50 Successful Ivy League Application Essays

Presenting a Brand as an Entrepreneur
“I wrote a Common Application essay that prompted me to ‘Evaluate a 
significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken or ethical dilemma 
you have faced and its impact on you.’ I chose to focus on a risk that I had 
taken for my essay because in my application I wanted to portray myself as a 
risk taking, self-starting entrepreneur. I framed my family’s move to Florida 
in the middle of my high school years as a personal risk; generally ‘My family 
moved.’ is not interesting enough, so I had to spice it up a little bit.
“For my Harvard-specific supplemental essay, I described an ‘academic 
experience (course, project, paper or research topic) that has meant the most 
to [me].’ instead of ‘unusual circumstances, a list of books I have read re-
cently or travel experiences in another country.’ Again, trying to craft myself 
as unique from the other 20,000 applicants and create a personal brand, I 
wanted to do something that would make me look like a daring businessman. 
That was risky because Harvard and academia are not pro-business from my 
understanding and I would be pursuing a liberal arts degree. However, I knew 
this set me apart and I could make a compelling case. I described a summer 
program that taught entrepreneurship after 11th grade, which transformed 
my personality and career interests.”
—Jason Y. Shah, Harvard University