2026-27 Cycle • 5 prompts

Harvard University supplemental essays.

Every Harvard University supplemental prompt for the 2026-27 cycle, with the word limit, what they're looking for, and the most common pitfalls.

1. Prompt 1: Harvard has long recognized the importance of student body diversity of all kinds. We welcome you to write about distinctive aspects of your background, personal development or the intellectual interests you might bring to your Harvard classmates.

   150 wordsrequired

   What they really want

   • Pick ONE distinctive lens — not a list of identities.
   • Show how it shapes how you think, not just who you are.
   • End with what you would bring to a Harvard seminar specifically.

   Avoid

   • Generic 'I am a global citizen' framing.
   • Restating the activity list — they have it already.
   • Trauma-as-essay without showing growth or insight.

2. Prompt 2: Briefly describe an intellectual experience that was important to you.

   150 wordsrequired

   What they really want

   • An 'experience,' not a topic — a moment where your thinking changed.
   • Specifics: title of the book, the equation, the conversation partner.
   • What did you do AFTER the experience? That's the proof.

   Avoid

   • Using class assignments unless they led somewhere outside the syllabus.
   • Name-dropping a Big Author with no original take.

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

   150 wordsrequired

   What they really want

   • Pick the activity that doesn't fit the rest of your file — fill a gap.
   • Caregiving, jobs, and family responsibilities count fully here.

   Avoid

   • Repeating your most prestigious EC.
   • Listing instead of narrating one moment.

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

   150 wordsrequired

   What they really want

   • Concrete future > abstract calling. Field, problem, role.
   • Tie one Harvard resource (a lab, a concentration, a House) to that future.

   Avoid

   • 'I want to change the world' with no domain.
   • Listing 5 Harvard resources without depth on any.

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

   150 wordsrequired

   What they really want

   • Lighter tone — this is the 'humanity check' essay.
   • Specific quirks beat broad personality claims.

   Avoid

   • Listing achievements your roommate would not actually care about.
   • Forced humor that reads as performative.