provide some additional information and your bona fides before I do a free sample edit, though.
Where is the Yale supplement? As of 8/1/12 at 3:15 PM Eastern Time, this was the only information available:
| Yale University Supplement: | |||
| Yale University allows this supplement to be submitted Online. | |||
| This supplement is not yet available. | |||
Go Bulldogs!
What can we make of this strange absence? Perhaps that Yale is so cool they can ignore Common App deadlines? Either that or their I.T. people are out to lunch, in the colloquial sense, which seems impossible. I mean, it’s Yale, right? They would know what they are doing? Or is it a secret plan to have no competition when they put up their supplement? Like a debutante arriving late for the dance? While we await a solution to the mystery of the Yale supplement, let’s look at Harvard.
Harvard
So Harvard has put up their prompts in a prompt fashion. But aside from being on time, this year Harvard reminds me of a kid trying to fob off a Junior English essay in his Senior English class. What do I mean? Well, look below at this year’s prompts and then have a look at last year’s prompts (the underlining and bold print is mine):
Harvard Additional Essays 2012-2013
Occasionally, students feel that college application forms do not provide sufficient opportunity to convey important information about themselves or their accomplishments. If you wish to include an additional essay, you may do so.
Possible Topics:
• Unusual circumstances in your life
• Travel or living experiences in other countries
• A letter to your future college roommate
• An intellectual experience (course, project, book, discussion, paper or research topic) 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
Harvard Prompts 2011-2012
• Unusual circumstances in your life
• Travel or living experiences in other countries
• Books that have most affected you
• An academic experience (course, project, paper or research topic) that has meant the most to you
• A list of books you have read during the past twelve months
My first hint is this: most people write the extra essay, even if it is just suggested. You do want to avoid overlaps with whatever common app essay you choose to use, of course.
Turning to new developments for this year, Harvard now has six total prompts as opposed to last year’s five, with two new prompts and the other four prompts essentially unchanged, aside from rearranging some words and a slight broadening of one prompt. And of these two new additions, the prompt asking you to write a letter to your future college roommate is a rerun from recent Stanford supplements. Perhaps a former Stanford admissions officer took a new position at Harvard and it really is a small world, after all. This year’s prompt on an intellectual experience is a bit broader than last year’s prompt on an academic experience, but then it also overlaps with the Common Application’s own essay prompts.
Since Harvard is not adding a lot of new material here, I will start you with links to some of my earlier posts which specifically address Harvard or relate to the prompts for 2013. I will be discussing the list of books essay in a separate post soon, with new examples, but these posts will get you started as you generate ideas.
In my posts for Harvard last year, I focused on the book prompts. Some of this material, especially when it relates to establishing genres or categories for different books, would be useful in a “list of books” essay. I will address the list of books essay soon in a separate post, with some examples, but the posts below should help you get started with a book, travel/experience or letter essay:
Writing About Books
Travel or Living Experiences
My main warning is to avoid the stereotypical “My Trip” essay, which takes three forms: 1) shallow travelogue 2) travel experience with a “life’s lesson” forced upon it 3) Patronizing description of people with odd habits living in an exotic place/poor people living in an exotic place. It’s incredibly easy to sound patronizing when writing about other countries and peoples and you should never forget that, in writing about another place, the subject of an application essay is still you. Be aware of what you are revealing about yourself.
How to Write About a Trip While Not Tripping Over Stereotypes: Evading the Cliche II
Writing a Letter to Your Roommate
Consider Your Audience Before Writing Anything: So You Want to Write a College Essay
Stanford Essay 2011, including brief advice on Writing a Letter to Your Roommate
I will be addressing the Harvard prompts for 2012-2013 again soon, starting with those I haven’t addressed yet and updating for some of the prompts I discuss above. Stay tuned. Hopefully Yale will give us something in the meantime.