At one time, I thought it was nearly impossible for a ‘normal student’ to get into universities like Harvard. However, of late, I have been inclined to think that not only many ‘normal’ students are applying, but they are also getting admissions.

I want to highlight the three key points you must cover inside your Harvard essay.

Why are you choosing this particular area of study – clearly state why you are interested in pursuing a degree in this area. Then, convey your reasoning and motivation by giving concrete examples of relevant projects, work, etc., that you have done in this area.

Why do you have chosen to apply to this particular university and department? Is there any reason you are applying to this program, such as specific facilities/equipment or faculty, etc., that appeals to you?

Short and Long-term Career objectives – at this point, you may not have a clear idea of where you want your career to be after completing your degree. However, you should at least have some loose ideas that you must write down in your essay.

Here is the essay of a student who made it to Harvard University with a partial tuition waiver. He has graciously shared the essay he wrote to get admitted to the prestigious Harvard University.

Sample Essay Harvard University

I want to increase the access of low-cost quality education to lower strata of our society who otherwise don’t have access to this ‘luxury’. To do this, I want to bolster my professional experience with international exposure to education policy and the latest pedagogies by pursuing a master’s degree in Education focusing on Educational Policy and Management.

I did my undergraduate in Accounting and Finance at one of the premier universities in the U.S. My undergraduate has equipped me with extensive quantitative knowledge and technical experience around different themes in auditing, corporate accounting, management and taxation. In addition to these areas, I expanded my focus and studied interdisciplinary courses like Game Theory, Personal Effectiveness and Contemporary Social Policy Issues in the U.S. Due to these courses, I decided to pursue a leadership role in the social sector, where I merge my business knowledge on pressing social issues like improving the quality of and increasing access to Education. Consequently, I started working as a Vice Principal in a private school which provides low-cost Education to a broad stratum of our society.

Working as a Vice Principal for the past 18 months, I have scrutinized many managerial problems common to the entire low-cost private system of Education in the U.S. First, there is a severe shortage of the latest teacher training facilities and curricula. Lack of training translates into low skills in teaching pedagogies practised by teachers to impart Education, and as a result, the whole education system becomes outdated.

Moreover, given the lack of training facilities, teachers have limited growth opportunities. They perceive working in low-cost private Education as merely a way of getting teaching experience and leaving for better chances at any behest. This results in a high teacher turnover rate as well. Consequently, it also affects teaching quality: The same syllabus keeps being taught the same way over the years, promoting wrought learning, lack of creativity and low applied skills. This inherent monotony widens the gap between high-cost and low-cost private education systems.

Grappling these problems daily, I draw my motivation to do a master’s degree to address these problems, and I have devised the following study plan through which I can solve these problems at a granular level. To pursue a Master’s degree, I see Harvard’s program as an ideal conduit for my study interests.

Firstly, by excelling in Harvard’s four core areas, Policy, Management and Leadership, Research and Evaluation, and Diversity, Culture, and Identity, I will hone into theoretical foundations of becoming a better administrator and equip myself with the latest pedagogies, primarily focusing on curriculum development, models of teaching, ways of integrating technology in Education.

Beyond the classroom, I will gain valuable insights by collaborating with Harvard’s influential faculty. In particular, by collaborating with Kathleen McCartney, I will glean more information on the relations between leadership development and organizational change, which is foundational for my current work. Similarly, I will significantly benefit from the findings of Andrew Ho on the use, and interpretation of test scores in educational policy and practice, through which I can learn ways of quantifying teaching quality and improve teaching training and high teacher turnover rate.

Apart from this, the research facilities at the Center for Education Policy Research (CEPR) will ideally dovetail with the skillset developed by taking courses from the core area of Research and Evaluation. Ideally, I would like to further my research into K-12 leadership and applied psychology in Education. Through my training, my prime aim will be to develop a curriculum sensitive to the educational needs of the lower strata of our society so that they can relate to the curriculum. Ideally, I would like to work in the centre and develop the latest teacher training techniques so that I can train other teachers in the U.S. in a better way.

One of my key objectives of getting an advanced degree in Education from a prestigious institute like Harvard is to equip myself with the necessary skills through which I can transition my organization towards financial self-sufficiency. Mainly I would focus on graduate training in effective financial management and innovative ways of raising financial capital. I would use this training to come back and address the issue of limited funds, which hurts our smooth operations.

Similarly, I would love to get practical exposure through internships and work for organizations such as Uncommon Schools, which is working with the same goal of providing quality education to those who cannot afford it. Uncommon Schools’ success in the U.S. is exciting for me as I intend to replicate the strategies they employ to work effectively with limited funds at my school when I return to work. I would also be looking forward to forming a consortium of Uncommon Schools and my school so that we can exchange ideas for a common cause.

In the short run, I would return to work and continue my work at my current school. However, I would like to improve curriculum design and management through my graduate training. Utilizing my expertise, I want to revamp my school’s administration system and introduce a more inclusive and flexible hierarchy. I would also like to introduce ways to achieve financial stability through forwarding and horizontal linkages. More importantly, I would introduce state-of-the-art teacher training programs with built-in structures that can help me retain teachers for a longer time than currently.

In the long run, however, I want to be a part of large-scale programs such as the Education Sector Project (ESP) and work with other policymakers to create concrete educational policies.

In this way, I want to create an impact within my capacity, and I see a master’s degree from Harvard as an ideal segue for my career aspirations.