<p>Last year I was a finalist in the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Student Essay Contest, and I won $100. It was a regional competition, open to Economics students from 6-7 states in the Midwest (the district area). There were 20 finalists in the “advanced” (including me).</p>
<p>Is this essay worth sending in to Harvard? I’m not sure if it qualifies for “unusually advanced” work. Would it hurt if I sent it in and it wasn’t “unusually advanced?” My Econ teacher said it was college level work but i’m not sure if that translates to “harvard level work”</p>
<p>I appreciate the feedback. Thanks.</p>
<p>Where did you hear the “unusually advanced” work part? I know people who have written typical college topics for Harvard and gotten in. I even asked some students there myself and they said it doesn’t hurt.</p>
<p>To be honest, if it’s an experience that truly conveys you (something not covered in your app well) I would write it. Of course the “harvard level work” depends on not just the content of your essay, but also how you write it.</p>
<p>Best of luck! I’m debating if I should write a supplemental essay too. Hope somebody else can provide feedback to the OP’s question.</p>
<p>I would probably send a more personal essay. Advanced by “Harvard standards” would be something published in a professional economics journal, or something that won a national-level academic competition. What that competition calls “advanced”, if I recall correctly, refers to someone who has a prior background in economics. That is not at all advanced by Harvard’s standards. There are freshman at Harvard who have taken two-years of college economics before they set foot on campus.</p>
<p>Thanks for the feedback! I ended up writing a more personal essay for the additional section and i really liked how it turned out. </p>
<p>But yeah i’m a little hesitant on sending them too much stuff because i don’t want to annoy the admissions officers, but then i also feel like they really don’t know much about me from just academic “stats,” 2 teacher recs, one essay, and a REALLY vague counselor rec. So many people look the same on paper…</p>