The Harvard University 2024–2025 application requires short answer essays that ask you to reflect upon your strengths, passions, challenges, and experiences. You’ll need to submit five in total. Though this may sound overwhelming, we’ve got you covered. This guide will provide critical insights into the 2024–2025 Harvard supplemental essays.
The Importance of the Harvard Supplemental Essays
The Harvard supplemental essays help admissions understand you as a multifaceted student, community member, and thinker. Specificity is the magic word. The prompts are short, so focus on writing with concision. Rather than thinking about each prompt individually, think of how they might holistically create a snapshot of who you are. Remember, your college application is like a portrait that includes many different colors and textures; each prompt should showcase a different aspect of your personality and life experience.
For more information about supplemental essays, why they are important and how to approach them, refer to our Ultimate Guide to Writing Supplemental Essays.
Harvard Supplemental Essays 2024–2025
To complete your application to Harvard, you will submit either the Common App or the Coalition Application by Scoir, along with five required supplemental questions. Below, you can find the 2024–2025 prompts, followed by a breakdown of how to approach them.
Harvard Short Answer Questions
The following five short answer questions are required and ask you to examine your formative life experiences, academic and extracurricular activities, how you see yourself engaging with others at Harvard, and your dreams and plans for the future. Each question can be answered in about 100 words. Your limit is 150 words. The questions are:
- Harvard has long recognized the importance of enrolling a diverse student body. How will the life experiences that shape who you are today enable you to contribute to Harvard?
- Describe a time when you strongly disagreed with someone about an idea or issue. How did you communicate or engage with this person? What did you learn from this experience?
- Briefly describe any of your extracurricular activities, employment experience, travel, or family responsibilities that have shaped who you are.
- How do you hope to use your Harvard education in the future?
- Top 3 things your roommates might like to know about you.
Writing the Harvard Supplemental Essays
The Harvard supplemental essays cover a range of topics, giving you the chance to showcase your experiences, values, and character.
Harvard Supplemental Essay 1 of 5
- Harvard has long recognized the importance of enrolling a diverse student body. How will the life experiences that shape who you are today enable you to contribute to Harvard? (150 words maximum)
To answer this question, reflect on a specific and unique experience that you are excited to share. This life experience can include many things, not limited to: personal or family background, race or ethnicity, participation in a community, religious, or cultural group, and much more. Pro Tip: Before you begin writing this prompt, take a minute to brainstorm a list of all of the communities that you are a part of. Imagine how that experience can help you contribute to the community at Harvard, and don’t generalize. Instead, help us envision you as a student on campus; precisely how will that life experience influence your activities, contributions, and manner of being on the Harvard campus?
Harvard Supplemental Essay 2 of 5
- Describe a time when you strongly disagreed with someone about an idea or issue. How did you communicate or engage with this person? What did you learn from this experience? (150 words maximum)
Now it’s time to dissect and share your communication and engagement style when conflicts arise. This prompt is asking you to reflect on what you learned from a past disagreement or discussion. Remember that the Harvard campus is a place where students from many different backgrounds, from all over the world, come to study and learn from each other. On the Harvard College website, the Mission Statement says, “(students) who come from different walks of life and have evolving identities, intellectual transformation is deepened and conditions for social transformation are created.” Keep this mission in mind when responding to the prompt.
Harvard Supplemental Essay 3 of 5
- Briefly describe any of your extracurricular activities, employment experience, travel, or family responsibilities that have shaped who you are. (150 words maximum)
Are there any job experience, travel, family responsibilities or extra curricular activities that are critical to who you are? Do you have an experience on your resume that needs further elaborating in order to help the admissions committee better understand who you are? If so, this is the place to emphasize the role of this experience in your life. This is your chance to showcase your passions or responsibilities and how they have impacted you.
Harvard Supplemental Essay 4 of 5
- How do you hope to use your Harvard education in the future? (150 words maximum)
Harvard is an internationally recognized research University, providing students access to a range of classes, professional opportunities, and extracurricular opportunities. This question is asking you to reflect on how a Harvard education could benefit you in the future. Even if you are not quite sure what that future will look like, help the admissions officers to understand why Harvard will benefit you not just in your four years at the school but beyond.
Harvard Supplemental Essay 5 of 5
- Top 3 things your roommates might like to know about you. (150 words maximum)
This prompt asks you to demonstrate your self-knowledge. Do you enjoy late night discussions and debates? Are you bringing with you your personal collection of handcrafted miniature lamps? Do you have a debilitating fear of fruit jelly? Are you someone who deeply values their quiet time? The more specific your response, the better.
How to Make Your Harvard Supplemental Essays Stand Out
With an acceptance rate of 3.6%, Harvard College remains a highly competitive choice for most applicants. “Standing out” means doing more than having a high GPA and impressive extracurricular activities. Harvard looks for evidence of leadership and initiative, where students take projects into their own hands. This is your chance to round out your application with a capstone project that showcases your passions and strengths as a leader. Think of this project as a chance to highlight and build skills to improve your local or international community, make an impact, solve a problem, build a team, or demonstrate your creativity.
Some general ideas include:
- Initiating a community service project to address a local issue or need.
- Using your artistic talents to bring others together, or share your unique voice.
- Creating a mock or actual business that will have a social impact.
- Starting a creative startup or non-governmental organization that hopes to solve an international or global issue.
Ultimately, the best capstone project is one that stems from your personal passions and the needs of your community.
Conclusion
The Harvard supplemental essays are a critical component in your application, which will help to paint a picture of who you are for the admissions officers. Because the application is heavy on short-answer questions, concisely worded, specific, and idiosyncratic responses will shine. Clear and confidently written responses will have a greater impact. If you need help brainstorming or writing essays—or with any other parts of the application process—HelloCollege is here to help. Reach out for a free 45-minute consultation today.
