The "optional essay" at Harvard

[Anon]

Hello, I am working on my Harvard app and have a dilemma that I imagine is common. I had one very bad semester in college due to some personal extenuating circumstances, and this has been a natural fit for the optional essay at other schools. This has been an easy decision at other schools because they make the optional essay an EXTRA essay.

At Harvard, however, it seems to not be extra - they have, among their grab bag of possible 400-word essays, an essay that says "what would you like to tell us about your undergrad experience". So, you can probably guess the dilemma: I feel a need to address this bad semester (especially since it came at the end of college) but that essay wasn't one of the three I wanted to choose, and I don't want to choose that essay just so I can weave in a little paragraph about my personal issues that semester. Plus, I'm guessing Harvard doesn't intend the essay to be used for that purpose.

Alex or Jeremy - is there some other way that people work this information into their Harvard application?

Thanks!

[MBAApply]

If I remember correctly, HBS has an "additional information" section in the application form itself that allows you to address stuff like this (GPA, choice of recommenders, gap in work history, etc.) -- this is where you can address your bad semester -- and to be honest, there's not a whole lot you can really say. That's the thing about GPAs -- it is what it is. They've seen it all -- family problems, health problems, having to work a part-time job, and so forth. The reality is, there are others who have faced similar circumstances and still managed to maintain their grades -- so there's really no excuse.

Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com