50 Successful Harvard Application Essays

J
AMES 
G
ILLETTE
There are few classes I would choose to repeat even once, let alone twice. I would hate to do so not
necessarily because I hated the class, but rather because it would be the same experience and the same
content over again. However this was not the case with journalism.
I applied to be a part of the newspaper staff on a whim at the end of my freshman year and was
surprised to find out that I’d made it. I spent that summer questioning what being on staff would mean.
Mostly I was wondering how much work would be involved. When I returned to East that fall I was hit
over the head with my sophomore year workload. Instead of hating how difficult it was to get quote
verification forms signed or how our copy/source editor was super intense, I found myself really
enjoying the class. By the end of the year I noticed the impact journalism had already had on me—I
was a much stronger writer, a more confident conversationalist, and a much more informed
individual. The paper mattered to me, so I signed up for a second year and was pleasantly surprised
when I was promoted to Arts & Entertainment Editor.
I found my second year in journalism to be remarkably different. With different people in charge
and lots of new writers I felt the nudge to take some responsibility. Wanting to create a positive
experience for younger writers, I did my best to emulate the better editors from the previous year by
being approachable, knowledgeable, and helpful. I discovered I have a knack for creating “artsy”
layouts, and a way with the outmoded computers we use. I became more of a general editor for any
confused reporters and the tech guy (meaning I could use a scanner and knew some hotkey
commands). Naturally I still felt a strong tie to this periodical and I again registered to be on staff for
my senior year. I was surprised and excited to learn that I had been named Editor-in-Chief for 2011 to
2012.
In anticipation of the coming year I spent the summer updating the staff policies and contacting
local printers to investigate switching from our old one (with whom we’d developed some issues). To
prepare myself as a leader I attended a National Scholastic Press Association editorial workshop at
the University of Minnesota. There I learned management skills, received a critique of our paper, and
compared our work to that of other high schools in the Midwest. This workshop gave me some great
ideas for updating and improving our paper. For example, for years we have used Microsoft
Publisher, which is a difficult program to work with. That August, I purchased Adobe InDesign for
the class laptop and taught myself to use the program.
So far this year has been a year of great change for 
The Greyhound
. I’ve switched our printing
partner, changed the paper type to actual newsprint, radically updated our layout, upgraded our
programs and technology, added color printing, cut production costs by 40 to 50 percent, and

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improved our production cycle to help writers rather than pressure them.
The newspaper has helped me develop as a leader and as a student and it has given me a great sense
of accomplishment. I am proud to have been a part of its staff for three years. Each year brought new
people, new ideas, and new perspectives for me. What had been an almost reluctant application
resulted in one of my best high school experiences.
REVIEW
In this essay, the author discusses his years of experience in journalism and involvement in the school
newspaper to describe how he has grown as a leader. The details he discusses about his work on his
newspaper are interesting and help to build the picture of a dedicated, hardworking student.
But though James demonstrates his ability to write a decent story with clear, descriptive language,
he commits one major error. Strikingly, James’s essay reads awfully like a list of accomplishments.
Though the context he introduces makes his successes more personable, the essay is never about
James as a person, but rather is about what he has done on the newspaper. This essay is appropriate
for the part of the application that requests extra information on extracurriculars, but is not as
revealing as it could be. He uses a simplistic, chronological structure to tell a fairly mundane story,
and with it fails to demonstrate creativity.
With that said, individually the paragraphs, accomplishments, and lessons learned are quite
interesting, and often use relevant details to create a vivid scene. He details the way he grows over the
years, demonstrating his ability to adapt and change as adaptation and change are demanded of him.
While we may not get the best idea of who James is at the moment, he is clearly moving toward more
dynamic pursuits and larger challenges.
—Jane Seo

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