Harvard Supplemental Essay Prompts 2026-27 + How to Answer Them
Every applicant answers all five prompts, 150 words each: about 750 words total. Every prompt below is quoted from Harvard College admissions and verified against it on September 26, 2026.
Application: Common App (Harvard Questions). Requirements can change during the cycle; Harvard's application portal is the final word on what to submit.
Required of all applicants
5 prompts
Harvard has long recognized the importance of enrolling a student body with a diversity of perspectives and experiences. How will the life experiences that shaped who you are today enable you to contribute to Harvard?
How to answer
This is Harvard asking what you bring, so pick one experience that genuinely shaped how you see the world. Then draw a straight line from it to how you would show up in a Harvard classroom, house, or club. A specific moment beats an identity summary.
Draft this prompt in the essay tool →Describe a time when you strongly disagreed with someone about an idea or issue. How did you communicate or engage with this person? What did you learn from this experience?
How to answer
Use a real disagreement and show maturity under friction: how you engaged, what changed in your thinking, what you took away. The strongest answers rarely end with you winning the argument.
Draft this prompt in the essay tool →Briefly describe any of your extracurricular activities, employment experience, travel, or family responsibilities that have shaped who you are.
How to answer
Choose the responsibility that says the most about you, even if it looks ordinary. A job, a family duty, or a trip can carry more weight than a marquee award. Write about the shaping, not the achievement.
Draft this prompt in the essay tool →How do you hope to use your Harvard education in the future?
How to answer
Answer with a direction, not a prestige bow. Name what you want to do and why Harvard specifically moves you toward it: courses, professors, or programs you have actually looked up. Readers can tell the difference.
Draft this prompt in the essay tool →Top 3 things your roommates might like to know about you.
How to answer
Three quick, true, specific things. Humor is welcome and formality is not required. Use this to show texture the rest of your application cannot.
Draft this prompt in the essay tool →Draft your Harvard supplement with feedback on every essay.
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