Customer Reviews

50 Successful Harvard Application Essays, Second Edition: What Worked for Them Can Help You Get into the College of Your Choice

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this book because I tutor English off and on and I was thinking of expanding my tutoring to help high school students write their college essays. I saw this on sale at my local Borders and I thought, well why not? It would give me some samples to show students and help me to focus on certain essentials that make a good essay.

As I started reading the essays, I was so surprised at the depth and creative writing skills of these students. When I went to undergrad, the essay that I wrote was very standard. I talked about my goals and dreams and what kind of student I was, but I didn't turn it into a story (even though I am a writer and stories have been a crucial form of communication for me for years). At the time, I didn't know that it could be done. While I did get into all of the schools to which I applied, I wish I had known that creativity was encouraged in admissions essays.

Since then, I have seen fabulous winning essays to top schools (such as the ones included in this book) and I realize that focusing on a key event of your life and letting it tell a deeper story is part of what connects the admissions counselors to you as a person and reveals depth of character.

This book has really great essays. Some of the commentaries following the essays are better than others. I think, unfortunately, because the reviewers are professional writers, they are more critical than the actual admissions counselors might be because they want you to submit "A" quality work. I think telling your story from the heart is more important than tiny details that only a literary editor would pay strong attention to. Organization is important as is a basic understanding of grammar, but you don't need to get so caught up in the technical aspects of writing this essay that you loose your natural voice.

Other than that, I think this book is a great resource for students (or parents helping their children) who want to go to a university or private college. It is organized efficiently so that you can see the different approaches that various students have chosen and, in general, the commentaries can assist you in pinpointing why a particular essay was so effective. I wish you the best of luck!

This is a fantastic book. As a first-generation student, I had no clue what to expect from a college essay; I had no idea what made an essay good and what made it bad.
Although this book doesn't directly teach you what a good essay is, the amazing essays in here allow you to 'absorb' the good writing and use it to your advantage.

Vernon (poster before me) is correct here; you still need the grades, the scores, the extracurriculars.. or else the book does not help much.
However, if you KNOW you have a strong profile but do not know what to expect from a college essay (like me), then this book is right for you!

I can't thank this book enough. I learned good writing only paying $14 instead of something astronomical for those editing services.

Ironically, with the help of this book, I got accepted into Harvard's rival school :)

[Handsome Dan] out.

The second edition is much better than the first. The new essays are more timely and the critiques are very insightful. Any high school student can benefit from reading this book and learning different writing techniques and tones for both College essays and school papers.

This is a fantastic collection of application essays. If you or your child is in need of examples of well-written essays, these 50 essays are just the thing for you. Not only are the essays themselves printed, the book also provides an analysis for each, by the Staff of "The Harvard Crimson". Within each analysis, you learn what topics to choose, what to avoid and how to keep the reader from discarding your essay. If they worked for Harvard students, they'll definitely help you with your school.

I bought this last year for my college-bound daughter. She wasn't applying to Harvard but we figure, couldn't hurt. The essays are actually entertaining to read and I can see why most of the students were accepted to Harvard. That said, if you are not applying to Harvard, your school will likely use very diferent criteria when reading the application essay. My daughter's school actually required 2 essays on different specified topics, neither of which Harvard asks.

After two years, I still remember a few of the essays in here (forget if it's the 1st or 2nd edition). One of the essays that I will remember for the rest of my life is the one on Myung! and how this young lady used ! to explain her personality. Inspired, I wrote a similar essay about how I created my on middle-name during high school. Although it was certainly a bit nerdy (I used a mathematical sign), I felt it was Harvard-qualified. While I didn't end up withdrawing from Harvard because I got in ED at another school, it was one of my favorite essays. This book not only helped me relieve the stress of college application but also allowed me to explore the variety of essays that college-bound students write. I ended up going to the best business school in the world, partially thanks to all the essays I took inspiration from here.

Don't expect to know how to write those essays after reading the book. They only show you great essays, not going to teach you how to write one and not going to tell you what's great about each essay.

These essays were very good, some of them were very moving. I found that this book explained the college essay process and was an easy read.

These essays are very individual and personal.
If you're looking to write a college essay, it's going to be difficult to copy any of these ideas.
It's been an OK read.
I found that many of them just drew on cultural, presonal background more than anything else.
One essay which I thought was fantastic.. was about the applicant writing about his passion for magic.