What Makes a Successful Harvard Essay?

College Choice Counseling® Featured in The Harvard Crimson

By Barbara Connolly, JD, CEP

Founder, College Choice Counseling

Every year, thousands of exceptional students apply to Harvard. Many have near-perfect grades, outstanding SAT or ACT scores, rigorous coursework, and impressive extracurricular accomplishments. Yet only a small percentage are admitted.

What often separates one highly qualified applicant from another is the college essay or personal statement.

That's why The Harvard Crimson's annual feature showcasing successful Harvard essays has become such a valuable resource for students and families. This year's collection, “10 Successful Harvard Essays 2026,” offers a rare opportunity to see what a successful Harvard admissions essay actually looks like—and, even more importantly, to understand why it worked.

College Choice Counseling was pleased to contribute its perspective to this year’s Harvard Crimson feature by analyzing Samantha's published essay. Click here to read Samantha’s essay together with our professional review of her essay.

Reading a successful essay can be helpful, although we normally don’t recommend spending much time reading other students’ essays. We want every essay to be authentic and original, not something modeled after another student’s essay. Many admissions officers can spot an essay that is a version of someone else’s experience or a copy of someone else’s format.

Understanding why a successful essay resonates, however, can be incredibly valuable. That's where the thoughtful analysis of an experienced counselor can be invaluable.

Great Essays Aren't About Extraordinary Lives

One of the biggest misconceptions about college admissions essays is that students need an extraordinary story.

They don't.

The strongest essays aren't memorable because of the events they describe. They're memorable because they reveal something meaningful about the student behind the application.

In Samantha's essay, readers naturally focus on the dramatic medical crisis she endured. But that's not why the essay is effective.

What makes the essay memorable is its reflection. Samantha doesn't simply recount what happened. She explains how the experience reshaped her outlook, deepened her empathy, and influenced the person she has become. That insight is what admissions officers remember long after they've finished reading.

Click here to read Samantha’s essay together with our professional review of her essay.

What Admissions Officers Are Really Looking For

When our counselors at College Choice Counseling® work with students, we encourage them to think beyond telling an interesting story.

The best Common App essays, whether for Harvard or any college or university, answer questions such as:

• What does this experience reveal about me?

• How have I changed?

• What values define me?

• What do I want an admissions officer to remember after reading my application?

• 
  

Those are the questions that transform an essay from descriptive to memorable.

Students often tell us, "I don't have anything exciting to write about."

In reality, most successful essays are not built around extraordinary accomplishments. They are built around honest reflection, thoughtful insight, and a genuine voice.

Lessons Every College Applicant Can Apply

Whether you're applying to Harvard, Michigan, MIT, Notre Dame, Duke, or your state flagship university, the same principles apply.

Successful essays are:

• Authentic

• Reflective

• Personal

• Specific

• Written in the student's own voice

• 
  

Admissions officers read thousands of essays every year. They're looking for genuine insight, not what students think they want to hear.

Helping Students Find Their Story

At College Choice Counseling, essay coaching isn't about telling students what to write. It isn't about using templates or producing essays that all sound alike.

Instead, we help students discover the experiences, perspectives, and personal qualities that make their stories worth telling. Through thoughtful conversations, brainstorming, and careful editing, we help students develop essays that are authentic, compelling, and unmistakably their own.

Over the years, we've helped students gain admission to many of the nation's most selective colleges and universities. While every student's journey is different, our philosophy remains the same: the strongest essays don't impress admissions officers, they connect with them.

Every student has a story.

At College Choice Counseling®, our job is to help them tell it in a way that is honest, memorable, and uniquely theirs.

At College Choice Counseling®, our counselors and tutors are here to help you with college counseling, college essay and application help, test prep tutoring, and academic subject tutoring. Reach out … we’ll help you succeed!

Barbara Connolly is the Founder of College Choice Counseling®, a Certified Educational Planner (CEP), and Professional Member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA). She is a former University of Michigan Ross School of Business admissions reader with over 20 years of experience guiding students and families through highly competitive college admissions.

Want expert feedback on your college essay?

College Choice Counseling has helped students develop authentic, compelling essays for admission to many of the country's most selective colleges and universities. If you'd like guidance on your Common App personal statement or supplemental essays, we'd be happy to help.

Read more about Tips for Writing a Good College Essay That Gets Noticed.