50 Harvard Essays

Essays are for reference only. Do NOT copy or imitate anything! 
Plagiarism is severely punished! 
apart, but I was determined to do what was right. To follow the truth is a difficult 
path: it requires determination, a determination that I did not have the night we 
drove to Barberton. I learned something that night. It’s a lesson that will stay with 
me my whole life. 
ANALYSIS 
Every application, just as every applicant, is unique. Everyone has a different story 
to tell. This applicant does a good job of telling the story of an experience that 
changed his life; although his story is a bit longer than is usual for an application, it 
is generally tight. The language is somewhat flowery: the number of superfluous 
adjectives and adverbs could be cut down. Some details might be thought of as 
extraneous. Nobody needs to know that the name of the mascot was Heracles, for 
example. However, such details as these put a human spin on the essay; the reader 
has an easy time constructing a mental picture of the applicant. 
While this application has a strong story, the structure which brings it together is 
somewhat weak. The quote, while it may have deep personal significance to the 
author, seems like it could have been a random motivational quote grabbed off the 
internet. Though the author tries hard to integrate it into the story, he never really 
succeeds; it seems, finally , irrelevant. 
This essay shines in that it gives the reader an idea of some qualities that would not 
be brought out in the rest of the application. Loyalty, determination, and honor are 
not virtues that can be exhibited in a resume. The author presents a difficult 
situation: torn between friendship and honesty, he chooses the latter. A few 
questions remain unanswered. Where is “Wyatt” now? Why does the author’s 
resolution of principles take so long to come about? Nonetheless, Dan remains a 
poster boy for honesty, a virtue colleges are all too happy to rally behind.