<p>So for one of my essays (for the prompt "Virtually all of Stanford’s undergraduates live on campus. What would you want your freshman year roommate to know about you? Tell us something about you that will help your roommate—and us—know you better") I wrote a sort of quirky personal essay. In it, I make a couple of Star Trek references. (The essay isn't actually about Star Trek.) Do admissions officers like Star Trek and this sort of nerdiness or do they look down upon it?</p>
<p>If you’re going to make references I suggest pointing out that they’re from star trek. If your reader knows what you’re talking about, it could be a hit. On the other hand, if the reader doesn’t know anything about star trek, they might just feel confused and wonder why you put that there. To be safe, I’d say make your reference pretty clear or point out it’s from Star Trek and relate it to how you’re a little nerdy in a funny/intellectual way.</p>
<p>It’s not really an obscure reference. Most people would know who Spock is and that Klingons are a race from Star Trek, right?</p>
<p>Yep, everyone knows kilgons. Go ahead and include it.</p>
<p>Oops… I meant Klingons</p>