<p>I answered the roommate prompt, and I did it super informally and tried to incorporate humor. But what my sister and I found funny might not apply to an admissions officer. Anyone wanna read it and tell me what you think? </p>
<p>I won't be sending it to kids applying to college this year, or to new members. Thank you! :)</p>
<p>I’m not graduating this year, but I’m a pretty decent writer. I’d be interested to read your essay.</p>
<p>not going to lie, i asked both my college counselor and my english teacher and they agreed that the roommate prompt never turns out well. harvard wants to know something unique about you that is not shown in the rest of your application. just talking about your hobbies and personality traits that should already come across in the rest of your application… or even weird things about your living habits, will not excite harvard admisssions. pick a different prompt. seriously. unless you’re like. pulitzer prize winning author material, and your roommate essay is just phenomenal. </p>
<p>Yes, i"m a blunt reader (and a decent editor) and would be glad to look it over. </p>
<p>I did the roommate prompt. But it’s not about when I go to bed or get up. It’s about an important part of my personality that I’m sure my future roommate would find out mighty soon </p>
<p>@oxoxhawja3xoxo - I would have to agree, choosing to answer this question and not doing it well is likely worse than skipping the supplemental essay entirely. It’s too easy to disclose things that would make the admissions committee wonder why they should accept you!</p>
<p>This is a pretty standard essay that many colleges, including Stanford, request. Here are a few articles with some tips:
<a href=“3-tips-for-writing-the-letter-to-your-future-roommate-college-essay”>http://college.usatoday.com/2012/11/30/3-tips-for-writing-the-letter-to-your-future-roommate-college-essay/</a>
<a href=“Stuck on the Essay? Try Writing a Letter to an Imaginary College Roommate - The New York Times”>http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/05/nacac-college-essay-tips/</a></p>
<p>I would strongly warn any potential applicant applying to Harvard, Yale, or Princeton to “refrain” from using Stanford’s supplemental question in one of their essays…because this ROOM-MATE letter is very CLOSELY tied to Stanford’s application process…and Stanford’s peer admissions officers are all very well aware of it…</p>
<p>…use to your detriment. Admissions officers will be wondering why of all the choices available to “write” about…would this applicant “use” an essential question from Stanford’s…</p>
<p>@gravitas2: Harvard is actually using the same type of question now in their supplement: <a href=“https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/application-requirements/application-tips#writing-questions”>https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/application-requirements/application-tips#writing-questions</a></p>
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<p>@gibby. That is interesting. I would still be EXTREMELY careful and not use this question…it looks like they are creating an algorithm to see “where else” this applicant is MOST likely applying to… to try and maintain their “yield”…</p>
<p>gravitas, I think that’s too much overthinking. I find it highly unlikely that this is a trick question designed to identify people who would prefer Stanford.</p>
<p>I did that one for Harvard. I didn’t know Stanford had the same thing until I looked here lol and I’m not interested in Stanford. Even if I am, so what? I’m sure there are great people who are interested in both of these colleges. </p>
<p>Interesting information! I’m now a bit more nervous about doing the roommate essay than I was before. I might stick to the book one? That or the intellectual experience one. Ugh, this is hard.</p>
<p>I just have yet to see any roommate essays to Harvard. I think it’s phrased a bit differently from Stanford’s - kinda more open ended. It’s not what your future harvard roommate should know, it’s any roommate. Anyway, a great CC editor told me my version wasn’t great, so I’m in the process of changing it. Thank you @SouthernHope and @Smargent !</p>
<p>Watch out for “great CC editors.” So many are still in hs. Just saying. Maybe you found one who knows more.
And remember, adcoms will look at your choices in the context of the admission review. Don’t be deceived by the apparent simplicity of a prompt. The goal is very different than a hs essay.</p>
<p>@lookingforward To be honest, I don’t really understand “the goal” of the book list prompt. What is the adcom trying to understand from that list?</p>
<p>^^ Why do you think Admissions asks for a list of books? Because they strongly believe “Leaders Read!” Reading is vitally important to success and kids don’t do enough of it – which seems to be the message driven home to students on a weekly basis, as Harvard’s reading assignments are often detailed and lengthy. (One final exam my daughter had in an English lit class consisted of 25 obscure quotes, one from each of the books on the syllabus; students were to match the quote to the book. Good luck there if you hadn’t read the class assignments with a fine eye for detail.)</p>
<p>Many students are admitted to Harvard who have submitted a list of books --some lists even contain a sentence or two about what they liked most about the book.</p>
<p>You can actually tell an awful lot about a person from what they’ve recently read. For example, look at the books William Fitzsimmons is recommending at Harvard’s Summer Institute on College Admissions: <a href=“http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~sica/reading.htm”>http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~sica/reading.htm</a> What does his list say about him?</p>
<p>@gibby Never thought of it that way. Thank you!</p>