<p>I had my dad review my essay for the question on the stanford supplement about "intellectual vitality". He said my response didn't really answer the question. I talked about my experience going abroad in an exchange program and how traveling alone for the first time was an eye-opening experience for me. I go into the fact that i found how i enjoyed independence and realized i liked exploring new places. So, I ask, does that seem like a topic that addresses intellectual vitality?</p>
<p>hmmm, it’s difficult to say without seeing the essay itself, but my gut reaction is that it doesn’t address the prompt (though I’m not positive – it is a broad topic). I thought of intellectual vitality as something more about why I want to learn and what knowledge will do for me, but that could just be my own interpretation.</p>
<p>is this the topic?</p>
<p>STANFORD STUDENTS POSSESS AN INTELLECTUAL VITALITY. REFLECT ON AN IDEA OR EXPERIENCE
THAT HAS BEEN IMPORTANT TO YOUR INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT.</p>
<p>The theme sounds appropriate but may be your dad does not like the content. Dads don’t always know what they are doing! :p</p>
<p>I think the topic could work, but maybe you’re not focusing on exactly what the prompt is asking you to? Your dad might be worried that the essay might focus too much on how you like travel and other parts of the world rather than the intellectual vitality aspect of it – what did this travel make you realize and want to learn more about? Something like, “I want to learn how different cultures of the world tick and why people act the way they do,” would be a better focus than, “I like sight-seeing, eating new foods, and living independently.”</p>
<p>Also keep in mind that the “travelling abroad and having an eye opening experience” topic is quite overdone for college essays. It can still be written very well and don’t feel like you have to change the topic if it’s truly important to you, but make sure your essay stands out above other, “I traveled and learned a lot,” essays.</p>
<p>Good luck with your essay!</p>
<p>@texas pg Haha yep that’s the topic!</p>
<p>And thanks for the advice (redchair), I might rethink this and write about the idea for a company my friend and I started but never really finished.</p>
<p>Ok, how did your travels improve your intellectual development?</p>
<p>to Texaspg: Well it made me realize how important independence was and that i really wanted to study abroad in college. It also made me realize that i really loved exploring new cultures and environments</p>
<p>How does that tie into anything you plan to study at college?</p>
<p>submitter - your response at #7 focusses on “you” - independence (for you), i really, i really. A way to bring some intellectual vitality into the essay would be to reflect about your travels and how that changed your thoughts about the world, your own country, how you could change the world to be better place etc. Don’t focus on yourself exclusively but on “you” in the context of the bigger world.</p>
<p>keesh17 thanks for that great advice! That actually makes a lot of sense even though it seems difficult with the limited space for the essay. It would be pretty hard to tying it back to how i could change the world though.</p>
<p>at Texaspg, basically knowing i loved being abroad makes studying abroad in college an attractive option.</p>