<p>On Stanford's Supplement to the Common App it seems as though they really make a genuine effort to get to know the applicant. How much weight does the essay and short answer questions carry? I know the admissions process is holistic, but I'm a little worried anyway. Stanford is my dream school, but my scores are not stellar. I've heard of applicants with low scores, but personality being accepted and geniuses being rejected. Does anyone know of someone who didn't have great scores, but was still accepted?</p>
<p>A lot, especially when compared to many other top schools. Don’t be discouraged though, be yourself and have fun with the essays. They definitely don’t have to be perfect. Don’t be afraid to sound crazy/slightly kooky. Show passion and that you HAVE a personality. If you do that, you’re beating 80% of the applicants right off the bat because few people realize why exactly Stanford has them write 3 essays.</p>
<p>ugh. i wish i could just send a school my stats and Ecs and not have to worry about sounding creative or passionate. It just feels kind of like a creative writing test.</p>
<p>that will probably be my saving grace to be honest, all you have to do is have fun with the questions/essays.</p>
<p>It’s not reall a creative writing test, it’s more about having a voice through your essay and making them feel like they know you through your essay. And then hopefully they like what they feel they know of you. Thats my perspective.</p>
<p>sparknerd2010, no one knows exactly how much weight the essays carry, but they obviously carry a lot. It’s the only explanation for why from time to time, applicants with fantastic stats get rejected. “Not great” is pretty relative. What are your scores exactly? I mean if your SATs are 500 in each section and you have a 2.something gpa then your chances are less than slim… but it all depends. And if you want to make a comparison, you can probably check out the Stanford decisions thread and see what the scores were like and if anyone with similar scores to yours was accepted.</p>
<p>Xargon47, I kind of understand how you feel, particularly if you are applying to several schools, each with 2 or more supplement essays. But, I feel as though the fact that Stanford really tries to get to know the applicant is what sets Stanford apart and why each year there is such a fantastic student body. Honestly, you can’t expect them to accept students based on stats and ECs alone because then it will very well be full of nerds with no personality.</p>
<p>And once you find an essay topic that you can closely relate to, you won’t have to “worry” about sounding passionate or creative… it’ll emerge on its own. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>hpfan: i get what you’re saying, and i dont realistically think they could get away without requiring essays, im just not liking the prospect of having to put in so much work at these apps. Ihave personality, im just afraid i wont be able to convey it properly in an essay.</p>
<p>If the answer is ‘yes’, will you suddenly become a more interesting person?</p>
<p>Xargon, the best thing is to approach these essays without fear and hesitation. Really, just have fun with them and don’t feel too constrained by the thought of having to write “the perfect essay”. Show some personality and your passion and I guarantee you’ll have a leg up over 80% of the other applicants. </p>
<p>When I wrote my essays, I really didn’t “care” about my Stanford essays - as in, I was loose, had fun with them, and sounded kinda crazy. I didn’t think I’d ever get into Stanford so I was kind of like “whatever”, no pressure. For my other schools, I was formal and boring. When decisions came out, I got rejected by several schools way easier to get into than Stanford but got into Stanford.</p>
<p>I’m just so nervous. Everybody keeps telling me that “this the most important essay you’ll ever write”. I really, really want to go to Stanford.</p>
<p>ugh yeah i know
every time i write something, i read over it again, and then i hate it…
it’s really frustrating
im wondering if i should be stressing over the essays that much in the firstplace</p>
<p>yeah. i’m havvign issues with one of my stanford essays too. my why stanford essay. it jsut sounds like i could say that stuff for any school…but i don’t want to sound like a brochure either</p>