What are the current Harvard college essay prompts and how should I approach them?

Great question! Harvard has slightly shifted its short answer prompts in recent years, so it’s smart to check what’s required each cycle. As of the most recent application cycle (2023-2024), Harvard moved toward shorter responses instead of long essays, but there’s still plenty of room to showcase your voice.

Here are the current Harvard Supplemental Essay Prompts:

1. Harvard asks you to respond to the following short essays (usually 200 words each):

- Briefly describe an intellectual experience that was important to you.
- What you would want your future college roommate to know about you.
- How you’d like to use your college education in the future.
- A list of books, articles, podcasts, or films that have influenced you recently (not a full essay – typically a short list or description).

These prompts allow you to highlight different aspects of yourself: your curiosity, your personality, your goals, and your influences.

For the open-ended prompt ("Describe an intellectual experience"), you can write about either an academic interest or something more personal, as long as it authentically reflects what excites you most. It's totally fine to highlight an academic passion, like a research project or a class that shaped you, but make sure you're offering fresh insight — not just a résumé recap. If you're choosing something more personal, connect it meaningfully to your intellectual development or worldview.

Let's take an example: Suppose you’re passionate about urban gardening. Maybe you helped start a community garden in your city. Instead of just telling the story, dig into how solving challenges—like resource shortages or organizing neighbors—deepened your understanding of community, sustainability, or urban policy.

For the roommate prompt, avoid cliches and generic answers. Maybe you describe the playlist you’d make for late-night study sessions, or your unusual habit of making origami during study breaks. Show something quirky or deeply human.

Tips for standing out:
- Be specific. Acknowledge real experiences, rather than general ideas.
- Don’t just repeat your activities list. Use storytelling, introspection, or humor.
- If addressing a common topic, focus on personal insight or transformation.

If you want to write about an academic interest, make it memorable by focusing on a specific experience or unanswered question that excites you. If personal, be vulnerable and honest. Regardless of the topic, give concrete examples. For instance, if you're fascinated by math, maybe you reference an obscure mathematical paradox that kept you up at night, not just the fact that you love math class.

In summary: choose the topic where you can be most authentic and memorable. Harvard admits students who are thinkers, dreamers, and doers—so let those parts of you shine!