50 Successful Harvard Application Essays, Second Edition: What Worked for Them Can Help You Get into the College of Your Choice,   ISBN:9780312343767

Customer Rating: 

These essays are very individual and personal.
If you're looking to write a college essay, it's going to be difficult to copy any of these ideas.
It's been an OK read.
I found that many of them just drew on cultural, presonal background more than anything else.
One essay which I thought was fantastic.. was about the applicant writing about his passion for magic.

Customer Rating: 

Don't expect to know how to write those essays after reading the book. They only show you great essays, not going to teach you how to write one and not going to tell you what's great about each essay.

Customer Rating: 

I bought this last year for my college-bound daughter. She wasn't applying to Harvard but we figure, couldn't hurt. The essays are actually entertaining to read and I can see why most of the students were accepted to Harvard. That said, if you are not applying to Harvard, your school will likely use very diferent criteria when reading the application essay. My daughter's school actually required 2 essays on different specified topics, neither of which Harvard asks.

Customer Rating: 

This is a fantastic book. As a first-generation student, I had no clue what to expect from a college essay; I had no idea what made an essay good and what made it bad.
Although this book doesn't directly teach you what a good essay is, the amazing essays in here allow you to 'absorb' the good writing and use it to your advantage.

Vernon (poster before me) is correct here; you still need the grades, the scores, the extracurriculars.. or else the book does not help much.
However, if you KNOW you have a strong profile but do not know what to expect from a college essay (like me), then this book is right for you!

I can't thank this book enough. I learned good writing only paying $14 instead of something astronomical for those editing services.

Ironically, with the help of this book, I got accepted into Harvard's rival school :)

[Handsome Dan] out.

Customer Rating: 

These essays were very good, some of them were very moving. I found that this book explained the college essay process and was an easy read.