<p>How is this passion in an individual measured through the application process?</p>
<p>Admitted class, how was your essay structured and what did it emphasize?</p>
<p>Your essay is probably the most crucial part of your application. Because the office of admissions only sees whatever you put on the paper, you basically have to try and put yourself in your words. Don’t try to be what you think they want you to be - be yourself. Stanford looks for people who are intellectually bright and vibrant as an individual.</p>
<p>I think my essay is what helped me get in. I wrote about believing in obsessions, and told a story about how my obsession with television shows helped spark my inner creativity and shape my career path. I think it was different, and it showed what kind of person I was and where my passions lie. As long as you are sincere in your writing and feel good about it, you should be fine. There is really no structure or guidelines to follow when writing the essay, other than to answer the prompts given to you in the Common Application.</p>
<p>First, my essay was terrible, so I won’t tell you much about it. I emphasized my recent passion for interdisciplinary science, but I phrased it in a way that makes it seem like I hated learning science up until early last year (big mistake, but whatever). </p>
<p>This passion is “measured” through your essay. Teachers I think will rate your intellectual passion on a number scale in their rec, so this essay kind of supplements that objective data, I guess. Think about it, you probably know who the most curious and passionate students in your class, and can rank them individually, even though there really isn’t a number for this.</p>
<p>Oh okay, thank you!!!</p>
<p>i checked the box to use another prompt of my choosing on the common app, substituted a thinly veiled version of MIT’s essay prompt B, and used my MIT main application essay. MIT was my first choice at the time. now here i am, enrolled at Stanford and absolutely positive that Stanford is the best school in the country for me :D</p>
<p>that was just the common app though. don’t forget the three other essays on the stanz’s supplement that i think are just as or even more important.</p>
<p>Stanford places high importance on its short essays. Evidence: For both Ss the ad com wrote about things said in one of the short essays on the personal welcome letter. The view is that students often get lots of help with the main essay and the short ones that are specific to only Stanford are more likely to reflect the student acting independently.</p>
<p>^ i second that. my personalized note was about one of my short essays, and when i talked to my admissions officer about my application, the stuff she remembered about me was all in the Stanford supplement part. (well except for some biggies like making a hologram that were in the commonapp essay)</p>
<p>On the flip side, I know my short essays were excellent (otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten in!), but my little personal note was only about my common app essay and about ways I could get plugged in/contribute to Stanford.</p>
<p>The short essays were definitely significant. Really, the whole Stanford supplement was pretty important, because Stanford is looking for individuals who have something more to offer than just good grades and extracurriculars. They want to see who you really are as a person, and the way they set up the supplement does just that. Personally, my favorite short essay was the roommate one - maybe tlaking about all my quirks is what got me in. :D</p>