<p>or can it be pretty straightforward reasons why i want to attend? is either preferable or are both just as good of ways of approaching it?</p>
<p>I don’t really have a “correct” answer, since I’m also applying to Stanford, but I would assume that either approach is okay.</p>
<p>I’m curious about this too. Does it have to be a creative essay? Personal statement-style? Or just a direct explanation of what about Stanford appeals to you?</p>
<p>The three short answers that you give are meant to be a way for the admission’s office to better understand who you are. So, my opinion is that you should write a draft that just flows naturally from your brain. If you are a crazy person then they should know that and if you aren’t then you don’t need to try to be. If you feel you can give a better response by just being straightforward then that is what you should try to do. By being creative/abstract you are taking a huge risk, one that may not pay off too well for you.</p>
<p>I don’t think it “has” to be anything. Whichever way is easier for you to write is probably better. Mine was a typical day-in-the-life sort of thing. It was okay…not my strongest essay out of the three.</p>
<p>Mine was pretty straightforward. There were certainly some creative elements because that’s how I write.</p>
<p>also i had one more question: i’ve gotten some personal anecdotes from friends who go there that have made me really like certain aspects of the school. but would it be weird to mention this? i mean, like describe something specific about the school and why i’d like it…i’m probably not making sense. lol.</p>
<p>explain what makes you like stanford 
they just want to know what’s in your head</p>
<p>Nothing in the college process HAS to be creative. It just helps IF it works. </p>
<p>In my case, my Why Stanford is the most creative thing I’ve ever written, unless someone else had the same idea it will totally stand out (in a good way, I don’t think that it was risky at all).
However, my roommate essay was more straightforward and I tried to address my unique quirks (though in retrospect I would have written about one particular thing for the whole thing, but I didn’t think about talking about that thing at the time, so I didn’t write about it)</p>
<p>In my mind, your essays should roughly equal 25/30 in your mind if you want to have a good shot.</p>
<p>If I had to self-rate my essays (which is inherently biased XD)
IV: 9/10
R: 7/10
W: 10/10</p>
<p>I’m really that my essays and recs push me out of the same old white kid pile XD</p>
<p>I wrote my essay for SCEA as a Personal AD.</p>
<p>AKA</p>
<p>Roommate Wanted:</p>
<p>Applicant must Yadda Yadda. Applicant should like yadda yadda. </p>
<p>It is supposed to be fun, so talk how you would to someone you’re just meeting and WILL BE KNOWING quite well. Write a narrative, write a list, write a screenplay–Do what makes you feel like you.</p>
<p>@IPadraic
That’s clever! Creativity does sound like a good thing here. I think a screenplay sounds like a good idea - that would be pretty cool for any of the essays.</p>
<p>My letter to my roommate thing was basically a letter to my roommate. Like this:</p>
<p>Hi,</p>
<p>My name is arbitrary, and I’m going to be your roommate for the next little while!
So I guess I’d better tell you about myself.
Well, first of all, blah blah
Not that creative, but I thought it was okay.</p>
<p>My “Why Stanford” essay first talked about basic, obvious things about Stanford. I ended it on a semi day-in-the-life sort of thing - “I imagine myself living at Stanford, doing this blah blah, blah blah blah”. Creative is good, but don’t stress over it. As long as the true whitecadillac flows out onto the screen, you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>write whatever comes to your head. don’t second guess anything…unless it’s really crazy and wacky.lol the only thing i can say is make sure it is personal. don’t write what you think stanford wants to hear. don’t write what can be generalized.</p>
<p>Wow, IPadraic…that’s really creative! Mine was in a letter format, like arbitraryname.</p>
<p>Thanks arbitraryname and chinatown! I wanted to stand out in that. Ok, don’t let this alarm you please but the reason I did that because the admissions counselor for my region told me that he doesn’t expect nor really like the “dear roommate” format. I’m sure its not a big of a deal though guys.</p>
<p>gah i wrote the “Dear roomie” essay… but what did you all write for the “intellectually engaging” essay?</p>
<p>I wrote a narrative about a conversation between my trail guide, Frank, on the fourth day of my climb on Mt. Kilimanjaro. We talked about education in America and Tanzania and all the things we have learned. Then he went on a trivia tirade where he asked me questions about biology that I would guess right and he would feel confident that education was the same between our countries. I never had a cooler time talking about science.</p>