A quick proofread of the other five essays suggests that they don’t entirely capture me. Allow me to introduce myself.

Truth be told, I’m not necessarily the easiest person to get to know well. The ingrained risk aversion to which I alluded in Essay Two often tries to manifest itself as inconspicuousness in social settings. I realized many years ago, however, that I could either cave in to my shyness or I could mask it and overcome it with a cloak of humor. To the latter end, I have worked to develop my wit. My style of humor ranges from goofy gregariousness to a withering deadpan that at times totters precariously on the edge of irreverence. In joking with my Australian coworker that his is a nation justifiably proud of the convictions of its forefathers, I need to be really certain that he’ll take it in the right spirit. Still, humor has helped me to become successful in social settings. When the rare friend who gains my trust sufficiently for me to reveal my inner shyness responds with, “But you seem like such an outgoing and funny guy,” I’m very glad I didn’t cave.

Perhaps paradoxically, I love public speaking, though I don’t have the opportunity as often as I would like. Speaking in front of many unknown faces is less daunting than meeting one new person. Humor helps here as well. I even have coworkers who prejudge our firm’s quarterly meetings by a binary boredom index that hinges on whether I’m scheduled to give one of my not-so-standard presentations.

I play basketball, ultimate Frisbee, and the fiddle, each but recreationally and all with less skill than I could wish. My greatest passion is knowledge. The stack of eight books that is currently sitting under my bed, all of which I will finish, reveals my primary means of satiating that passion. I also love creative writing. My long-suffering friends periodically receive whimsical essays on topics like the horrors of driving in New Jersey or the improvement of love songs by replacing “you” with “food” (“I love food truly, truly dear . . .”). I’m also slowly writing a complete commentary on the Bible, but my muse is short-winded, so I am thankful to the nameless medieval monk who divided the scriptural tome into convenient, bite-sized chapters. For this reason I am also thankful to the HBS Admissions Board, to wit: 398, 399, 400.

Analysis

This applicant conveys two main ideas in this well-structured essay. First of all, he chooses to focus on his style of humor and demonstrates it by keeping the actual tone of his essay light and witty. At the same time, he also shows that he has a sound understanding of himself and is aware of how he best relates to others.

The introduction immediately draws the readers into the story with a witty, memorable, and somewhat direct intro: “Allow me to introduce myself.” He entertains his audience, opens up without boasting, and puts his sense of humor on display. The candidate achieves that outcome by presenting a thoughtful, well-crafted argument in which he touches upon the interesting paradoxes of his personality. He is shy, yet enjoys public speaking; he is humorous, but cautious with his levity, so as not to offend his interlocutors.

This essay is masterful because it is unique and gives the audience insight into the writer’s personality. The last paragraph shows that he is a fun person who uses humor to break social barriers and entertain his “long-suffering” friends. In the last sentence of the essay, the candidate proves that he has an original ability to improvise and think on his feet. “To wit: 398, 399, 400.” On the basis of personality alone, this author has distinguished himself, which is exactly the intended outcome of this wide-open essay topic.

From 65 Successful Harvard Business School Application Essays edited by the Staff of the Harvard Crimson. Copyright (c) 2009 by the authors and reprinted by permission of St. Martin's Publishing Group