I was just wondering what type of stories people might tell in the ‘letter to roommate’ essay? I’m struggling with this, since for me, a real note to my roommate would contain absolutely nothing of interest to admissions officers.
check this advice out from “The College Essay Guy” (he has a very good advice web site). http://www.collegeessayguy.com/blog/2014/10/1/how-to-write-the-stanford-roommate-essay-part-1-of-2
It’s best to highlight the personable side of you, idiosyncrasies and all. Think about all the mundane but quirky qualities you have that differentiate you from your roommate; what would you tell your future roommate so that both of you start off on the right foot? In my essay, I basically touched on my analytical and artistic side: understanding the Hamilton musical historiographically, writing a book as a kid but cringing at it now, etc.
Some may recommend to take the “letter to the roommate” essay as a loose interpretation and go crazy with it by not actually writing a letter, but I’d be kind of wary of that; in my opinion, unless you’re a celebrated novelist, staying honest and to the prompt looks better than actively veering from the prompt in an effort to look unique.
Thanks!
If this is for Stanford, do NOT write a letter telling about yourself to your roommate. Write about a subject that interests you. Do you like math? Write about a math problem. Are you interested in poetry? Write about your favorite poem. This is kind of a trick question. The ad comm wants to see your intellectual breadth and depth, not your personality. There are other ways to demonstrate that!
@Massmomm I’m an applicant, and I do not have as much experience as you. However, personally, I think the intellectual vitality essay can already be dedicated to showing “intellectual breadth and depth.”, and the roommate one is a great way to show your personality/ sense of humor.
@Massmomm I think I agree with @nangkhieu on this one. The intellectual vitality and what matters to you essay do a pretty good job of covering your intellectual breath and thought processes. I think they just want to see your personality shine through with this one. I might be totally wrong though.