Harvard Rejects the Meme Essay

HARVARD COLLEGE Office of Admissions and Financial Aid Chicago, IL 60614 Dear [redacted] Thank you for your interest in Harvard College. After careful review of your application, I regret to inform you that we are unable to offer you a place in the Class of 2029. This year’s applicant pool was one of the most competitive in Harvard’s history and, unfortunately, we are unable to admit every student—regardless of their “Sigma mindset,” Minecraft redstone skills, or ability to “rizz up the essay like Shakespeare with WiFi.” While your academic performance was commendable, your essay did raise some concerns. For future reference, we discourage starting your personal statement with “Sup nerds, let me cook,” and ending with “yeet me into Harvard or else 🥺.” We also found it unnecessary to include a screenshot of your 2.1 million TikTok followers, especially with the caption “Proof I’m a thought leader.” Additionally, submitting a Spotify playlist titled “Harvard if you’re listening, this is for you ❤️” in place of a second recommendation letter was… creative, but ultimately unhelpful. While we appreciate your interpretive dance video titled “My Journey Through Academia” (shot entirely in a Taco Bell parking lot), it did not strengthen your case for admission. Lastly, please refrain from referring to the Common App essay prompt as “low-key mid.” Our admissions committee takes these things seriously. We encourage you to continue striving for academic and personal growth, and we wish you all the best in your educational journey—hopefully, one with fewer memes and more MLA formatting. Sincerely, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Don’t start your Harvard Application with “sup nerds let me cook”

A young man in a mint-green shirt appears as a talking-head overlay in front of a Harvard College rejection letter, gesturing toward the document as he narrates it. The letter humorously rejects an applicant for filling their essay and application with internet slang, Minecraft skills, TikTok followers, a Spotify playlist, an interpretive dance, and other memes. Dramatic background music and the increasingly serious delivery make the absurdly specific rejection letter feel like a mock-official roast. EN: A young man in a mint-green shirt appears as a talking-head overlay in front of a Harvard College rejection letter, gesturing toward the document as he narrates it. The letter humorously rejects an applicant for filling their essay and application with internet slang, Minecraft skills, TikTok followers, a Spotify playlist, an interpretive dance, and other memes. Dramatic background music and the increasingly serious delivery make the absurdly specific rejection letter feel like a mock-official roast.

Don't start your Harvard essay with sub nerds. Let me cook. This student received a rejection letter from Harvard saying thank you for your interest in Harvard College After careful review of your application I regret to inform you that we are unable to offer you a place in the class of 2029 this year's applicant pool was one of the most competitive in Harvard's history and Unfortunately, we are unable to admit every student regardless of their Sigma mindset Minecraft Redstone skills or ability to raise up the essay like Shakespeare with Wi-Fi While your academic performance was commendable, your essay did raise some concerns. For future reference, we discourage starting your personal statement with, Subnerds, Let Me Cook, and Ending with Yeet Me Into Harvard or Else. We also find it unnecessary to include a screenshot of your 2.1 million TikTok followers, especially with the caption, Proof I'm a Thought Leader. Additionally, submitting a Spotify playlist titled Harvard if you're listening, this is for you, in place of a second recommendation letter was creative, but ultimately unhelpful. While we appreciate your interpretive dance video titled, My Journey Through Academia shot entirely in a talk about parking lot, it did not strengthen your ease for admission. Lastly, please refrain from referring to the common-epp essay prompt as low-key mid. Our admissions team takes these things seriously. We encourage you to continue starting for academic and personal growth and we wish you all the best in your educational journey. Hopefully, one with fewer memes and more MLA formatting. Sincerely, Dean of Emissions. Let me know what you think of this rejection letter.