50 Successful Harvard Application Essays

A
RAN
K
HANNA
A Cut Below
Standing at a whopping five and a half feet high, I am not very tall. Now this might not sound like a
glaring, life-changing confession, but to the rowing community this fact can make or break
everything. I don’t fit the mold of a traditional rower. In fact, at first glance there is nothing that
separates me from being a coxswain. I am short, extremely light, not particularly burly, and loud (a
must in a good coxswain). So when I meet fellow oarsmen and tell them I am a rower it is no wonder
that they usually scoff at me. So why do I do it? Why do I decide to put myself at a disadvantage and
row? The answer is that I really want to have an oar in my hands. So I push myself and my teammates
in every workout and race. I am constantly fighting people taller and stronger than me to be the better
rower. To me rowing has nothing to do with innate skill. There is a simple correlation between
teamwork, hard work, and success, and nothing can supersede that. Through my hard work and the
support of my teammates I now realize how much I have accomplished. I worked my way into the
light eight that went to Youth Nationals, and I, the smallest rower on the team, was elected to represent
it as captain. Looking back, I realize that rowing has taught me the value of perseverance and
teamwork, and those are things that I have readily been applying to almost every facet of my life.
The perseverance I have learned from rowing has allowed me to tackle many issues that I
previously would have given up on, from fighting through the frustration of trying to teach English
in a Chinese village to doggedly attacking a difficult math problem. This sense of determination has
allowed me to view failure as a step toward success rather than something to fear. Perseverance has
become an integral part of who I am and how I face problems.
As a rower I know that a well-performing team can achieve much more than any individual, and
this idea constantly affects me as I go throughout my day. Running the school newspaper, leading
Lakeside squash club, and even working on homework, are all activities that I approach as a
teammate, rather than as an individual, because of rowing. Just as I constantly try to unify any boat I
am rowing in, I feel that I am always pushing friends and classmates to work together. This notion of
teamwork and collaborating with others is one that has led me to become an effective leader and
conquer many challenges.
The struggles I have faced while rowing have profoundly influenced me and taught me some of
the most valuable lessons of my life. The skills I have learned from rowing have influenced the way I
approach problems and will be a part of me for as long as I live.
REVIEW

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Aran’s essay takes the shape of an onion. It begins with an outer coating that draws the reader in and
proceeds with a series of substantial inner layers—each of which reveals deeper insight into Aran’s
character.
The physical description of Aran serves as the perfect external layer, because it depicts him as the
athlete who is at a major disadvantage because of his size; the rower who is looked down upon by
other rowers, the oarsman who is constantly mistaken for a coxswain—as the underdog—(everyone
loves a good underdog story). Once the essay effectively engages the reader this way, it seamlessly
transitions into the narrative’s second and third layers: Aran’s analysis of his athletic experience
through the lens of his struggle as the unlikely rower and the contextualization of other aspects of his
life—such as teaching, squash, and journalism—with respect to perseverance and teamwork, the two
values he learned to appreciate through rowing. The strength of his essay rests with this structure; by
creating a burgeoning self-portrait of Aran, the onion-like organization style of the narrative enables
Aran to impart to the reader a detailed and comprehensive understanding of who he is by the end of
the essay.
The only risk Aran takes is not taking any risks at all. After reading countless essays that
predictably expound upon students’ résumés by demonstrating their abilities to rise above challenges
and collaborate efficiently with their peers, admissions officers likely welcome bold attempts at the
new and unusual. Aran’s essay, written in a simple, straightforward, and even somewhat
conversational tone, lacks such an audacious venture. This essay contains no fanfare, no theatrics, no
drama—but it does get the job done.
—Maddie Sewani

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