<p>I posted this on the Stanford page and realized that a lot of this information probably isn't unique to Stanford. I don't know how universal it really is among schools but thought it might be helpful to all the high school seniors writing college applications.</p>
<p>I just graduated from high school and now I'm off to Stanford. I was admitted SCEA last December and even though I applied and was admitted to a bunch of other schools I decided that California was the way to go! ;-)
Stanford has an admit weekend for admitted students to help persuade them to come to the Farm and one of the activities was a picnic lunch on the quad with the regional admissions officer who admitted you. I sat with all of the other students from Illinois and Ohio and we talked about life at Stanford... until the conversation drifted to admissions. First we watched him recite fragments of each of our essays (after a one or two word prompt - "mine was about ballet!" or "do you remember the one about visiting Italy?"). That was amazing in itself since he reads a LOT of essays. For all you hopeful seniors - I guess a memorable essay helps more than I would have thought. Likewise, a bad essay will also be remembered. This actually surprised me because I assumed they cared mostly about numbers.</p>
<p>Then we started grilling him about what he really looks for in an application. First, he was really clear was that he really wanted to see passion in an application. An (approximate) quote: "I don't care if their passion is shoe shopping. A passion for anything means they are the type of student that will be passionate about other things." So my first advice is to make sure your essay(s) show whatever you are passionate about. I didn't write about some huge life changing event and you don't really have to. Write about something you really care about. Your essay will be easier to write anyway. Your passion should also come through in other parts of your application as well. This was the most important thing he stressed during our conversation.</p>
<p>Second, we asked him what the biggest turn off in an application would be. He said if he ever read any essay that seemed closed minded or bigoted in any way he just threw it out. I know this seems like common sense, but I've read essays where this came across completely unintentionally. I had a friend that was an Irish step dancer write about how much she loved being Irish, but it came across as though she thought Irish people were better than everyone else. Luckily we fixed it before she sent it off and she got into her dream school. The admissions officer's example was if someone was a Democrat and in their roommate essay made it clear that they wouldn't want a Republican roommate because they care so much about Democratic values that they couldn't live in the same room. I'm sure that student was trying to show passion, but also ended up sounding like he was not tolerant of Republicans. Basically, have someone read your essay before you send it off so you don't have any unintended meaning in your essay that you don't want.</p>
<p>Finally, your admissions officer really is your advocate. You've probably heard this before but it is their job to argue for you and get you an acceptance letter. Give them something convincing to say in front of a committee. This is more than just test scores. They need to like you so that they want to have you in the Stanford (or any) community. The school worries about numbers and admit rates and quotas, but your admissions officer is going individual by individual. What I learned was that they aim for (#) students from each region, but if the admissions officer is at (# + 7) and they really think you should be admitted and really argue for you, they aren't going to say no to a student that really deserves to be admitted. </p>
<p>That's the best I can do for 'insider advice' for now. I can't remember much more of the conversation since it was quite a long weekend, quite a long while ago and after I was already admitted. I would be happy to answer questions about my own application or my friends or the application process but as I am not even in college yet my knowledge is limited. I do hope that helps and I wish everyone good luck in their applications!</p>
<p>I always assumed that for college essay to be passionate as well as effective, it should be about something deep and emotional that would really mve the reader...but yay!! now I know i can write about anything...even shoes!! lol :p
anywayz that was really useful, thanks for posting it!
Have fun at stanford!</p>
<p>Very interesting comments! That may explain why my son's friend didn't get accepted. He's excels in every area, but I honestly can't think of anything he's passionate about. Could a person be too well-rounded? </p>
<p>Thanks..but it would be way harder for someone who is not inherently good at writing essays, like me. I try so hard on everything else- varsity sports, extracurriculars, straight A's, hardest course load, but when it comes to writing essays I just plain suck. I can't use enough imagery and literary devices to show passion and emotion in my essays. My essays are not clear and concise and I cannot express myself well enough. Any ideas on how i can improve that? Any good books? Or things I should do?</p>
<p>1463 -- without crossing the ethical boundary, get some writing help. A tutor, coach, parent, friend, mentor, counselor, someone who can help you decide on a theme, and get your thoughts onto paper.</p>
<p>Try writing more than one essay, and get feeback about what your trusted advisors liked and didn't about each.</p>
<p>Stanford1463- you expressed yourself quite well in that post. You don't have to use literary devices. Just write as if you are telling a friend about yourself. Definitely ask others to read your essay so you can gauge whether you have communicated your intent. This can be friends, parents, teachers, whoever you trust to be honest without changing your message.</p>
<p>OP: Many thanks for taking the time to write this information for all to follow. S was admitted to Stanford SCEA also (class of 2010), but got to Stanford's admitted weekend late due to performing at his last high school Battle of the Bands, so he missed the picnic lunch. I had never heard that the admittees met their admissions officers. It is a very nice touch and certainly makes the students feel wanted. S had so much fun with the other profros, he decided to attend Stanford.<br>
It is clear from S's results that essays are the key at Stanford, especially the short ones. It is important to keep that in mind when looking at acceptance stats on these boards. Unless the students post their essays, there is no way to judge acceptance chances based on a prior applicant's acceptance or rejection.
Take the time to read all the summer books and enjoy Stanford this Fall.</p>
<p>Wait,so when you;re applying to stanford or an ivy, each person has a special designated person who argues to the adcoms that his client should be admitted to the school (kinda like a defendant)?</p>
<p>I think it just means that the admission officer(s) who read your application and have a favorable impression on you, it's up to them to convince the others why you should get in vs the kids from other areas/other admission officers read.</p>
<p>Congrats on getting into Stanford. But remember that in life, the two best factors in determining success on the job are often integrity and humility. Do your best while you are in school, but DONT make the mistake of talking about Stanford to anyone and everyone within earshot for the next 10 years of your life. I could write a book (maybe I should!) on people who went to prestigious colleges and had trouble in the working world because of "attitude" issues. I know someone who went to Georgia Tech on scholarship, then to Carnegie Mellon University for his MBA. He has had three jobs in the last year. He is condescending and narcissistic. He doesnt seem to understand that talking about himself and his accomplishments 24/7 is regarded as unprofessional, boring, and condescending...not to mention that some of his coworkers and bosses may have gone to higher ranked schools! </p>
<p>Stanford is an outstanding school. Work hard and keep your head down.</p>
<p>As far as I gathered, there is a regional admissions officer who reads ALL the applications from a given area (my area was all of Illinois and Ohio). They then get to take the ones they like and argue your case in front of a committee as to why you should be accepted. There is a bit of politics that goes with this as well. A more experienced admissions officer is more likely to be listened to - or perhaps just better at knowing what to say. But the key is that they are your advocate to the committee. They want to admit students. However, they also have the power to throw out your application on the spot if something in it offends them and a committee might never see it. </p>
<p>Keep in mind I can only verify this for Stanford. I don't know as much about other Ivy's. I'm sure that not all schools care as much about essays and some would rather see an all around achiever than a person with one singular passion (I got this impression from Yale, for example).</p>
<p>Uh-oh, the close-minded thing scares me. I'm an intense republican (I have a column in the school paper that expresses my views) and I wrote about an obscure incident that violated freedom of speech and the rebuttal a teacher wrote to it. Its pretty sarcastic and witty (at least I think...) and my GC loved it. Would that be considered a close-minded essay (and therefore a no-go)?</p>