Harvard essays analysis 1 - 工管

Dear applicants, please see below our analysis of Harvard's essay 1. Good
luck!

Best,
Kevin Chen
Clear Admit
www.clearadmit.com
kevin@clearadmit

1. Tell us about three of your accomplishments. (600 words)
This is a variation on an essay question that has been a hallmark of the HBS
application for many years, downshifting its previous request for an applicant
’s “three most substantial accomplishments” to a more laid-back
formulation this season. Due to its top billing, this question could be the
first element of your file that the adcom reads, making this response a great
opportunity to present the reader with three strong stories that introduce
the major themes of your candidacy. Each accomplishment can be presented as
a stand-alone section here, so you needn’t be overly concerned about
composing a seamless narrative.

HBS has traditionally been very impact-oriented in evaluating applicants’
credentials, so one way to determine which three accomplishments to describe
in this essay is to think about the end results. Experiences in which you
made a lasting and quantifiable impact can lend themselves to concise,
factual narratives, and considering that each accomplishment must be
described in approximately 200 words, this can be an important consideration.
However, this isn’t to say that the process followed, skills gained, and
lessons learned along the way aren’t important, too; highlighting an
incident of personal or professional growth could offer a nice complement to
some more straightforward accomplishment stories.

A final point to consider is that it’s also important to select stories with
an eye to balance. Harvard’s new wording takes the emphasis off maximum
impressiveness, leaving prospective students with a bit more leeway to select
examples that highlight a bit more range than he or she might have felt
comfortable doing previously. An applicant who describes two professional
successes and one extra-curricular accomplishment, or perhaps one each from
the professional, academic and activities realms, can show that he or she
excels in a range of settings and situations.


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