harding university essay prompts

The Coolidge | A Scholarship for America

2023-24 essay prompts & required readings.

The Coolidge Scholarship application includes three essays. Essays two and three both have required readings which can be found below.

Please note: while the below readings are required, you are certainly permitted to reference other sources when preparing your essays — a good place to start is our About Coolidge page and the Coolidge Virtual Library .

You have learned and achieved much up to this point in your life. What are the next intellectual frontiers you hope to explore in your college years and how do you envision you might use the knowledge you gain?

Note: this essay does not simply ask what you hope to major in during college and what job you want as a career. Instead, please write about the ideas that interest you most, what you still have to learn about them, and what you envision you might do with the knowledge you gain in college. Please limit your essay to 400 words.

Throughout history, Americans have always wanted a better future for their country. However, the role the Federal Government should play in bringing about that better future has been a subject of debate from our country’s earliest days. In an essay of no more than 600 words, compare and contrast Calvin Coolidge’s philosophy about the proper role of the Federal Government with that of another U.S. president from the same era — Theodore Roosevelt. Describe each leader’s views and explain the logic of how each President thought his respective philosophy about the proper role of the Federal Government would bring about a better America. For this essay, limit your analysis to domestic — rather than foreign — policy. To prepare for this essay, read the Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge and other resources provided at the links below. You may augment these materials with additional research if you like.

Required Readings

One of the required readings for Essays 2 and 3 is the Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge . The Coolidge Foundation recently published a new edition of the Autobiography , which includes a new introduction and additional supplemental material. The new edition can be purchased from the Coolidge Foundation’s online store at this link . Older editions of the Autobiography are also acceptable for you to read, and can be found at most libraries. A free version of an older edition of Coolidge’s Autobiography can also be accessed here from Archive.org. ( Note: Archive.org is a third-party site and is not affiliated with the Coolidge Scholars Program.)
The Limitations of the Law – Speech by Vice President Calvin Coolidge, August 10, 1922
The Inspiration of the Declaration of Independence – Excerpt of speech by President Calvin Coolidge, July 5, 1926
President Coolidge’s 1925 Inaugural Address – Excerpt of speech by President Calvin Coolidge, March 4, 1925
The New Nationalism – Excerpt of speech by President Theodore Roosevelt, August 31, 1910
A Charter of Democracy – Excerpt of speech by former President Theodore Roosevelt, February 21, 1912
Acceptance Speech at the Progressive Party Convention – Excerpt of speech by former President Theodore Roosevelt, August 6, 1912
Excerpt from chapter 10 of Theodore Roosevelt – An Autobiography

Today the federal individual income tax seems a permanent fixture of American life. But the income tax was relatively young in the 1920s — having been made permanent by the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution and the 1913 Underwood-Simmons Act. Following World War I, tax rates were high and federal tax reform was a major policy priority of the 1920 Republican platform, which called the load of taxes on Americans “staggering.” Tax changes were a key goal of Warren Harding’s Administration. When Harding passed away in 1923, President Coolidge and his Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon continued to lead reforms.

The 1920s represent an early experiment in tax reform. In this essay, you are tasked with analyzing this experiment. What was the logic behind the 1920s tax reforms? Reviewing the evidence from this decade, what is your evaluation of the impact of the 1920s tax reforms? What lessons, if any, should we take away? Please find resources available at the link below to assist in your research. You may augment these materials with additional research if you like. Please limit your essay to 600 words.

Required Readings & Research

One of the required readings for Essays 2 and 3 is the Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge . The Coolidge Foundation recently published a new edition of the Autobiography , which includes a new introduction and additional supplemental material. The new edition can be purchased from the Coolidge Foundation’s online store at this link . Older editions of the Autobiography are also acceptable for you to read, and can be found at most libraries. A free version of an older edition of Coolidge’s Autobiography can also be accessed here from Archive.org. ( Note: Archive.org is a third-party site and is not affiliated with the Coolidge Scholars Program.)
Chapter 1 of Taxation: The People’s Business by Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon
Address Before the National Republican Club – Excerpt of speech by President Coolidge, February 12, 1924
President Coolidge’s 1925 Inaugural Address – Excerpt of speech by President Coolidge, March 4, 1925
Address at the Fifteenth Regular Meeting of the Business Organization of the Government – Excerpt of speech by President Coolidge, June 11, 1928
Speech by Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon – Excerpt of speech by Andrew Mellon , October 11, 1928
Summary of federal income tax rates from 1920-1928; Source: Tax Foundation – Historical Individual Income Tax Rates & Brackets
Federal income tax receipts by income group during the 1920s; Source: Treasury Department, United States Internal Revenue, Statistics of Income
Summary of federal receipts, outlays, and surpluses or deficits from 1913 – 1940; Source: White House, Office of Management and Budget
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About President Coolidge
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Harding University Requirements for Admission

Choose your test.

What are Harding University's admission requirements? While there are a lot of pieces that go into a college application, you should focus on only a few critical things:

GPA requirements
Testing requirements, including SAT and ACT requirements
Application requirements

In this guide we'll cover what you need to get into Harding University and build a strong application.

School location: Searcy, AR

Admissions Rate: 45.1%

If you want to get in, the first thing to look at is the acceptance rate. This tells you how competitive the school is and how serious their requirements are.

The acceptance rate at Harding University is 45.1% . For every 100 applicants, 45 are admitted.

This means the school is moderately selective . The school expects you to meet their requirements for GPA and SAT/ACT scores, but they're more flexible than other schools. If you exceed their requirements, you have an excellent chance of getting in. But if you don't, you might be one of the unlucky minority that gets a rejection letter.

We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies . We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools , from state colleges to the Ivy League.

We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools.

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Harding University GPA Requirements

Many schools specify a minimum GPA requirement, but this is often just the bare minimum to submit an application without immediately getting rejected.

The GPA requirement that really matters is the GPA you need for a real chance of getting in. For this, we look at the school's average GPA for its current students.

Average GPA: 3.74

The average GPA at Harding University is 3.74 .

(Most schools use a weighted GPA out of 4.0, though some report an unweighted GPA.

With a GPA of 3.74, Harding University requires you to be above average in your high school class. You'll need at least a mix of A's and B's, with more A's than B's. You can compensate for a lower GPA with harder classes, like AP or IB classes. This will show that you're able to handle more difficult academics than the average high school student.

If you're currently a junior or senior, your GPA is hard to change in time for college applications. If your GPA is at or below the school average of 3.74, you'll need a higher SAT or ACT score to compensate . This will help you compete effectively against other applicants who have higher GPAs than you.

SAT and ACT Requirements

Each school has different requirements for standardized testing. Only a few schools require the SAT or ACT, but many consider your scores if you choose to submit them.

Harding University SAT Requirements

Many schools say they have no SAT score cutoff, but the truth is that there is a hidden SAT requirement. This is based on the school's average score.

Average SAT: 1170

The average SAT score composite at Harding University is a 1170 on the 1600 SAT scale.

This score makes Harding University Competitive for SAT test scores.

Harding University SAT Score Analysis (New 1600 SAT)

The 25th percentile SAT score is 1040, and the 75th percentile SAT score is 1290. In other words, a 1040 on the SAT places you below average, while a 1290 will move you up to above average .

Here's the breakdown of SAT scores by section:

SAT Score Choice Policy

The Score Choice policy at your school is an important part of your testing strategy.

Harding University has the Score Choice policy of "Highest Sitting."

This means that you can choose which SAT tests you want to send to the school. Of all the scores they receive, your application readers will consider the SAT score from your single highest test date (the sum of math, reading, and writing).

This is important for your testing strategy. Because you can choose which tests to send in, and Harding University only considers your highest score on a single test date, you can take the SAT as many times as you want, then submit your strongest score. Your application readers will only see that one score.

Therefore, if your SAT score is currently below a 1170, we strongly recommend that you consider prepping for the SAT and retaking it . You don't have much to lose, and you can potentially raise your score and significantly boost your chances of getting in.

Download our free guide on the top 5 strategies you must be using to improve your score. This guide was written by Harvard graduates and SAT perfect scorers. If you apply the strategies in this guide, you'll study smarter and make huge score improvements.

Harding University ACT Requirements

Just like for the SAT, Harding University likely doesn't have a hard ACT cutoff, but if you score too low, your application will get tossed in the trash.

Average ACT: 25

The average ACT score at Harding University is 25. This score makes Harding University Moderately Competitive for ACT scores.

The 25th percentile ACT score is 20, and the 75th percentile ACT score is 28.

Even though Harding University likely says they have no minimum ACT requirement, if you apply with a 20 or below, you'll have a very hard time getting in, unless you have something else very impressive in your application. There are so many applicants scoring 25 and above that a 20 will look academically weak.

ACT Score Sending Policy

If you're taking the ACT as opposed to the SAT, you have a huge advantage in how you send scores, and this dramatically affects your testing strategy.

Here it is: when you send ACT scores to colleges, you have absolute control over which tests you send. You could take 10 tests, and only send your highest one. This is unlike the SAT, where many schools require you to send all your tests ever taken.

This means that you have more chances than you think to improve your ACT score. To try to aim for the school's ACT requirement of 25 and above, you should try to take the ACT as many times as you can. When you have the final score that you're happy with, you can then send only that score to all your schools.

ACT Superscore Policy

By and large, most colleges do not superscore the ACT. (Superscore means that the school takes your best section scores from all the test dates you submit, and then combines them into the best possible composite score). Thus, most schools will just take your highest ACT score from a single sitting.

We weren't able to find the school's exact ACT policy, which most likely means that it does not Superscore. Regardless, you can choose your single best ACT score to send in to Harding University, so you should prep until you reach our recommended target ACT score of 25.

Download our free guide on the top 5 strategies you must be using to improve your score. This guide was written by Harvard graduates and ACT perfect scorers. If you apply the strategies in this guide, you'll study smarter and make huge score improvements.

Free eBook: 5 Tips to 4+ Points on the ACT

SAT/ACT Writing Section Requirements

Currently, only the ACT has an optional essay section that all students can take. The SAT used to also have an optional Essay section, but since June 2021, this has been discontinued unless you are taking the test as part of school-day testing in a few states. Because of this, no school requires the SAT Essay or ACT Writing section, but some schools do recommend certain students submit their results if they have them.

Harding University considers the SAT Essay/ACT Writing section optional and may not include it as part of their admissions consideration. You don't need to worry too much about Writing for this school, but other schools you're applying to may require it.

Final Admissions Verdict

Because this school is moderately selective, strong academic performance will almost guarantee you admission . Scoring a 1290 SAT or a 28 ACT or above will nearly guarantee you admission. Because the school admits 45.1% of all applicants, being far above average raises the admission rate for you to nearly 100%.

If you can achieve a high SAT/ACT score, the rest of your application essentially doesn't matter. You still need to meet the rest of the application requirements, and your GPA shouldn't be too far off from the school average of 3.74. But you won't need dazzling extracurriculars and breathtaking letters of recommendation to get in. You can get in based on the merits of your score alone.

But if your score is a 1040 SAT or a 20 ACT and below, you have a good chance of being one of the unlucky few to be rejected.

Admissions Calculator

Here's our custom admissions calculator. Plug in your numbers to see what your chances of getting in are. Pick your test: SAT ACT

80-100%: Safety school: Strong chance of getting in
50-80%: More likely than not getting in
20-50%: Lower but still good chance of getting in
5-20%: Reach school: Unlikely to get in, but still have a shot
0-5%: Hard reach school: Very difficult to get in

How would your chances improve with a better score?

Take your current SAT score and add 160 points (or take your ACT score and add 4 points) to the calculator above. See how much your chances improve?

At PrepScholar, we've created the leading online SAT/ACT prep program . We guarantee an improvement of 160 SAT points or 4 ACT points on your score, or your money back.

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Application Requirements

Every school requires an application with the bare essentials - high school transcript and GPA, application form, and other core information. Many schools, as explained above, also require SAT and ACT scores, as well as letters of recommendation, application essays, and interviews. We'll cover the exact requirements of Harding University here.

Application Requirements Overview

Common Application Not accepted
Electronic Application Available
Essay or Personal Statement Required for all freshmen
Letters of Recommendation 3
Interview Not required
Application Fee $50
Fee Waiver Available? Not available
Other Notes

Testing Requirements

SAT or ACT Required
SAT Essay or ACT Writing Optional
SAT Subject Tests
Scores Due in Office None

Coursework Requirements

Subject Required Years
Foreign Language
Social Studies 3
Electives 3

Deadlines and Early Admissions

Offered? Deadline Notification
Yes Rolling Rolling
Yes None None

Admissions Office Information

Address: 915 Searcy, AR 72149-0001
Phone: (501) 279-4000 x4000
Fax: (501) 279-4865
Email: [email protected]

Other Schools For You

If you're interested in Harding University, you'll probably be interested in these schools as well. We've divided them into 3 categories depending on how hard they are to get into, relative to Harding University.

Reach Schools: Harder to Get Into

These schools are have higher average SAT scores than Harding University. If you improve your SAT score, you'll be competitive for these schools.

Same Level: Equally Hard to Get Into

If you're competitive for Harding University, these schools will offer you a similar chance of admission.

Safety Schools: Easier to Get Into

If you're currently competitive for Harding University, you should have no problem getting into these schools. If Harding University is currently out of your reach, you might already be competitive for these schools.

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With more than 100 majors and minors, we make it easy to help you achieve your academic and career goals. Whether your interests are focused in business, theology, education or health care, you can find the perfect fit here. Still having trouble picking an area of study? You can also Compare Majors by credit hour requirement, placement rate and potential career options.

Choosing a major can be a difficult decision — but we're here to help.

If you're undecided or just want to learn about options for your future, take a personality assessment and meet with one of our staff members to get started on a path that fits you.

See career options with the Center for Professional Excellence .

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Overview of Harding University

Harding University is a four-year, private college associated with the Churches of Christ. The 350-acre campus is situated in Searcy, Arkansas. Its student body of roughly 7,000 is supported by a student/faculty ratio of 16 to 1. Students can choose from 10 undergraduate degrees, 14 pre-professional programs, and 15 graduate and professional degrees. The institution has plenty of student organizations and clubs, as well as many intramural sports. The Harding Bison play in the NCAA Division II Great American Conference.

Total Enrollment: 5,121 (3,974 undergraduates)
Gender Breakdown: 46% Male/54% Female
94% Full-time

Cost of Attendance Information

Tuition and Fees: $20,530
Books: $1,200
Room and Board: $7,170
Other Expenses: $2,622
Total Cost: $31,522

Financial Aid Information

Percentage of New Students Receiving Aid: 99%
Grants: 96%
Grants: $10,789
Loans: $7,249

Academic Programs Offered

Most Popular Majors: Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services; Education; Health Professions and Related Programs; Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs; and Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services

Retention and Graduation

First-Year Student Retention (full-time students): 85%
4-Year Graduation Rate: 46%
6-Year Graduation Rate: 67%

NCAA Athletic Programs

Men’s Sports: Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Soccer, Tennis, Track and Field
Women’s Sports: Basketball, Cheerleading-Dance Team, Cross Country, Golf, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Track and Field, Volleyball

Overview of Harding University Admissions

Harding University is largely accessible, accepting 75% of those who apply. Students whose SAT/ACT scores and GPA are within the institution’s requirements have a good chance of being admitted. This institution has a robust admissions process that involves a multitude of academic measures. Applicants must complete an online application. A persuasive essay and glowing recommendation letters can bolster your application, along with being involved with student organizations and attempting a challenging course load. Students with unique talents and accomplishments can still receive strong consideration even if their GPAs are outside the admission offices’ mean range. Interested students should check out the university’s website, which has helpful tips and contact information for the admissions offices. Students should make a campus visit to determine if the institution is a good fit for them.

Admissions Data

Harding University Acceptance Rate: 75%
SAT Critical Reading: 540/660
SAT Math: 520/640
SAT Writing: -/-
ACT Composite: 22/29
ACT English: 22/31
ACT Math: 21/27

Safety Net Schools: Easy to Gain Admission

If past admission data predicts that you would be a competitive candidate for Harding University, it should be easy for you to gain admission to the schools below. If Harding University is currently out of your reach, you can be a competitive candidate for the schools below.

Florida Gulf Coast University, University of Texas at San Antonio, Hampton University, Washington State University, East Carolina University, Texas State University, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

Same Tier: Just As Hard to Gain Admission

If you’re a competitive candidate for Harding University, you should have an equal chance of gaining admission to these schools.

University of Arizona, Colorado State University, Quinnipiac University, Ohio University, University of Alabama, University of Texas at Arlington, Pace University

Reach Institutions: Gaining Admissions Will Be More of a Challenge

These schools are more challenging to gain admission into than Harding University. If you improve your GPA and SAT/ACT scores, you’ll be a competitive candidate.

Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Syracuse University, Penn State University Park, United States Military Academy, Temple University, Seton Hall University

Applying to Harding University

Application Deadline: Rolling

Undergraduate Admissions Website:

https://www.harding.edu/admissions

Undergraduate Application Link(s):

https://www.harding.edu/admissions/applyundergrad

Graduate Admissions Website:

https://www.harding.edu/academics/graduate-professional

Graduate Application Link(s):

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What is a Course?

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, college essay prompts: complete list, analysis, and advice.

College Admissions , College Essays

When talking about college essays, we tend to focus on the Common Application prompts , and it's true that many students will need to write a Common App essay. However, there are actually quite a few schools, including both public and private universities, that don't use the Common App and instead ask applicants to respond to their own college essay prompts.

Luckily, college essay prompts tend to be pretty similar to each other. In this guide, I'll list all the college essay questions for popular schools in the US (and a few abroad) and then break down the patterns to help you brainstorm topics and plan how to approach multiple essays efficiently. After reading this guide, you'll be able to strategize which essays you'll write for which colleges.

Feature image: Mayr /Flickr

Why Do Colleges Ask For an Essay?

The short answer: the essay gives admissions committees a sense of your personality beyond the statistics on the rest of your application. The essay is your chance to show the committee your unique perspective and impress them with your maturity and insight.

College application essay prompts are written with this goal in mind. Admissions officers want to give you the chance to share your interests, aspirations, and views on the world, so most prompts ask about how your experiences have shaped you or what you're excited about studying or doing in college. I've collected a ton of examples below and provided some analysis to help you begin planning and crafting your own essays.

Keep in mind that the personal statement alone won't be enough to get you in— your grades and test scores are still the most important factors in your application . That being said, a stellar essay can help bring a borderline applicant over the top or give an excellent but not extraordinary student the opportunity to stand out in a competitive applicant pool.

As such, the essay tends to matter most for very competitive schools. Non-competitive schools generally don't ask you to submit an essay.

Complete List of College Essay Prompts

This list collects the 2022 college essay prompts for major state universities, top-50 schools, and other popular schools which have their own unique questions. They're divided by region, with all optional essays listed at the end.

I left off the Common App supplements, as those often require a substantially different approach. I also stuck to four-year schools, meaning I didn't include special two-year programs, such as Deep Springs College or Miami Dade College's Honors Program (both of which require essays).

Finally, note that these prompts are for freshman applicants, so the requirements might be different for transfer students .

General Applications

There are three general applications you can use to apply to many different schools at once:

Common Application

Universal college application, coalition application.

Each application has its own personal statement requirement. Some schools will ask for additional supplemental essays.

Many more schools accept the Common App than they do the UCA or Coalition Application , though some will accept more than one of these applications.

For the Common App essay, you pick one of the prompts and write 250-650 words about it. Here are the prompts for the 2022-2023 school year:

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma—anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.

Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

The UCA essay prompt is completely open ended and has a 650-word limit. Here is the 2022-2023 prompt:

Please write an essay that demonstrates your ability to develop and communicate your thoughts. Some ideas include: a person you admire; a life-changing experience; or your viewpoint on a particular current event.

For the Coalition Application, you'll pick one of five prompts listed below. While there is no hard word limit, the range guidelines are 500-650 words. Here are the prompts for 2022-2023:

What interests or excites you? How does it shape who you are now or who you might become in the future?

Describe a time when you had a positive impact on others. What were the challenges? What were the rewards?

Has there been a time when an idea or belief of yours was questioned? How did you respond? What did you learn?

What success have you achieved or obstacle have you faced? What advice would you give a sibling or friend going through a similar experience?

Now that you know the essay requirements for the three general applications, let’s look at the application essays for specific schools . To keep things organized, we’ve grouped schools based on the region of the US in which they’re located.

Northeast/Mid-Atlantic

The Great Dome at MIT

Georgetown University

Georgetown asks applicants to write one short essay (about half a single-spaced page) and two longer essays (approximately one single-spaced page each). Each applicant must respond to the first two prompts and can choose among the other four based on the specific program she's interested in.

Short Essay: Briefly (approximately one-half page, single-spaced) discuss the significance to you of the school or summer activity in which you have been most involved.

All Applicants: As Georgetown is a diverse community, the Admissions Committee would like to know more about you in your own words. Please submit a brief essay, either personal or creative, which you feel best describes you.

Applicants to Georgetown College: What does it mean to you to be educated? How might Georgetown College help you achieve this aim? (Applicants to the Sciences and Mathematics or the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics should address their chosen course of study).

Applicants to the School of Nursing & Health Studies: Describe the factors that have influenced your interest in studying health care. Please specifically address your intended major (Global Health, Health Care Management & Policy, Human Science, or Nursing).

Applicants to the Walsh School of Foreign Service: The Walsh School of Foreign Service was founded more than a century ago to prepare generations of leaders to solve global problems. What is motivating you to dedicate your undergraduate studies to a future in service to the world?

Applicants to the McDonough School of Business: The McDonough School of Business is a national and global leader in providing graduates with essential ethical, analytical, financial and global perspectives. Please discuss your motivations for studying business at Georgetown.

For more Georgetown application tips, check out our articles on the Georgetown essays and how to get into Georgetown .

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MIT doesn't ask for a single personal statement but rather asks applicants to respond to a series of questions with just a paragraph or two of about 200 words each .

We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it.

Describe the world you come from (for example, your family, clubs, school, community, city, or town). How has that world shaped your dreams and aspirations?

MIT brings people with diverse backgrounds and experiences together to better the lives of others. Our students work to improve their communities in different ways, from tackling the world’s biggest challenges to being a good friend. Describe one way you have collaborated with people who are different from you to contribute to your community.

Tell us about a significant challenge you've faced (that you feel comfortable sharing) or something that didn't go according to plan. How did you manage the situation?

For more details on how to get into MIT , read our other articles on the MIT application process , tips for MIT essays , and an example of a real MIT acceptance letter !

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Indiana University Bloomington

IU asks for 200-400 words on your plans and interests.

Describe your academic and career plans and any special interest (for example, undergraduate research, academic interests, leadership opportunities, etc.) that you are eager to pursue as an undergraduate at Indiana University. If you encountered any unusual circumstances, challenges, or obstacles in pursuit of your education, share those experiences and how you overcame them. Please note that this essay may be used in scholarship consideration.

University of Illinois

The University of Illinois asks for two essays (or three only if you selected a second-choice major other than what's noted on your application). All responses should be approximately 150 words.

You'll answer two to three prompts as part of your application. The questions you'll answer will depend on whether you're applying to a major or to our undeclared program, and if you've selected a second choice. Each response should be approximately 150 words. If You're Applying to a Major: 1. Explain, in detail, an experience you've had in the past 3 to 4 years related to your first-choice major. This can be an experience from an extracurricular activity, in a class you’ve taken, or through something else. 2. Describe your personal and/or career goals after graduating from UIUC and how your selected first-choice major will help you achieve them. If You're Applying to Our Undeclared Program in the Division of General Studies: 1. What are your academic interests and strengths? You may also include any majors you are considering. 2. What are your future academic or career goals? If You've Selected a Second-Choice Major (Including Undeclared): Please explain your interest in your second-choice major or your overall academic or career goals.

If you're applying to UIUC, check out our UIUC essay tips article as well!

University of Wisconsin–Madison

All applicants must complete two essays for UW–Madison. The essays should be 250-650 words in length and may be used for scholarship and campus program review.

If you apply through the Common Application, you’ll be asked to reply to one of the freshman Common Application essays in lieu of the first essay prompt below, but you’ll be required to respond to the second prompt below.

If you apply through the UW System Application, the following two essays are required:

This part is all about you. Tell us about something you've done — academically or personally — and what you've learned from it. Was it a success or a challenge? Did it represent a turning point in your life? How did this particular moment in your life influence you, and how will it continue to influence you as you pursue your college education?

Tell us why you would like to attend the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In addition, please include why you are interested in studying the major(s) you have selected. If you selected undecided please describe your areas of possible academic interest.

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Kyle Field at Texas A&M ( Ed Schipul /Flickr)

The ApplyTexas application is used by all Texas public universities and some private colleges. There are four ApplyTexas essay prompts. Which ones you need to respond to will depend on where you're applying. UT Austin, for example, requires applicants to submit at least one essay responding to Topic A on the ApplyTexas application. .

While there's no set word limit, the online application will cut off each essay at 120 lines (~1000 words).

Topic A: Tell us your story. What unique opportunities or challenges have you experienced throughout your high school career that have shaped who you are today?

Topic B: Most students have an identity, an interest, or a talent that defines them in an essential way. Tell us about yourself.

Topic C: You've got a ticket in your hand – Where will you go? What will you do? What will happen when you get there?

Topic D: Please Note: The essay in this section is specific to certain college majors and is not required by all colleges/universities that accept the Apply Texas Application. If you are not applying for a major in Architecture, Art, Art History, Design, Studio Art, Visual Art Studies/Art Education , you are not required to write this essay.

Personal interaction with objects, images and spaces can be so powerful as to change the way one thinks about particular issues or topics. For your intended area of study (architecture, art history, design, studio art, visual art studies/art education), describe an experience where instruction in that area or your personal interaction with an object, image or space effected this type of change in your thinking. What did you do to act upon your new thinking and what have you done to prepare yourself for further study in this area?

We go into all the ApplyTexas prompts in detail here !

University of Georgia

For UGA, applicants must write two essays, one 200-300 words and one 250-650 words . Both essays are required for all applicants. The longer personal essay uses the Common Application prompts for 2023 ; the prompt for the shorter essay is as follows:

The c ollege admissions process can create anxiety. In an attempt to make it less stressful, please tell us an interesting or amusing story about yourself from your high school years that you have not already shared in your application.

For a more detailed discussion of the UGA essays, read this article .

The Campanile at UC Berkeley

University of California

Students applying to the UC system must respond to four out of eight short personal insight questions. The maximum word count for each response is 350 words.

Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time.
Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side.
What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?
Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.
Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?
Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom.
What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?
Beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe makes you stand out as a strong candidate for admissions to the University of California?

Learn more about the UC essays , the UC application , and how to choose which UC schools to apply to with our complete guides .

University of Oregon

Applicants to the University of Oregon are required to submit one essay of 650 words or fewer. You also have the option to write a second essay (maximum of 500 words), but it’s not required.

The essay prompts are as follows:

The UO is interested in learning more about you. Write an essay of 650 words or less that shares information that we cannot find elsewhere on your application. Any topic you choose is welcome. Some ideas you might consider include your future ambitions and goals, a special talent, extracurricular activity, or unusual interest that sets you apart from your peers, or a significant experience that influenced your life. If you are applying to the UO's Robert D. Clark Honors College, feel free to resubmit your honors college application essay.

Optional second essay: As you've looked into what it will be like to attend Oregon, you've hopefully learned what makes Ducks Ducks. No two are alike, though, so tell us what makes you you, and how that connects to our campus community. We are interested in your thoughts and experiences recognizing difference and supporting equity and inclusion, and choosing one of these two options will guide you in sharing those thoughts. You can learn more about equity and inclusion at Oregon by visiting the Equity and Inclusion website . Maximum statement length is 500 words. This statement is not required.

University of Washington

In addition to its specific prompts, the University of Washington gives specific advice about what its admissions officers consider to be good writing before the prompts:

"At the UW, we consider the college essay as our opportunity to see the person behind the transcripts and the numbers. Some of the best statements are written as personal stories. In general, concise, straightforward writing is best, and good essays are often 300-400 words in length.

Essay Prompt (Required): Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped shape it. Maximum length: 650 words.

Short Response (Required): Our families and our communities often define us and our individual worlds. Community might refer to your cultural group, extended family, religious group, neighborhood or school, sports team or club, co-workers, etc. Describe the world you come from and how you, as a product of it, might add to the diversity of the UW. Maximum length: 300 words

You can also find more tips on the University of Washington essays in this blog article .

International

Generally speaking, international schools are less likely to ask for an essay, since admission tends to be heavily focused on grades and test results. However, a few popular international schools do ask for a personal statement as part of their application.

Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UK Schools)

UCAS is a general application for UK schools (similar to the Common App in the US). There's no specific prompt for the personal statement—instead, applicants are required to write an essay describing what they want to study, why they want to study it, and what they bring to the table. There is a 4,000-character/47-line limit.

University of British Columbia

UBC asks applicants to fill out a personal profile consisting of five to seven short-answer questions that vary depending on the program you're applying to. Answers should be 50-200 words.

Depending on which degree program you apply to, you’ll be asked to answer some or all of the following questions on the UBC application:

Tell us about who you are. How would your family, friends, and/or members of your community describe you? If possible, please include something about yourself that you are most proud of and why.
What is important to you? And why?
Family/community responsibilities
Creative or performing arts
Work/employment
Service to others
Tell us more about one or two activities listed above that are most important to you. Please explain the role you played and what you learned in the process. You will be asked for a reference who can speak to your response.
Additional information: You may wish to use the space below to provide UBC with more information on your academic history to date and/or your future academic plans. For example: How did you choose your courses in secondary school? Are there life circumstances that have affected your academic decisions to date? What have you done to prepare yourself specifically for your intended area of study at UBC?
Please submit the names of two referees who know you well and can comment on your preparedness for study at UBC. Examples of referees include an employer, a community member, a coach, a teacher/instructor, or anyone who knows you well. One of the referees you select must be able to speak to one of the activities/experiences described in one of your long-answer responses above. For applicants who are currently attending a high school, one of your referees must be a school official (e.g., Grade 12 or senior year counsellor, teacher, or IB coordinator). Neither referee should be a friend, family member, or paid agent.

Some programs of study may ask applicants to respond to the questions above and some additional, program-specific questions when completing the personal profile.

University of Cambridge

Optional Essays

Some schools don't require an essay from all applicants but do recommend or require an essay for certain programs. I've listed a selection of those prompts below.

Arizona State University

Students applying to the Barrett Honors College at ASU must submit one essay of 300 to 500 words in response to one of the following prompts (your response may be critical or creative):

Prompt 1 Discuss how a specific piece of art (painting, literature, photograph, etc.) or popular culture (song, comic book, etc.) helped you realize something new about yourself or the world. What was that realization, and how did the piece of art or pop culture bring about this change in your thinking? Do not simply describe the piece of art or pop culture; instead, focus on its effect on you and how it makes you a good fit for the Barrett Honors College experience. Prompt 2 Tell us about a habit or way of thinking that others would recognize as “uniquely you.” This is something you value and would hesitate to give up because it is a distinct part of who you are or what makes you different - why is it so? Be sure to share how this aspect of your identity makes you a good fit for the Barrett Honors College experience.

City University of New York

Applicants to Macaulay Honors College must write two essays: an “about you” essay, and an essay describing your plans for college. Each response should be around 500 words, give or take a few within reason.

Essay 1: About you. (Select one of the options below.) Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. OR Tell us about an area or activity, outside of academics, in which you have invested a lot of time and effort. Tell us why. What did you learn? How was it meaningful?

Essay 2: About your plans for college. Please discuss all points below. Why do you want to go to an honors college ? There are many benefits of being a Macaulay student, such as the Macaulay community, special courses, Honors advisement, cultural passport, opportunities funds, and other financial benefits. Please describe how these features will shape you and your college experience, including, what you expect to bring to the college community and what you expect to get out of your college experience.

Florida International University

Only applicants who don't meet the criteria for automatic admissions and whose applications undergo holistic review will need to submit a 500-word essay:

Students requesting appeal or additional review of their admission status must submit a written statement including:

Your goals and educational or professional objectives

A summary/explanation of past academic performance

Information and/or circumstances that may have affected past academic performance

Any other information the student wishes to have considered

Ohio University

For the Ohio University application, students who've been out of school for more than a year must submit an essay explaining what they've done in their time off from school.

Applicants who have been out of high school for more than one year must submit an essay detailing activities since graduation.

Additionally, applicants to the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism are encouraged, though not required, to submit an essay detailing how they want to help shape the future of journalism.

For all other applicants, submitting an essay here is optional; however, if you do wish to write an essay, the application suggests that you describe any academic challenges you’ve faced, academic and career objectives, or involvement in community affairs (recommended length is 250-500 words).

Those interested in Ohio University's OHIO Honors Program (including the Cutler Scholars Program) are required to answer the following essay prompt (limit 250 words):

Students in the OHIO Honors Program represent all majors on campus and take engaging honors courses while applying what they learn outside of the classroom. Students choose from classes and experiences across three pathways: community engagement, research and creative activity, and leadership . Students in OHP can move among the three pathways as their interests evolve and they develop their goals. What pathway is most exciting to you right now, and why?

Finally, those interested in the Honors Tutorial College are must answer the following two essay prompts (in about 500 words each):

HTC Question 1: Please explain why you have chosen your particular program(s) of study.

HTC Question 2: We expect that one reason you seek a tutorial education is for the one-on-one interaction with faculty, but other than that, what interests you about pursuing a tutorial-based undergraduate education? What aspects of your education and life experience have prepared you for a tutorial education with its emphasis on research and creative activity?

Type 1: Questions About a Meaningful Experience

This type of college essay question is the most common. The exact focus of these prompts can vary quite a bit, but they all ask you to reflect on an important experience. Some questions specify a type of experience whereas others don't, simply opting to have applicants write about whatever matters to them.

There are three basic sub-types that you'll see when dealing with these prompts. Let's look at an example of each.

#1: Overcoming a Challenge

These prompts ask about how you dealt with a particular challenge or solved a problem. Below is a typical example of this question type from the MIT application:

Tell us about the most significant challenge you've faced or something important that didn't go according to plan. How did you manage the situation?

To address a question like this, you need a topic that has real stakes —that is, something that you genuinely struggled with. Even though it can seem as though you should only discuss positive experiences and feelings in your college essay (you want to impress your readers with how awesome you are!), unwavering positivity actually hurts your essay because it makes you seem fake.

Instead, be honest : if you're writing about a negative experience, acknowledge that it was unpleasant or hard and explain why. Doing so will just make your overcoming it that much more impressive.

#2: Engaging With Diversity

Questions about diversity ask how you interact with those who are different from you . See an example below from the Common Application:

When approaching this type of question, you need to show that you're thoughtful about new ideas and perspectives. Colleges are full of students from all kinds of backgrounds, and admissions officers want to know that you'll be accepting of the diversity of other students, even if you don't necessarily agree with them.

Also, make sure to pick a specific instance to focus on. Writing a general essay about how you accept others won't impress admissions officers—you need to show them an example of a time that you did so.

#3: Growing Up

Finally, this type of prompt asks about a transitional experience or rite of passage that made you feel like an adult. I've reprinted another example from the Common App:

For these types of prompts, you want to show personal growth. Explain to the reader not just who you are but also how you've changed . (Really, this is a good idea no matter which prompt you're addressing!)

College can be challenging, so admissions officers want to know that you have the maturity to deal with (likely) living on your own, managing your own life, and planning for your future.

Regardless of the exact prompt, the key to this type of college essay is to show what you've learned from the experience. Admissions officers don't care that much about what happened to you—they care about what you think and feel about that event. That's what will give them a sense of who you are and what kind of college student you'll make.

Make a Chart of All the Essays You Need to Write

Depending on how many schools you're applying to and what their requirements are, you might have to respond to 10 or more college essay prompts. Therefore, you'll want to make sure that you're organized about what needs to get done.

I recommend creating a chart with the school, its deadline, and its essay's word count in one column, and the prompt(s) in the other . Then, prioritize your essays by deadline and preference. In other words, focus first on essays for the schools with the earliest deadlines and the ones you're most excited about.

You'll also want to consider whether you truly need to write a different essay for each school. If the prompts are similar enough, you might be able to reuse essays for more than one college. I'll go over how to make these calls in more depth below.

When Writing Multiple Essays for One School, Use Different Topics

You probably noticed that many of the schools listed above ask for more than one essay. When completing one of these applications, make sure your essays aren't repetitive. You want to take the opportunity to give admissions officers as fleshed out a sense of who you are as you can, so pick topics that show different sides of your personality.

For example, let's consider a student who's hoping to become an engineer. If she writes her first essay about competing in a science fair, she'll want to focus on something slightly different for her second essay—perhaps an unexpected interest, such as figure skating, or a time that she used her scientific skills to solve an unscientific problem.

Be Careful About Reusing Essays

A common question students have is whether you can just write one essay and submit it to every school. The answer is, unfortunately, no. As you can see, college essay questions differ enough that there's no way you could use the same essay for every single one (not to mention the fact that many schools require two or more essays anyway!).

However, it does sometimes work to reuse an essay for more than one school. The key is that the prompts have to be asking about basically the same type of thing.

For example, you could use the same essay for two prompts that both ask about a time you solved a problem, but you probably wouldn't want to use the same essay for one prompt that asks about a problem you solved and one that asks about a time you interacted with someone different from yourself.

You can also reuse an essay by submitting an essay originally written for a specific prompt for a more general prompt as well. For example, you could submit your ApplyTexas topic A app (how your family, home, neighborhood, or community shaped you as a person) for the Coalition essay prompt (the one about a meaningful story from your life and what you learned). In that case, you might want to tweak the essay slightly to address the question of what you learned more explicitly, but you could likely use the same personal statement with minimal changes.

The other reason this instance of essay recycling works is because the ApplyTexas and Coalition applications have compatible word limits. In general, you can't reuse a 600-word essay for a prompt with a 250-word limit. Why? Because by the time you've cut out that many words, you'll usually be left with something that either doesn't make much sense or that doesn't show much about you (since you've only left enough of the story to explain what happened).

Although, technically, you could use a short essay (200-300 words) for an application with a higher word limit (say, 500-650 words), I strongly advise against doing this. If you have the space to tell a more in-depth story and explain your perspective and feelings in more detail, you should take it.

Reusing a much shorter essay out of laziness is a waste of an important opportunity to impress the admissions committee. (You can, however, write a longer essay on the same topic.)

Ultimately, whether you can use a recycled essay for a given prompt will depend on the specific prompts involved and your chosen topic. However, I've outlined some general guidelines below.

Once you write a first draft, put it in a drawer for a week. Taking some time away from it will allow you to come back to it with fresh eyes. Then, try to read your essay from the perspective of someone who knows nothing about you. Would they be able to understand the story? Do you explain clearly what you learned? Does your intro grab the reader's attention?

It can also be helpful to ask someone you trust, such as a parent, teacher, or peer, to read your essay and give you feedback. Really listen to what they say and think about how you can improve your writing.

Finally, try reading your essay aloud. This will help you catch any weird or awkward phrasings.

What's Next?

If you're struggling with how to approach your personal statement, consider looking at some college essay examples .

The essay is just one part of the college application process. Check out our guide to applying to college for a step-by-step breakdown of what you'll need to do.

Finally, if you're planning to take the SAT or ACT , consider taking a look at our expert test-prep guides for some helpful advice on whatever you might be struggling with.

Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Alex is an experienced tutor and writer. Over the past five years, she has worked with almost a hundred students and written about pop culture for a wide range of publications. She graduated with honors from University of Chicago, receiving a BA in English and Anthropology, and then went on to earn an MA at NYU in Cultural Reporting and Criticism. In high school, she was a National Merit Scholar, took 12 AP tests and scored 99 percentile scores on the SAT and ACT.

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19 College Essay Topics and Prompts

Not sure what to write for your college essay? We've got you covered with a number of topics and prompts to help shape your unique story.

[Featured image] A woman works on her college essay with a pen, notebook, and laptop computer.

As part of your college application materials, you'll likely be asked to submit a college essay. These tend to be between 250 and 650 words , and are a unique opportunity to showcase your personality. Admissions panels are typically looking for students who will positively represent the school as a whole. In the end, your goal is to show them that you and the college are a good match.

When drafting your college essay, you may be expected to answer a prompt or come up with a topic on your own. In this article, we've rounded up several ideas to get you thinking—and writing.

19 college essay topics

Each school sets different requirements around the college essay, so it's important to review the expectations around every application you intend to submit. Some give you creative freedom, while others expect you to respond to a pre-developed prompt. Either way, a strong college essay conveys to the admissions team who you are, why you want to attend that particular school, and what matters to you. It's a way to personalize an application that often focuses on quantitative data, such as GPA and SAT scores.

If you're given the creative freedom to write about whatever you want, consider a college essay topic that allows you to be honest and original. We've compiled the following ideas to help you brainstorm:

What's an important issue you care about? How have you gotten involved?

Have you changed your mind about something in recent years? What was it and why?

What's a situation that caused you to grow?

Explain a time when you failed. What did you learn from that moment?

Share a surprising pastime or hobby and what interested you about it.

What extracurricular activity are you involved in that speaks to your personality?

Detail a meaningful volunteer experience.

Dive into a meaningful travel experience.

Who do you most admire and why?

If you have a unique background, share a bit about it. How did you get where you are?

What's the best advice you've ever received?

Was there ever a time when you had to stand up for something—or someone?

What's something you might change about the world to make it better?

What do you hope to accomplish by attending college?

Is there something you want to do after graduating college?

Have you ever made or created something? Talk about it.

Do you have a big idea that could potentially impact your community?

What is most valuable to you? Dive into your values and share an example.

What are you most passionate about? Why?

Pre-developed college essay prompts

Some colleges and universities will give you a series of prompts to choose from. These will vary from school to school, and can either be questions or statements. Here are a few examples of both.

Sample question prompts:

What excites your intellectual curiosity?

How has your upbringing shaped the person you are today?

Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

Sample statement prompts:

Talk about an unusual circumstance in your life

Share how you hope to use your college education

Discuss a list of books you have read in the last year

Common App essay prompts

Common App is an online platform designed to simplify the college application process. Over 900 colleges use Common App, making it possible for you to fill out one application that's then submitted to multiple schools.

If you choose to complete the Common App, you'll have a choice of several distinctive prompts that change every academic year. Here's a sample of the 2022-2023 essay prompts [ 1 ]:

Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?

Stick to the prompt.

No matter what type of prompt you receive, it's your job to stick to it. The admissions team has a lot of essays to read, so you'll have a better chance of standing out if you develop a cohesive response that stays on topic.

Start by identifying the prompt's main topic, then spend some time brainstorming to find the idea that resonates most with you. For many people, it's the topic that makes them feel some sort of emotion or reminds them of an entertaining story. Understanding what you're being asked to write about should make staying on topic throughout the entire composition easier.

5 additional college essay tips

Once you decide what you'd like to write, follow the tips below to craft a standout essay. You can also find more advice about college essays in our article College Essay Format: Writing and Editing Tips .

1. Be considerate with humor.

Showing off your sense of humor lets your personality show through your words and can make reading the essay more entertaining. Try including a few sentences that you think will bring a smile to the reader's face, or use adjectives to insert some colorful comedy.

2. Offer insight.

Beyond recounting an event, experience, or memory, a great essay shows insight aka an ability to highlight meaningful takeaways. For example, if you choose to write about your unique hobby, try to discuss what you've learned from that pastime—or how you've grown as a result of it.

3. Add details

Great essays also invite the reader to connect with the story on an emotional level. With that in mind, it can help to recount a specific memory rather than answer a prompt without those colorful details. More than discussing something on a surface level—or vaguely—you want to provide enough particulars to keep your readers engaged. For example, if you choose to write about the best advice you ever received, set the scene and take the reader back to that moment.

4. Have an editor.

Your essay should ideally be error-free. Ask a trusted friend or family member to review your essay and suggest edits. An editor can help you catch grammatical errors or points out ways to better develop your response.

Avoid passing your paper along to too many people, though, so you don't lose your own voice amid all of the edits and suggestions. The admissions team wants to get to know you through your writing and not your sister or best friend who edited your paper.

5. Revise your essay.

Your first draft is just that: a draft. Give yourself plenty of time to read and revise your first pass and make sure you fully developed your response, stayed on topic, and shared your personality.

When revising your essay, you may find it helpful to read it aloud so you hear the words as you're saying them. Some people prefer to print a copy on paper and write notes by hand. Both options give your brain a new way to process the information to catch details you may miss if you keep everything in your head and on the computer.

Watch to find out why the essay many admission counselor's favorite part of the application:

Next steps: Apply with confidence

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Article sources

Common App. " First-year essay prompts , https://www.commonapp.org/apply/essay-prompts." Accessed February 8, 2023.

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Introducing the Harding Project: Renewing Professional Military Writing

Zachary Griffiths and Theo Lipsky | 09.05.23

In 1934, the US Army was racing to transform quickly enough to win the next war. Knowing successful modernization would require the full ingenuity of the service, Major General Edward Croft, the chief of infantry, sought to revive the flagging Infantry Journal . He hoped doing so might solicit from the Army’s wide base of talent—with all of the experiences, interests, and professional education within it—the ideas needed to modernize well. To pull off the revival, he named Major Edwin “Forrest” Harding as editor.

Croft picked his man well. Harding had a literary mind. When they served together in China a decade before, a young George Marshall had nicknamed Harding the “poet laureate” of the 15th Infantry Regiment. Harding’s literary talents paid off as Infantry Journal editor. In four short years he more than doubled the journal’s circulation, and kicked off a revolution in Army writing.

And the United States is lucky he did.

Under Harding, the Infantry Journal fostered critical debates over changing tactics and technology before America joined World War II. Soldiers hashed out the best use of the rapidly developing tank and means of combining arms.

Today, once again, the Army again finds itself in an interwar period, seeking to modernize before the next war. And today, once again, it needs the input of the entire Army to succeed in doing so. To that end, the Army’s journals again require renewal.

While Military Review —the professional journal of the US Army—has modernized into a web-first, mobile-friendly platform supported by social media, other professional bulletins have missed this transition. Branch magazines, in particular, should be the venue for discussion of branch issues and should be associated with the branches’ centers of excellence. But they now publish less content, less often, and more erratically than ever before . These publications are also distant from the forces they serve, employing no uniformed editors and having only weak connections with authors.

The Harding Project is a grassroots effort to organize those interested in renewing professional publications, inform that community, and solicit their ideas. We are proud to partner with the Modern War Institute on this effort. MWI has led the modern professional publication renewal today as Harding did with the Infantry Journal in the 1930s.

Over the next year, the Harding Project will advocate for four specific actions to renew the US Army’s journals: (1) updating policy to encourage modernization, (2) educating the force on the professional publication landscape, (3) improving archive accessibility, and (4) empowering volunteer editors.

The Five Functions of Professional Writing

Two interwar cases—one leading up to World War II, when Harding revitalized the Infantry Journal , and the second following the Vietnam War—highlight the five important purposes of the Army’s professional journals. First, leaders can inform the force. After Vietnam, the Army found itself transitioning from a low-intensity conflict to a period in which it sought to enhance its readiness for a major war with a peer adversary. Gen. Donald Starry published an article in Military Review , “ Extending the Battlefield ,” that reflected his observations from the Yom Kippur War and foreshadowed the publication of a new Army operating concept, AirLand Battle. With the Army now in a similar position—preparing for large-scale combat operations after nearly two decades of counterinsurgency and stability operations, and looking for lessons in conflicts like the ongoing war in Ukraine—professional journals offer the same opportunity today.

Second, articles can help connect communities of interest. The Infantry Journal certainly did this, publishing articles in the interwar years like “Tank Divisions” and “Infantry Caterpillar Club” that connected American military thinkers with one another and fostered shared understanding of emerging ideas. It even tied in the work of foreign officers, exposing US Army readers to ideas taking shape outside the country— Heinz Guderian ’s article, “Armored Forces,” was published in a 1937 issue.

Third, journals can serve as an outlet for ideas that may not find support from their originators’ local chains of command. The Infantry Journal ’s use of pen names provided an outlet for individuals like “Captain Tenderhide,” who complained about woolen Army shirts, or “Private Heelclicker,” who skewered officers that failed to return salutes. But more broadly, the journal provided a venue for ideas to be shared outside of the rigidly hierarchical silos characteristic of military organizations.

Fourth, archived professional journals serve as a repository of earlier thinking that can be repurposed for contemporary challenges . This is an invaluable resource for a force in transition—like the US Army in the wake of the Vietnam War and today’s Army after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And finally, the act of writing and editing builds written communication skills so necessary for leadership. Unfortunately, today’s professional writing landscape needs renewal before these five functions can be fully realized.

The Need for Renewal

The Army’s professional military publications need renewal . From 1982 to 2020 , four branch magazines published fewer issues and fewer pages, more erratically, each year. The Army’s professional outlets also publish in outdated formats. While outlets like Military Review have modernized, professional publications largely publish as downloadable PDFs that are incompatible with today’s web-first and mobile world. These downloadable PDFs also make the Army’s archives relatively inaccessible. Those searching for historical documents must rely on topic guides or scrub complete back issues to find information of interest. The decline in content and inaccessibility may be related to the distance between the field and the press. Over the same time period, military editorial staff declined to zero officers working at branch magazines, with just one at Military Review .

This distance between editors and the troops in the field may also contribute to weak engagement on social media, in scholarly work, and with authors. As a social media example, MWI’s more than seventy thousand Twitter followers are nearly ten times the total of Army University Press. On the scholarly side, a forthcoming Harding Project research brief demonstrates that military authors cited professional military writing only 254 times in a sample of 9,014 citations. The lack of social media and scholarly engagement suggest the Army’s publications are not currently reaching their audiences.

Furthermore, the authors contributing to these publications overwhelmingly fail to reflect the diversity of the Army. When the body of officers engaging in professional writing in these outlets is more white and more male than both the Army and the country, the discussions taking place in their pages can hardly be described as representative of the force. These missing perspectives, combined with weak engagement with the field may send eyeballs elsewhere, to non-branch-specific outlets, like MWI, or even to those published entirely outside the military, like War on the Rocks .

The Harding Project Platform

With a modest investment, the Army’s professional journals can be renewed for the modern information environment. The Harding Project advocates for four steps toward renewal.

1. Perfect the policy .

The first step in renewing the Army’s professional publications is to update the Army’s publication policy to support the transition to web-first, mobile-friendly platforms with robust social media support. Outlets like the Modern War Institute embody this approach.

Currently, Army Pamphlet 25-40 and associated policy documents implicitly assume that the “publishing program” they govern takes the printed form, specifying the “cover paper stock,” prohibiting “full-page reversals” and “full-page screening,” and requiring the inclusion of certain information on the cover. While the policy does include a mechanism to request exceptions to professional bulletin standards, the requests must flow from the editorial team, through commanders of the Army command, to the director of the Army Publishing Directorate. No professional bulletin appears to have requested exceptions to policy.

Better publication policy would explicitly encourage modernization to a web-first, mobile-friendly format. Rather than publishing as thirty-eight-megabyte PDF complete issues , professional bulletins could publish articles with relevant content on a rolling basis. When supported by social media, these articles could directly reach their branches’ soldiers and officers on their phones or work desktop computers.

To further encourage change, the Secretary of the Army Awards for Publications Improvement could focus for the next two years on professional bulletin modernization. This awards program recognizes “military and civilian personnel who have made superior contributions in publications.” The awards program has categories for both editors who produce superior publications and for individuals who “develop, manage, or support a program or effort that improves the activity’s publishing system, process, or program.” By tying criteria for these awards to modernizing professional publications, the Army could further encourage renewal.

Changing the policy as described would mean the end of picking up printed copies of branch magazines laying around the company area, but those days are largely over already. Few or no branch magazines are published in hard copy today—they just retain the format from the days when they were. By modernizing to web-first, mobile-friendly platforms, the Army’s professional bulletins will again reach their audiences.

2. Educate the force .

Evidence suggests that as things stand the profession does not read what it writes. Low engagement on the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS), low citation rates by Army students, and weak social media presence indicates that many soldiers are probably not even aware of the Army’s fifteen professional bulletins and many other publications . On DVIDS (where many branch magazines are published), Infantry , Armor , Engineer , and Field Artillery in 2022 and 2023 averaged only six downloads and 1,287 hits per issue. Likewise, a forthcoming study of 90 Command and General Staff College (CGSC) monographs and 120 issues of Military Review found that less than 3 percent of citations were of professional bulletins or military student monographs. Finally, no professional journal has its own social media and journals are rarely mentioned on associated branch center of excellence accounts.

The value of a publishing culture compounds but only if soldiers read and build on what each other write. To this end, the Army could adopt several policies. One would be the publication of an annual anthology of each year’s best articles, and the incorporation of that anthology in professional military education (PME) curricula. Another such policy would be mandating the citation of just one professional article per written assignment. Another would be to award noncommissioned officers promotion points for publishing in a professional journal.

None of these suggested policies is a silver bullet and not every soldier in the Army will write, but it is clearly in the Army’s interest for all of them to know that these resources exist, and to program into institutional development exposure to the Army’s publishing ecosystem.

3. Improve the archives .

The Army could gain more from its professional publications. Any student of Socrates or veteran of a good seminar knows that ideas best develop in dialogue with others. But because most Army publications have no indexed archives, every article currently run in an Army publication is more like a shout in a void than a contribution to a conversation.

To more rapidly find solutions to the Army’s tough challenges, the Army should transition archives from the issue-level to the article-level and improve metadata to ease the use of research tools like Zotero .

Today, the Army largely archives professional journals by complete, scanned issue in single PDF files. Unfortunately, issue-level archives challenge students and researchers interested in specific topics rather than what was published at a specific time . In recognition of this challenge, the Army maintains guides to accessing our information. As examples, Infantry maintains a 216-page subject-author index and the Army Heritage Center Foundation hosts dozens of research bibliographies. Issue-level archives make it difficult for action officers or students to access the Army’s rich history of intellectual engagement with important subjects.

Consider recruiting. Recruiting is a continuous process for the Army and a rich subject of professional writing, yet accessing previous writings on the subject is difficult. Notably, Infantry ’s index includes only four articles relating to recruiting, while the Army Heritage Center Foundation’s website does not include a bibliography focused on recruiting issues.

Because the Army archives at the issue level, searching is also difficult. A search of Military Review at the Ike Skelton Combined Arms Research Library for “recruiting” returns 218 complete issues . Searchers must then download each of the multi-megabyte PDF files, scour the hundred or more pages of each to find the material on recruiting, decide whether the material is suitable for their research, and then record key information including the bibliographic information for future citation. This is a laborious process.

Transitioning to article-level indexing with improved metadata would allow for rapid screening of each search result. Academia and other professions have already transitioned from archives of paper issues to digital archives of articles, so this transition should not be overly burdensome. One option for hosting articles could be with the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC). While this might require some negotiation, DTIC’s holdings are already indexed by search tools like Google Scholar and include document metadata.

4. Empower volunteer editors .

Volunteer editorial teams could increase the capacity of civilian editorial teams at professional journals, develop a capable cohort of military writers, and better connect professional journals with the force. Extrapolation from a recent survey suggests there could be more than 360 potential volunteer editors for Army journals, many times the number of professional staff. This is important, as military authors have limited connection with overwhelmingly civilian editorial staff.

Professional journals could adopt an editorial format similar to that used by law reviews, with military volunteers augmenting a permanent civilian staff. At the branch level, each center of excellence could recruit and train junior editors from lieutenants in their basic courses with the aptitude and inclination, who could perform basic functions like social media support, screening articles, and copy editing. Centers of excellence could then either promote junior editors into senior editors or recruit new senior editors from those so inclined at career courses. Volunteer editors would thus constantly refresh as new editors are recruited and other volunteers drop off as other commitments require their attention elsewhere. This constant cycle of volunteer editors is a feature that ensures that the professional journals modernize their formats as media continues to evolve, builds a cohort of talented writers, and fosters a continued connection with the issues in the field.

The Approach

Together, the four elements of the Harding Project platform will renew the Army’s professional publications. New policy will modernize outlets. The citation requirement will educate the force on the Army’s publications and create a demand signal for more accessible archives. Then, improved archives will unlock our history for both students and professional military authors who want to build on the work of previous authors. Finally, empowering volunteers will improve outlet capacity to edit, publish, and publicize articles while also building a cohort of talented communicators and connecting journals with the field.

The Harding Project, and the greater reinvestment in professional military writing, will not succeed unless the full complement of Army talent buys in. We invite those passionate about renewing military writing to follow the Harding Project here at MWI, where regular feature pieces will be published, and to subscribe to the Harding Project Substack newsletter. If you’d like to submit an article or post for consideration, please email [email protected] .

The US Army finds itself in an interwar moment of great consequence, but not for the first time. In similar periods in the past, Army leaders such as Major Edwin Harding seized the moment to renew military professional writing. That reinvestment ensured that there was a professional venue for essential debates about doctrine and technology needed to ready for the next war. It is time for the US Army to make such a reinvestment, and the Harding Project represents the beginning of it.

Zachary Griffiths is a major in the United States Army .

Theo Lipsky is a captain in the United States Army.

The views expressed are those of the authors and do not reflect the official position of the United States Military Academy, Department of the Army, or Department of Defense.

Kudos on the effort to reinvigorate the Army's branch journals. Asa very old Retired Soldier, I first read ARMOR IN 1971, fast forward fifty-three years later. I have written articles and book reviews for ARMOR for the past five years. From my experience and that of other Retired Solders, we can contribute much to editorial content of our professional journals. Why not use Army Echoes, the service's retired soldier newsletter, to reach out to and encourage retirees to write for their branch journals. We still have a lot contribute!

Another thought, I believe that the authors over generalized the issue of military vs. civilian editors. After five decades of reading Armor, I found some military editors outstanding,, while others were marginal at best. The two to three year turn-over military editors did little to enhance the quality of that journal. The current civilian editorial team at Armor publishes a first class journal, its articles are thought provoking and invariably contribute to the professional development of Armor officers and non-commissioned officers.

Noble effort MWI team. There are a number of ways that could inspire engagement. To sum them up I would say that the publication has to meet the reader where they are in their learning environment and careers. Some examples include:

1. Creating trivia and or essay writing contests in journals that lead the readers to publications. Thereby having them reference the publication as an individual would in academia. Winners earning a ribbon or award.

2. Make the publishing of an article worth promotion points for the E1-E5 population. Many soldiers lack points in things like military schools, ACFT or awards. Publishing an article in a journal could supplement say 5 points (no more than 15) in the civilian education area. This would help to get more of our thinkers to the front of the promotion lines.

3. Leverage social media influencers to create skits which enforce doctrine or help with recruiting efforts. A simplistic example would be to use people like David Goggins or C.T. Fletcher to help with recruitment. People like Yusha Thomas (ButSarge) and Amuse to create skits about say, fraternization or SHARP while citing the appropriate publications and targeting current issues faced in the military today. Also leverage the Visual Information Specialist, Psychological Operations and those who have obtained education in the graphic arts to create cartooned skits and messages on things like ADP 3.0. to explain what unified land operation are and what they’re designed to do. I know we can afford these people because we pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for NFL advertisements. And what better way to show that we are Soldiers for life than to have those former Soldiers advocating for people to join our ranks as they once did.

4. Inspire all generations to write in PME by creating a Golden Pen Award. Many, if not all, NCOES have some sort of leadership or iron soldier award which is great but we could steal that concept and have the NCOs at all levels compete for a post graduation award for having written and submitting an article that was published in a quarterly journal. The topics could be generated from each of the centers of excellence quarterly creating the criteria. Those who are selected and published could be given an award by the CoE’s commandant or General (NCOES Commandant or QM General).

5. Make it a priority for Senior Raters to state if a SM was published in a military publication AAR the MSC level or above during the rating period. There is no better way to set yourself apart from your peers than to flex your intellect. SM distinguished himself by being published in the second, third, and fourth quarter issues of the HQDA G4 NCO Snapshot. Send to NCO to the next NCOES ahead of peers and assign in positions of greater responsibility as SM losses the intellect to serve at the DIV level and beyond.

Please forgive my spelling and gramatical errors. I was crafting that message from my phone as I was winding down for the night.

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130 New Prompts for Argumentative Writing

Questions on everything from mental health and sports to video games and dating. Which ones inspire you to take a stand?

By The Learning Network

Note: We have an updated version of this list, with 300 new argumentative writing prompts .

What issues do you care most about? What topics do you find yourself discussing passionately, whether online, at the dinner table, in the classroom or with your friends?

In Unit 5 of our free yearlong writing curriculum and related Student Editorial Contest , we invite students to research and write about the issues that matter to them, whether that’s Shakespeare , health care , standardized testing or being messy .

But with so many possibilities, where does one even begin? Try our student writing prompts.

In 2017, we compiled a list of 401 argumentative writing prompts , all drawn from our daily Student Opinion column . Now, we’re rounding up 130 more we’ve published since then ( available here as a PDF ). Each prompt links to a free Times article as well as additional subquestions that can help you think more deeply about it.

You might use this list to inspire your own writing and to find links to reliable resources about the issues that intrigue you. But even if you’re not participating in our contest, you can use these prompts to practice the kind of low-stakes writing that can help you hone your argumentation skills.

So scroll through the list below with questions on everything from sports and mental health to dating and video games and see which ones inspire you to take a stand.

Please note: Many of these prompts are still open to comment by students 13 and up.

Technology & Social Media

1. Do Memes Make the Internet a Better Place? 2. Does Online Public Shaming Prevent Us From Being Able to Grow and Change? 3. How Young Is Too Young to Use Social Media? 4. Should the Adults in Your Life Be Worried by How Much You Use Your Phone? 5. Is Your Phone Love Hurting Your Relationships? 6. Should Kids Be Social Media Influencers? 7. Does Grammar Still Matter in the Age of Twitter? 8. Should Texting While Driving Be Treated Like Drunken Driving? 9. How Do You Think Technology Affects Dating?

10. Are Straight A’s Always a Good Thing? 11. Should Schools Teach You How to Be Happy? 12. How Do You Think American Education Could Be Improved? 13. Should Schools Test Their Students for Nicotine and Drug Use? 14. Can Social Media Be a Tool for Learning and Growth in Schools? 15. Should Facial Recognition Technology Be Used in Schools? 16. Should Your School Day Start Later? 17. How Should Senior Year in High School Be Spent? 18. Should Teachers Be Armed With Guns? 19. Is School a Place for Self-Expression? 20. Should Students Be Punished for Not Having Lunch Money? 21. Is Live-Streaming Classrooms a Good Idea? 22. Should Gifted and Talented Education Be Eliminated? 23. What Are the Most Important Things Students Should Learn in School? 24. Should Schools Be Allowed to Censor Student Newspapers? 25. Do You Feel Your School and Teachers Welcome Both Conservative and Liberal Points of View? 26. Should Teachers and Professors Ban Student Use of Laptops in Class? 27. Should Schools Teach About Climate Change? 28. Should All Schools Offer Music Programs? 29. Does Your School Need More Money? 30. Should All Schools Teach Cursive? 31. What Role Should Textbooks Play in Education? 32. Do Kids Need Recess?

College & Career

33. What Is Your Reaction to the College Admissions Cheating Scandal? 34. Is the College Admissions Process Fair? 35. Should Everyone Go to College? 36. Should College Be Free? 37. Are Lavish Amenities on College Campuses Useful or Frivolous? 38. Should ‘Despised Dissenters’ Be Allowed to Speak on College Campuses? 39. How Should the Problem of Sexual Assault on Campuses Be Addressed? 40. Should Fraternities Be Abolished? 41. Is Student Debt Worth It?

Mental & Physical Health

42. Should Students Get Mental Health Days Off From School? 43. Is Struggle Essential to Happiness? 44. Does Every Country Need a ‘Loneliness Minister’? 45. Should Schools Teach Mindfulness? 46. Should All Children Be Vaccinated? 47. What Do You Think About Vegetarianism? 48. Do We Worry Too Much About Germs? 49. What Advice Should Parents and Counselors Give Teenagers About Sexting? 50. Do You Think Porn Influences the Way Teenagers Think About Sex?

Race & Gender

51. How Should Parents Teach Their Children About Race and Racism? 52. Is America ‘Backsliding’ on Race? 53. Should All Americans Receive Anti-Bias Education? 54. Should All Companies Require Anti-Bias Training for Employees? 55. Should Columbus Day Be Replaced With Indigenous Peoples Day? 56. Is Fear of ‘The Other’ Poisoning Public Life? 57. Should the Boy Scouts Be Coed? 58. What Is Hard About Being a Boy?

59. Can You Separate Art From the Artist? 60. Are There Subjects That Should Be Off-Limits to Artists, or to Certain Artists in Particular? 61. Should Art Come With Trigger Warnings? 62. Should Graffiti Be Protected? 63. Is the Digital Era Improving or Ruining the Experience of Art? 64. Are Museums Still Important in the Digital Age? 65. In the Age of Digital Streaming, Are Movie Theaters Still Relevant? 66. Is Hollywood Becoming More Diverse? 67. What Stereotypical Characters Make You Cringe? 68. Do We Need More Female Superheroes? 69. Do Video Games Deserve the Bad Rap They Often Get? 70. Should Musicians Be Allowed to Copy or Borrow From Other Artists? 71. Is Listening to a Book Just as Good as Reading It? 72. Is There Any Benefit to Reading Books You Hate?

73. Should Girls and Boys Sports Teams Compete in the Same League? 74. Should College Athletes Be Paid? 75. Are Youth Sports Too Competitive? 76. Is It Selfish to Pursue Risky Sports Like Extreme Mountain Climbing? 77. How Should We Punish Sports Cheaters? 78. Should Technology in Sports Be Limited? 79. Should Blowouts Be Allowed in Youth Sports? 80. Is It Offensive for Sports Teams and Their Fans to Use Native American Names, Imagery and Gestures?

81. Is It Wrong to Focus on Animal Welfare When Humans Are Suffering? 82. Should Extinct Animals Be Resurrected? If So, Which Ones? 83. Are Emotional-Support Animals a Scam? 84. Is Animal Testing Ever Justified? 85. Should We Be Concerned With Where We Get Our Pets? 86. Is This Exhibit Animal Cruelty or Art?

Parenting & Childhood

87. Who Should Decide Whether a Teenager Can Get a Tattoo or Piercing? 88. Is It Harder to Grow Up in the 21st Century Than It Was in the Past? 89. Should Parents Track Their Teenager’s Location? 90. Is Childhood Today Over-Supervised? 91. How Should Parents Talk to Their Children About Drugs? 92. What Should We Call Your Generation? 93. Do Other People Care Too Much About Your Post-High School Plans? 94. Do Parents Ever Cross a Line by Helping Too Much With Schoolwork? 95. What’s the Best Way to Discipline Children? 96. What Are Your Thoughts on ‘Snowplow Parents’? 97. Should Stay-at-Home Parents Be Paid? 98. When Do You Become an Adult?

Ethics & Morality

99. Why Do Bystanders Sometimes Fail to Help When They See Someone in Danger? 100. Is It Ethical to Create Genetically Edited Humans? 101. Should Reporters Ever Help the People They Are Covering? 102. Is It O.K. to Use Family Connections to Get a Job? 103. Is $1 Billion Too Much Money for Any One Person to Have? 104. Are We Being Bad Citizens If We Don’t Keep Up With the News? 105. Should Prisons Offer Incarcerated People Education Opportunities? 106. Should Law Enforcement Be Able to Use DNA Data From Genealogy Websites for Criminal Investigations? 107. Should We Treat Robots Like People?

Government & Politics

108. Does the United States Owe Reparations to the Descendants of Enslaved People? 109. Do You Think It Is Important for Teenagers to Participate in Political Activism? 110. Should the Voting Age Be Lowered to 16? 111. What Should Lawmakers Do About Guns and Gun Violence? 112. Should Confederate Statues Be Removed or Remain in Place? 113. Does the U.S. Constitution Need an Equal Rights Amendment? 114. Should National Monuments Be Protected by the Government? 115. Should Free Speech Protections Include Self Expression That Discriminates? 116. How Important Is Freedom of the Press? 117. Should Ex-Felons Have the Right to Vote? 118. Should Marijuana Be Legal? 119. Should the United States Abolish Daylight Saving Time? 120. Should We Abolish the Death Penalty? 121. Should the U.S. Ban Military-Style Semiautomatic Weapons? 122. Should the U.S. Get Rid of the Electoral College? 123. What Do You Think of President Trump’s Use of Twitter? 124. Should Celebrities Weigh In on Politics? 125. Why Is It Important for People With Different Political Beliefs to Talk to Each Other?

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Grand Valley State University | GVSU’s 2023-24 Essay Prompts

Overcoming challenges essay.

Describe your educational achievements in the face of any challenging social, economic, or cultural circumstances that you have encountered: (please attach a separate sheet if necessary)

Societal Problem Essay

Describe a challenging problem facing society today. Explain why you believe it is a problem. What responsibility do individuals have in helping to solve the problem and why? (please attach a separate sheet if necessary)

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How to Write the Harvard University Essays 2023-2024

Harvard University, perhaps the most prestigious and well-known institution in the world, is the nation’s oldest higher learning establishment with a founding date of 1636. Boasting an impressive alumni network from Sheryl Sandberg to Al Gore, it’s no surprise that Harvard recruits some of the top talents in the world.

It’s no wonder that students are often intimidated by Harvard’s extremely open-ended supplemental essays. However, CollegeVine is here to help and offer our guide on how to tackle Harvard’s supplemental essays.

Read this Harvard essay example to inspire your own writing.

How to Write the Harvard University Supplemental Essays

Prompt 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? (200 words)

Prompt 2: Briefly describe an intellectual experience that was important to you. (200 words)

Prompt 3: Briefly describe any of your extracurricular activities, employment experience, travel, or family responsibilities that have shaped who you are. (200 words)

Prompt 4: How do you hope to use your Harvard education in the future? (200 words)

Prompt 5: Top 3 things your roommates might like to know about you. (200 words)

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? (200 words)

Brainstorming Your Topic

This prompt is a great example of the classic diversity supplemental essay . That means that, as you prepare to write your response, the first thing you need to do is focus in on some aspect of your identity, upbringing, or personality that makes you different from other people.

As you start brainstorming, do remember that the way colleges factor race into their admissions processes will be different this year, after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in June. Colleges can still consider race on an individual level, however, so if you would like to write your response about how your racial identity has impacted you, you are welcome to do so.

If race doesn’t seem like the right topic for you, however, keep in mind that there are many other things that can make us different, not just race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and the other aspects of our identities that people normally think of when they hear the word “diversity.” That’s not to say that you can’t write about those things, of course. But don’t worry if you don’t feel like those things have played a significant role in shaping your worldview. Here are some examples of other topics that could support a strong essay:

Moving to several different cities because of your parents’ jobs
An usual hobby, like playing the accordion or making your own jewelry
Knowing a lot about a niche topic, like Scottish castles

The only questions you really need to ask yourself when picking a topic are “Does this thing set me apart from other people?” and “Will knowing this thing about me give someone a better sense of who I am overall?” As long as you can answer “yes” to both of those questions, you’ve found your topic!

Tips for Writing Your Essay

Once you’ve selected a topic, the question becomes how you’re going to write about that topic in a way that helps Harvard admissions officers better understand how you’re going to contribute to their campus community. To do that, you want to connect your topic to some broader feature of your personality, or to a meaningful lesson you learned, that speaks to your potential as a Harvard student.

For example, perhaps your interest in Scottish castles has given you an appreciation for the strength of the human spirit, as the Scots were able to persevere and build these structures even in incredibly remote, cold parts of the country. Alternatively, maybe being half Puerto Rican, but not speaking Spanish, has taught you about the power of family, as you have strong relationships even with relatives you can’t communicate with verbally.

Remember that, like with any college essay, you want to rely on specific anecdotes and experiences to illustrate the points you’re making. To understand why, compare the following two excerpts from hypothetical essays.

Example 1: “Even though I can’t speak Spanish, and some of my relatives can’t speak English, whenever I visit my family in Puerto Rico I know it’s a place where I belong. The island is beautiful, and I especially love going to the annual party at my uncle’s house.”

Example 2: “The smell of the ‘lechón,’ or suckling pig greets me as soon as I enter my uncle’s home, even before everyone rushes in from the porch to welcome me in rapid-fire Spanish. At best, I understand one in every ten words, but my aunt’s hot pink glasses, the Caribbean Sea visible through the living room window, and of course, the smell of roasting pork, tell me, wordlessly yet undeniably, that I’m home.”

Think about how much better we understand this student after Example 2. If a few words were swapped out, Example 1 could’ve been written by anyone, whereas Example 2 paints us a clear picture of how this student’s Puerto Rican heritage has tangibly impacted their life.

Mistakes to Avoid

The biggest challenge with this particular “Diversity” essay is the word count. Because you only have 200 words to work with, you don’t have space to include more than one broader takeaway you’ve learned from this aspect of your identity.

Of course, people are complicated, and you’ve likely learned many things from being Puerto Rican, or from being interested in Scottish castles. But for the sake of cohesion, focus on just one lesson. Otherwise your essay may end up feeling like a bullet-point list of Hallmark card messages, rather than a thoughtful, personal, reflective piece of writing.

The other thing you want to avoid is writing an essay that’s just about your topic. Particularly since you’re going to be writing about an aspect of your identity that’s important to you, you’ll likely have a lot to say just about that. If you aren’t careful, you may burn through all 200 words without getting to the broader significance of what this piece of your personality says about who you are as a whole.

That component, however, is really the key to a strong response. Harvard receives over 40,000 applications a year, which means that, whether you write about being Puerto Rican or Scottish castles, it’s likely someone else is writing about something similar.

That doesn’t mean you need to agonize over picking something absolutely nobody else is writing about, as that’s practically impossible. All it means is that you need to be clear about how this aspect of your identity has shaped you as a whole, as that is how your essay will stand out from others with similar topics.

Briefly describe an intellectual experience that was important to you. (200 words)

Harvard admissions officers are being considerate here, as they’re telling you explicitly what they would like you to write about. Of course, there are still nuances to the prompt, but in terms of brainstorming, just ask yourself: What is an intellectual experience that’s been important to me?

Keep in mind that “intellectual” doesn’t necessarily mean “academic.” You absolutely can write a great response about a paper, project, or some other experience you had through school. But you could also write about attending a performance by the Berlin Philharmonic, or about a book you read for fun that made a big impact on you. So long as the experience was intellectually stimulating, you can write a strong essay about it.

Once you’ve picked an experience, the key is to describe it in a way that shows Harvard admissions officers how this experience has prepared you to contribute to their classrooms, and campus community as a whole. In other words, don’t just tell them what you did, but also what you learned and why that matters for understanding what kind of college student you’ll be.

For example, say you choose to write about a debate project you did in your American history class, where you had to prepare for both sides and only learned which one you would actually be defending on the day of the debate. You could describe how, although you came into the project with pre-existing opinions about the topic, the preparation process taught you that, if you’re thoughtful and open-minded, you can usually find merit and logic even in the polar opposite position from your own.

Alternatively, you could write about a book you read that had been translated from Danish, and how reading it got you interested in learning more about how to translate a text as faithfully as possible. After watching many interviews with translators and reading a book about translation, you have learned that sometimes, the most literal translation doesn’t capture the spirit from the original language, which to you is proof that, in any piece of writing, the human element is at least as important as the words on the page.

Notice that both of these examples include broader reflections that zoom out from the particular experiences, to show what you took away from them: increased open-mindedness to different perspectives, for the first, and a more nuanced understanding of what makes art, art, in the case of the second.

A strong response must include this kind of big-picture takeaway, as it shows readers two things. First, that you can reflect thoughtfully on your experiences and learn from them. And second, it shows them a skill or perspective you’d be bringing with you to Harvard, which gives them a better sense of how you’d fit into their campus community.

The only real thing you need to watch out for is accidentally selecting an experience that, for whatever reason, doesn’t allow you to incorporate the kind of bigger-picture takeaway described above. Maybe the experience just happened, so you’re still in the process of learning from it. Or maybe the lessons you learned are too nuanced to describe in 200 words.

Whatever this reason, if you find yourself unable to articulate the broader significance of this experience, head back to the drawing board, to select one that works better for this prompt. What you don’t want to do is try to force in a takeaway that doesn’t really fit, as that will make your essay feel generic or disjointed, since the “moral of the story” won’t clearly connect to the story itself.

Briefly describe any of your extracurricular activities, employment experience, travel, or family responsibilities that have shaped who you are. (200 words)

This is a textbook example of the “Extracurricular” essay . As such, what you need to do is well-defined, although it’s easier said than done: select an extracurricular activity that has, as Harvard says, “shaped who you are,” and make sure you’re able to articulate how it’s been formative for you.

As you brainstorm which extracurricular you want to write about, note that the language of the prompt is pretty open-ended. You write about “any” activity, not just one you have a lot of accolades in, and you don’t even have to write about an activity—you can also write about a travel experience, or family responsibility.

If the thing that immediately jumps to mind is a club, sport, volunteer experience, or other “traditional” extracurricular, that’s great! Run with that. But if you’re thinking and nothing in that vein seems quite right, or, alternatively, you’re feeling bold and want to take a creative approach, don’t be afraid to get outside the box. Here are some examples of other topics you could write a strong essay about:

A more hobby-like extracurricular, like crocheting potholders and selling them on Etsy
Driving the Pacific Coast Highway on your own
Caring for your family’s two large, colorful macaws

These more creative topics can do a lot to showcase a different side of you, as college applications have, by their nature, a pretty restricted scope, and telling admissions officers about something that would never appear on your resume or transcript can teach them a lot about who you are. That being said, the most important thing is that the topic you pick has genuinely been formative for you. Whether it’s a conventional topic or not, as long as that personal connection is there, you’ll be able to write a strong essay about it.

The key to writing a strong response is focusing less on the activity itself, and more on what you’ve learned from your involvement in it. If you’re writing about a more conventional topic, remember that admissions officers already have your activities list. You don’t need to say “For the last five years, I’ve been involved in x,” because they already know that, and when you only have 200 words, wasting even 10 of them means you’ve wasted 5% of your space.

If you’re writing about something that doesn’t already show up elsewhere in your application, you want to provide enough details for your reader to understand what you did, but not more than that. For example, if you’re writing about your road trip, you don’t need to list every city you stopped in. Instead, just mention one or two that were particularly memorable.

Rather than focusing on the facts and figures of what you did, focus on what you learned from your experience. Admissions officers want to know why your involvement in this thing matters to who you’ll be in college. So, think about one or two bigger picture things you learned from it, and center your response around those things.

For example, maybe your Etsy shop taught you how easy it is to bring some positivity into someone else’s life, as crocheting is something you would do anyways, and the shop just allows you to share your creations with other people. Showcasing this uplifting, altruistic side of yourself will help admissions officers better envision what kind of Harvard student you’d be.

As always, you want to use specific examples to support your points, at least as much as you can in 200 words. Because you’re dealing with a low word count, you probably won’t have space to flex your creative writing muscles with vivid, immersive descriptions.

You can still incorporate anecdotes in a more economical way, however. For example, you could say “Every morning, our scarlet macaw ruffles her feathers and greets me with a prehistoric chirp.” You’re not going into detail about what her feathers look like, or where this scene is happening, but it’s still much more engaging than something like “My bird always says hello to me in her own way.”

The most common pitfall with an “Extracurricular” essay is describing your topic the way you would on your resume. Don’t worry about showing off some “marketable skill” you think admissions officers want to see, and instead highlight whatever it is you actually took away from this experience, whether it’s a skill, a realization, or a personality trait. The best college essays are genuine, as admissions officers feel that honesty, and know they’re truly getting to know the applicant as they are, rather than some polished-up version.

Additionally, keep in mind that, like with anything in your application, you want admissions officers to learn something new about you when reading this essay. So, if you’ve already written your common app essay about volunteering at your local animal shelter, you shouldn’t also write this essay about that experience. Your space in your application is already extremely limited, so don’t voluntarily limit yourself even further by repeating yourself when you’re given an opportunity to say something new.

How do you hope to use your Harvard education in the future? (200 words)

Although the packaging is a little different, this prompt has similarities to the classic “Why This College?” prompt . That means there are two main things you want to do while brainstorming.

First, identify one or two goals you have for the future—with just 200 words, you won’t have space to elaborate on any more than that. Ideally, these should be relatively concrete. You don’t have to have your whole life mapped out, but you do need to be a lot more specific than “Make a difference in the world.” A more zoomed-in version of that goal would be something like “Contribute to conservation efforts to help save endangered species,” which would work.

Second, hop onto Harvard’s website and do some research on opportunities the school offers that would help you reach your goals. Again, make sure these are specific enough. Rather than a particular major, which is likely offered at plenty of other schools around the country, identify specific courses within that major you would like to take, or a professor in the department you would like to do research with. For example, the student interested in conservation might mention the course “Conservation Biology” at Harvard.

You could also write about a club, or a study abroad program, or really anything that’s unique to Harvard, so long as you’re able to draw a clear connection between the opportunity and your goal. Just make sure that, like with your goals, you don’t get overeager. Since your space is quite limited, you should choose two, or maximum three, opportunities to focus on. Any more than that and your essay will start to feel rushed and bullet point-y.

If you do your brainstorming well, the actual writing process should be pretty straightforward: explain your goals, and how the Harvard-specific opportunities you’ve selected will help you reach them.

One thing you do want to keep in mind is that your goals should feel personal to you, and the best way to accomplish that is by providing some background context on why you have them. This doesn’t have to be extensive, as, again, your space is limited. But compare the following two examples, written about the hypothetical goal of helping conservation efforts from above, to get an idea of what we’re talking about:

Example 1: “As long as I can remember, I’ve loved all kinds of animals, and have been heartbroken by the fact that human destruction of natural resources could lead to certain species’ extinction.”

Example 2: “As a kid, I would sit in front of the aquarium’s walrus exhibit, admiring the animal’s girth and tusks, and dream about seeing one in the wild. Until my parents regretfully explained to me that, because of climate change, that was unlikely to ever happen.”

The second example is obviously longer, but not egregiously so: 45 words versus 31. And the image we get of this student sitting and fawning over a walrus is worth that extra space, as we feel a stronger personal connection to them, which in turn makes us more vicariously invested in their own goal of environmental advocacy.

As we’ve already described in the brainstorming section, the key to this essay is specificity. Admissions officers want you to paint them a picture of how Harvard fits into your broader life goals. As we noted earlier, that doesn’t mean you have to have everything figured out, but if you’re too vague about your goals, or how you see Harvard helping you reach them, admissions officers won’t see you as someone who’s prepared to contribute to their campus community.

Along similar lines, avoid flattery. Gushy lines like “At Harvard, every day I’ll feel inspired by walking the same halls that countless Nobel laureates, politicians, and CEOs once traversed” won’t get you anywhere, because Harvard admissions officers already know their school is one of the most prestigious and famous universities in the world. What they don’t know is what you are going to bring to Harvard that nobody else has. So, that’s what you want to focus on, not vague, surface-level attributes of Harvard related to its standing in the world of higher education.

Top 3 things your roommates might like to know about you. (200 words)

Like Prompt 2, this prompt tells you exactly what you need to brainstorm: three things a roommate would like to know about you. However, also like Prompt 2, while this prompt is direct, it’s also incredibly open-ended. What really are the top three things you’d like a complete stranger to know about you before you live together for nine months?

Questions this broad can be hard to answer, as you might not know where to start. Sometimes, you can help yourself out by asking yourself adjacent, but slightly more specific questions, like the following:

Do you have any interests that influence your regular routine? For example, do you always watch the Seahawks on Sunday, or are you going to be playing Taylor Swift’s discography on repeat while you study?
Look around your room—what items are most important to you? Do you keep your movie ticket stubs? Are you planning on taking your photos of your family cat with you to college?
Are there any activities you love and already know you’d want to do with your roommate, like weekly face masks or making Christmas cookies?

Hopefully, these narrower questions, and the example responses we’ve included, help get your gears turning. Keep in mind that this prompt is a great opportunity to showcase sides of your personality that don’t come across in your grades, activities list, or even your personal statement. Don’t worry about seeming impressive—admissions officers don’t expect you to read Shakespeare every night for two hours. What they want is an honest, informative picture of what you’re like “behind the scenes,” because college is much more than just academics.

Once you’ve selected three things to write about, the key to the actual essay is presenting them in a logical, cohesive, efficient way. That’s easier said than done, particularly if the three things you’ve picked are quite different from each other.

To ensure your essay feels like one, complete unit, rather than three smaller ones stuck together, strong transitions will be crucial. Note that “strong” doesn’t mean “lengthy.” Just a few words can go a long way towards helping your essay flow naturally. To see what we mean here, take the following two examples:

Example 1: “Just so you know, every Sunday I will be watching the Seahawks, draped in my dad’s Steve Largent jersey. They can be a frustrating team, but I’ll do my best to keep it down in case you’re studying. I also like to do facemasks, though. You’re always welcome to any of the ones I have in my (pretty extensive) collection.”

Example 2: “Just so you know, every Sunday I will be watching the Seahawks, draped in my dad’s Steve Largent jersey. But if football’s not your thing, don’t worry—once the game’s over, I’ll need to unwind anyways, because win or lose the Hawks always find a way to make things stressful. So always feel free to join me in picking out a face mask from my (pretty extensive) collection, and we can gear up for the week together.”

The content in both examples is the same, but in the first one, the transition from football to facemasks is very abrupt. On the other hand, in the second example the simple line “But if football’s not your thing, don’t worry” keeps things flowing smoothly.

There’s no one right way to write a good transition, but as you’re polishing your essay a good way to see if you’re on the right track is by asking someone who hasn’t seen your essay before to read it over and tell you if there are any points that made them pause. If the answer is yes, your transitions probably still need more work.

Finally, you probably noticed that the above examples are both written in a “Dear roomie” style, as if you’re actually speaking directly to your roommate. You don’t have to take this exact approach, but your tone should ideally be light and fun. Living alone for the first time, with other people your age, is one of the best parts of college! Plus, college applications are, by their nature, pretty dry affairs for the most part. Lightening things up in this essay will give your reader a breath of fresh air, which will help them feel more engaged in your application as a whole.

Harvard is doing you a favor here by keeping the scope of the essay narrow—they ask for three things, not more. As we’ve noted many times with the other supplements, 200 words will be gone in a flash, so don’t try to cram in extra things. It’s not necessary to do that, because admissions officers have only asked for three, and trying to stuff more in will turn your essay into a list of bullet points, rather than an informative piece of writing about your personality.

Finally, as we’ve hinted at a few times above, the other thing you want to avoid is using this essay as another opportunity to impress admissions officers with your intellect and accomplishments. Remember, they have your grades, and your activities list, and all your other essays. Plus, they can ask you whatever questions they want—if they wanted to know about the most difficult book you’ve ever read, they would. So, loosen up, let your hair down, and show them you know how to have fun too!

Where to Get Your Harvard Essays Edited

Do you want feedback on your Harvard essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

How do I place an order with your paper writing service?

Should college essays touch on race? Some feel the affirmative action ruling leaves them no choice

CHICAGO — When she started writing her college essay, Hillary Amofa told the story she thought admissions offices wanted to hear. About being the daughter of immigrants from Ghana and growing up in a small apartment in Chicago. About hardship and struggle.

Then she deleted it all.

“I would just find myself kind of trauma-dumping,” said the 18-year-old senior at Lincoln Park High School in Chicago. “And I’m just like, this doesn’t really say anything about me as a person.”

When the Supreme Court ended affirmative action in higher education, it left the college essay as one of few places where race can play a role in admissions decisions. For many students of color, instantly more was riding on the already high-stakes writing assignment. Some say they felt pressure to exploit their hardships as they competed for a spot on campus.

Amofa was just starting to think about her essay when the court issued its decision, and it left her with a wave of questions. Could she still write about her race? Could she be penalized for it? She wanted to tell colleges about her heritage but she didn’t want to be defined by it.

In English class, Amofa and her classmates read sample essays that all seemed to focus on some trauma or hardship. It left her with the impression she had to write about her life’s hardest moments to show how far she’d come. But she and some of her classmates wondered if their lives had been hard enough to catch the attention of admissions offices.

“For a lot of students, there’s a feeling of, like, having to go through something so horrible to feel worthy of going to school, which is kind of sad,” said Amofa, the daughter of a hospital technician and an Uber driver.

This year’s senior class is the first in decades to navigate college admissions without affirmative action . The Supreme Court upheld the practice in decisions going back to the 1970s, but this court’s conservative supermajority found it is unconstitutional for colleges to give students extra weight because of their race alone.

Still, the decision left room for race to play an indirect role: Chief Justice John Roberts wrote universities can still consider how an applicant’s life was shaped by their race, “so long as that discussion is concretely tied to a quality of character or unique ability.”

“A benefit to a student who overcame racial discrimination, for example, must be tied to that student’s courage and determination,” he wrote.

Scores of colleges responded with new essay prompts asking about students’ backgrounds. Brown University asked applicants how “an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you.” Rice University asked students how their perspectives were shaped by their “background, experiences, upbringing, and/or racial identity.”

WONDERING IF SCHOOLS 'EXPECT A SOB STORY'

When Darrian Merritt started writing his essay, he knew the stakes were higher than ever because of the court’s decision. His first instinct was to write about events that led to him going to live with his grandmother as a child.

Those were painful memories, but he thought they might play well at schools like Yale, Stanford and Vanderbilt.

“I feel like the admissions committee might expect a sob story or a tragic story,” said Merritt, a senior in Cleveland. “And if you don’t provide that, then maybe they’re not going to feel like you went through enough to deserve having a spot at the university. I wrestled with that a lot.”

He wrote drafts focusing on his childhood, but it never amounted to more than a collection of memories. Eventually he abandoned the idea and aimed for an essay that would stand out for its positivity.

Merritt wrote about a summer camp where he started to feel more comfortable in his own skin. He described embracing his personality and defying his tendency to please others. The essay had humor — it centered on a water gun fight where he had victory in sight but, in a comedic twist, slipped and fell. But the essay also reflects on his feelings of not being “Black enough” and getting made fun of for listening to “white people music.”

“I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to write this for me, and we’re just going to see how it goes,’” he said. “It just felt real, and it felt like an honest story.”

The essay describes a breakthrough as he learned “to take ownership of myself and my future by sharing my true personality with the people I encounter. ... I realized that the first chapter of my own story had just been written.”

A RULING PROMPTS PIVOTS ON ESSAY TOPICS

Like many students, Max Decker of Portland, Oregon, had drafted a college essay on one topic, only to change direction after the Supreme Court ruling in June.

Decker initially wrote about his love for video games. In a childhood surrounded by constant change, navigating his parents’ divorce, the games he took from place to place on his Nintendo DS were a source of comfort.

But the essay he submitted to colleges focused on the community he found through Word is Bond, a leadership group for young Black men in Portland.

As the only biracial, Jewish kid with divorced parents in a predominantly white, Christian community, Decker wrote he constantly felt like the odd one out. On a trip with Word is Bond to Capitol Hill, he and friends who looked just like him shook hands with lawmakers. The experience, he wrote, changed how he saw himself.

“It’s because I’m different that I provide something precious to the world, not the other way around,” he wrote.

As a first-generation college student, Decker thought about the subtle ways his peers seemed to know more about navigating the admissions process . They made sure to get into advanced classes at the start of high school, and they knew how to secure glowing letters of recommendation.

If writing about race would give him a slight edge and show admissions officers a fuller picture of his achievements, he wanted to take that small advantage.

His first memory about race, Decker said, was when he went to get a haircut in elementary school and the barber made rude comments about his curly hair. Until recently, the insecurity that moment created led him to keep his hair buzzed short.

Through Word is Bond, Decker said he found a space to explore his identity as a Black man. It was one of the first times he was surrounded by Black peers and saw Black role models. It filled him with a sense of pride in his identity. No more buzzcut.

The pressure to write about race involved a tradeoff with other important things in his life, Decker said. That included his passion for journalism, like the piece he wrote on efforts to revive a once-thriving Black neighborhood in Portland. In the end, he squeezed in 100 characters about his journalism under the application’s activities section.

“My final essay, it felt true to myself. But the difference between that and my other essay was the fact that it wasn’t the truth that I necessarily wanted to share,” said Decker, whose top college choice is Tulane, in New Orleans, because of the region’s diversity. “It felt like I just had to limit the truth I was sharing to what I feel like the world is expecting of me.”

SPELLING OUT THE IMPACT OF RACE

Before the Supreme Court ruling, it seemed a given to Imani Laird that colleges would consider the ways that race had touched her life. But now, she felt like she had to spell it out.

As she started her essay, she reflected on how she had faced bias or felt overlooked as a Black student in predominantly white spaces.

There was the year in math class when the teacher kept calling her by the name of another Black student. There were the comments that she’d have an easier time getting into college because she was Black .

“I didn’t have it easier because of my race,” said Laird, a senior at Newton South High School in the Boston suburbs who was accepted at Wellesley and Howard University, and is waiting to hear from several Ivy League colleges. “I had stuff I had to overcome.”

In her final essays, she wrote about her grandfather, who served in the military but was denied access to GI Bill benefits because of his race.

She described how discrimination fueled her ambition to excel and pursue a career in public policy.

“So, I never settled for mediocrity,” she wrote. “Regardless of the subject, my goal in class was not just to participate but to excel. Beyond academics, I wanted to excel while remembering what started this motivation in the first place.”

WILL SCHOOLS LOSE RACIAL DIVERSITY?

Amofa used to think affirmative action was only a factor at schools like Harvard and Yale. After the court’s ruling, she was surprised to find that race was taken into account even at some public universities she was applying to.

Now, without affirmative action, she wondered if mostly white schools will become even whiter.

It’s been on her mind as she chooses between Indiana University and the University of Dayton, both of which have relatively few Black students. When she was one of the only Black students in her grade school, she could fall back on her family and Ghanaian friends at church. At college, she worries about loneliness.

“That’s what I’m nervous about,” she said. “Going and just feeling so isolated, even though I’m constantly around people.”

The first drafts of her essay focused on growing up in a low-income family, sharing a bedroom with her brother and grandmother. But it didn’t tell colleges about who she is now, she said.

Her final essay tells how she came to embrace her natural hair . She wrote about going to a mostly white grade school where classmates made jokes about her afro. When her grandmother sent her back with braids or cornrows, they made fun of those too.

Over time, she ignored their insults and found beauty in the styles worn by women in her life. She now runs a business doing braids and other hairstyles in her neighborhood.

“I stopped seeing myself through the lens of the European traditional beauty standards and started seeing myself through the lens that I created,” Amofa wrote.

“Criticism will persist, but it loses its power when you know there’s a crown on your head!”

Ma reported from Portland, Oregon.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org .

Harvard University 2023-24 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

Regular Decision Deadline: Jan 1

You Have:

Harvard University 2023-24 Application Essay Question Explanations

The Requirements: Five essays of 200 words or fewer

Supplemental Essay Type(s): Diversity , Activity , Oddball

Harvard is asking 2023-24 applicants to pen five short essays in response to the following prompts:

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* (200 words).

Admissions wants to know what has made you into the person you are today and how those experiences will affect the way you engage with and contribute to the Harvard community. So, tell a story about an experience that has shaped you and connect the lessons you learned to the ways in which you will contribute to diversity on campus next fall. Start by thinking about the kinds of experiences you’ve had in the communities you’ve been a part of thus far. Then, once you’ve identified the life experience(s) that have shaped you, think ahead to how those will impact your time at Harvard. Admissions wants to know what your area of influence will look like on campus—whether that be applying the leadership skills you developed in your community theater troupe to the drama productions at Farkas Hall, celebrating intersectional identities with other members of the queer Jewish community with BAGELS , or connecting and networking with your peers through Harvard Black Students Association . Whatever you write about, make sure your response to this prompt shows that you have put some serious thought into the things that have shaped you and how you will apply those lessons and experiences to your time at Harvard next fall.

Briefly describe an intellectual experience that was important to you.* (200 words)

It’s no surprise that Harvard is hoping to invite students to campus who are excited about learning, so take this opportunity to geek out about an awesome learning experience you had recently. Maybe you find marine life to be absolutely fascinating, so you’ve been reading up on the most dangerous creatures in the deep dark sea (and their preferred prey, of course). Perhaps you had the opportunity to take a class or seminar with a thought leader you really admire or you went on a reading retreat that expanded your horizons. Whatever it may be, this is the perfect opportunity to show admissions your passion for pursuing knowledge and reflect on the impact it had on you.

Briefly describe any of your extracurricular activities, employment experience, travel, or family responsibilities that have shaped who you are.* (200 words)

Next up is a fun twist on the classic activity essay, which asks you to expand on an extracurricular endeavor that has shaped who you are. Our advice is to focus on one or two activities that have made the biggest impact on you. Although we usually urge students to write about items that haven’t appeared elsewhere on their application, the activity essay is an exception since it specifically asks you to address an item on your resume. The trick here is to pick something with meat! Maybe your trip to visit your extended family members in Thailand opened your eyes to how limited your world had been in your small Midwestern town. Perhaps four years of debate club have nurtured your communication skills and ability to speak up for yourself. Whatever activity you choose to write about, be sure to pick one that has been fundamental to your understanding of who you are.

How do you hope to use your Harvard education in the future?* (200 words)

Admissions already knows a bit about what makes you you; now they want to know why Harvard is the obvious next step in the trajectory of your life. Take some time to meditate on what you hope your life will look like after Harvard—we’re talking ten, twenty years in the future. Once you have an idea of what you hope for that person to be like or do on an average day, invite admissions into your vision and show them how a Harvard education is a pivotal step (or three) on the ladder of success to get there. Regardless of your vision, your response should cite programs, activities, and organizations that Harvard offers. Anyone can say they hope to become a renowned doctor or an attorney for the people, but not everyone is going to do their homework to show admissions that they’ve thought through exactly how they want to get there. Of course, admissions isn’t going to hold you to your blueprint, but they do want to see that you’ve given not only your decision to apply to Harvard some serious thought, but your life post-graduation as well.

Top 3 things your roommates might like to know about you.* (200 words)

With this prompt, admissions is hoping to see a different side of you, perhaps one that is less intellectual (unless that’s just who you are, in which case, rock on with your nerdy self) and a little more casual. Start by making a list. Write down everything that comes to mind. You can edit and revise later—no idea is too silly to jot down! Maybe you think your roommates should know that you just can’t not sing while in the shower (we’re talking Celine Dion, Adele, Whitney Houston) or that you make the meanest plate of rice and beans in your pressure cooker (and you love to share). Once you’ve narrowed your list down to three (3) things, see if you can weave together a narrative that gives admissions a little taste of what it would be like to hang out in the dorms with you. How do you connect with your peers? What most excites you about residential life? What are the quirks that make you you ? By the time admissions puts down your application, they should feel like your personality is jumping off the page.

About Kat Stubing

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Harding University's 2023-24 Essay Prompts
This school does not require essays or the essay prompts are not available yet. Sign up to be notified of any changes. Applying to Harding University and trying to find all the correct essay prompts for 2023-24? Find them here, along with free guidance on how to write the essays.
Undergraduate Admission
Harding University 915 E. Market Ave. Searcy, AR 72149-5615 501-279-4000. Calendar; Events ... If you have any questions regarding the status of your scores, we request that you access your application account to review your checklist.
How To Apply
Harding Academy Harding University 915 E. Market Ave. Searcy, AR 72149-5615 501-279-4000
2023-24 Essay Prompts & Required Readings
Tax changes were a key goal of Warren Harding's Administration. When Harding passed away in 1923, President Coolidge and his Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon continued to lead reforms. The 1920s represent an early experiment in tax reform. In this essay, you are tasked with analyzing this experiment.
Office of Testing & Evaluation
Official test scores must be sent to Harding from College Board. For more information you can visit the AP website. Contact information to send AP scores to HU: AP Services P.O. Box 6671 Princeton, NJ 08541-6671 Phone: (609) 771-7300 or (888) 225-5427 (toll-free in the U.S. and Canada) Email: [email protected]. Harding University ...
Harding University Admission Requirements
Because this school is moderately selective, strong academic performance will almost guarantee you admission. Scoring a 1290 SAT or a 28 ACT or above will nearly guarantee you admission. Because the school admits 45.1% of all applicants, being far above average raises the admission rate for you to nearly 100%.
International Students
Thank you for inquiring about enrollment at Harding University. We appreciate your interest in attending our school. ... If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the International Student Services Office. Heather Harrell Admissions Counselor. [email protected] Telephone: 800-477-4407 Fax: 001-501-279-4129 Local: 001-501 ...
Admissions
Our Mission. Harding University is a Christ-centered community united by a bold mission: to provide a quality education that will lead to an understanding and philosophy of life consistent with Christian ideals. Mission. Hands-on learning helps me to make mistakes in a safe environment where I can learn from them now and do better in the future.
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Harding University 915 E. Market Ave. Searcy, AR 72149-5615 501-279-4000
Areas of Study
Harding Academy Harding University 915 E. Market Ave. Searcy, AR 72149-5615 501-279-4000
Harding University Admission Requirements
What are your chances of getting into Harding University? Learn the admissions requirements, including test scores and GPA, and calculate your chances. Schools. ... Essay prompts; Harding University's Admission Requirements . Acceptance Rate. 54%. Your Chancing: Phase 1. SAT. Average SAT . 1175. SAT 25th-75th. 1050 - 1300.
Harding University Admissions: Everything You Want to and Need to Know
Spread the loveOverview of Harding University Harding University is a four-year, private college associated with the Churches of Christ. The 350-acre campus is situated in Searcy, Arkansas. Its student body of roughly 7,000 is supported by a student/faculty ratio of 16 to 1. Students can choose from 10 undergraduate degrees, 14 pre-professional programs, and 15 graduate and professional ...
College Essay Prompts: Complete List, Analysis, and Advice
The UCA essay prompt is completely open ended and has a 650-word limit. Here is the 2022-2023 prompt: Please write an essay that demonstrates your ability to develop and communicate your thoughts. Some ideas include: a person you admire; a life-changing experience; or your viewpoint on a particular current event.
19 College Essay Topics and Prompts
19 college essay topics. Each school sets different requirements around the college essay, so it's important to review the expectations around every application you intend to submit. Some give you creative freedom, while others expect you to respond to a pre-developed prompt. Either way, a strong college essay conveys to the admissions team who ...
2,000+ College Essay Prompts for 2023-24 and How-To Guides
Find your college's application essay prompts for 2023-24. 0 Result (s) American International College | AIC View Essay Prompts >. Bridgewater State University View Essay Prompts >. Concordia University-Saint Paul View Essay Prompts >. Hollins University View Essay Prompts >. Hood College View Essay Prompts >.
Hardin-Simmons University's 2023-24 Essay Prompts
Option 1. There has been a lot of recent publicity about Artificial Intelligence (AI), much of which concerns ChatGPT and the potential--both good and bad--for future uses of AI. Write an essay in which you weigh in on this debate, and suggest how you might constructively use AI as a college student.
Introducing the Harding Project: Renewing Professional Military Writing
The Harding Project advocates for four steps toward renewal. 1. Perfect the policy. The first step in renewing the Army's professional publications is to update the Army's publication policy to support the transition to web-first, mobile-friendly platforms with robust social media support. Outlets like the Modern War Institute embody this ...
130 New Prompts for Argumentative Writing
Try our student writing prompts. In 2017, we compiled a list of 401 argumentative writing prompts, all drawn from our daily Student Opinion column. Now, we're rounding up 130 more we've ...
Harvard University's 2023-24 Essay Prompts
Extracurricular Short Response. Required. 200 Words. Briefly describe any of your extracurricular activities, employment experience, travel, or family responsibilities that have shaped who you are. Read our essay guide to get started. Submit your essay for free peer review to refine and perfect it. Submit or review an essay.
Grand Valley State University
Submit your essay for free peer review to refine and perfect it. Join thousands of students getting and giving peer feedback on college essays—all for free! Applying to Grand Valley State University | GVSU and trying to find all the correct essay prompts for 2023-24? Find them here, along with free guidance on how to write the essays.
How to Write the Harvard University Essays 2023-2024
First, identify one or two goals you have for the future—with just 200 words, you won't have space to elaborate on any more than that. Ideally, these should be relatively concrete. You don't have to have your whole life mapped out, but you do need to be a lot more specific than "Make a difference in the world.".
Harding University Admissions Essay
Types of Paper Writing Services. 4423 Orders prepared. Sitejabber. Level: College, University, High School, Master's, Undergraduate, PHD. Only a Ph.D. professional can handle such a comprehensive project as a dissertation. The best experts are ready to do your dissertation from scratch and guarantee the best result.
Should college essays touch on race? Some feel the affirmative action
a ruling prompts pivots on essay topics Like many students, Max Decker of Portland, Oregon, had drafted a college essay on one topic, only to change direction after the Supreme Court ruling in June.
Harvard University 2023-24 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide
Harvard University 2023-24 Application Essay Question Explanations. The Requirements: Five essays of 200 words or fewer. Supplemental Essay Type(s): Diversity, Activity, Oddball. Harvard is asking 2023-24 applicants to pen five short essays in response to the following prompts: Harvard has long recognized the importance of enrolling a diverse ...