Harvard Supplemental Essays

A Harvard admissions officer once told me that he was looking for “distinguishing excellence.” Their admissions committee wants young people who excel. They’re looking for intelligence and drive, and they want kids who’ve done exciting things inside and outside the classroom.

When filling out a Harvard supplement, pay special attention to stories that highlight achievement, intellectual curiosity, and passion.

Harvard Supplemental Essay Questions (2024-2025)

1. 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?

This is a standard Contributions/Lived Experience essay. Luckily, we have a whole article on writing it!

2. 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?

This is a standard Diverse Perspectives essay, and we have another article with guidelines on how to write it.

3. Briefly describe any of your extracurricular activities, employment experience, travel, or family responsibilities that have shaped who you are.

If you think this looks like an Activity essay, you’re right! Click here for tips on how to write it.

4. How do you hope to use your Harvard education in the future?

This is a question about impact. Think about it from an admissions officer’s perspective: if you get into Harvard (or Yale, or Princeton, or any other top school), a door will open for you that very few people get to walk through.

So, what are you going to do with that opportunity? What do you care about, and what kind of impact do you want to have?

Pro tip: You could approach this question by looking up Harvard’s mission statement, which starts out “The mission of Harvard College is to educate the citizens and citizen-leaders for our society.” Imagine yourself ten or twenty years from now: What kind of citizen or citizen-leader do you want to be? What kind of impact do you want to have on society?

5. Top 3 things your roommates might like to know about you.

This is a fun prompt that’s designed to give the admissions committee a bit of “color” about you.

Start by thinking about this question in the context of the rest of your application. If your other four essays were about heavy topics, consider using this response to lighten up a bit and show your more playful side.

Alternatively, this could be a chance to share something more meaningful that didn’t make it into any of the other essays. Either way, don’t sweat this one. Be real, and think of it as the icing on the cake for your Harvard supplement.

For more help with your Common App essay, supplemental essays, and your entire application, check out my new book Write Yourself In, available from your favorite library or bookseller. You can also subscribe to my Admitted newsletter for monthly updates and guidance.