<p>I don't know if this has been answered already...but how are we supposed to write it? I mean, do we use a conversational tone...do we start out with something like "Hi, new roommate!" or something like that? Can anyone help...I have no idea what it's supposed to be like...</p>
<p>To put it in a nutshell, write it as a letter but use it to brag about you. Most people's letter did start with "hi.." "dear...' etc but if you can come up with something more creative then do it.</p>
<p>i say "dude" a lot, so the first word the admissions officer is going to read on mine is "dude." </p>
<p>anyways though, just be yourself, don't worry too much about what you want them to hear. thats the main reason why they have this essay question, they want to see who mariak89 truly is, by having you write about something that can be found no where else on ur application other than in this letter. dont stress!!!, be urself.</p>
<p>Could you give me an example of what the first few sentences could be like, if you don't mind? I don't know how you can brag about yourself in a note to a roommate w/o it sounding like that's what you're doing...</p>
<p>Mariak89,</p>
<p>Just write as if you are writing to a friend. I agree with other posts. Just be yourself. There is no right or wrong with this one!</p>
<p>:)
Greetings friend from earth,
I come from a parallel plane where elves reside. There was once a time when our worlds were together. Elves, dwarves and hobbits feasted together....
....
Your friend in this quest,
..... :D</p>
<p>Obviously the Stanford admissions wanted a lighter tone essay. You wouldn't be writing too formally to a roommate. This is simply another way to sell yourself by showing another aspect of you. Since I submitted a fine arts supplement, I lamely pretended that my roommate and I were discussing painting, so I could write about it. My first line was "Hi roomie! I got your letter, and I'm starting to like you. So you like to paint you say?" LAME I know! But the focus are the later parts.</p>
<p>well, she's an applicant like you, no results yet, but just as a datapoint, my daughter didn't have any salutation or greeting or intro - she just wrote about an activity that showed a room-mate relevant side to her character. I really doubt they are going to be picky about form - their goal is to learn about another side of your character (but I am guessing! :) it's what I'd be looking for, and what they say they are, too!]</p>
<p>ooo crap... it has to start by addressing the roommate? i wrote an essay about a funny experience i had this past summer. I didnt make it a letter of introduction giving my background or anything. should i change it to a letter of introduction? </p>
<p>crap i thought we were supposed to tell them about a personal experience, or was that only for last year's essay?
please lemme kno what you think i should do. thanks.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input everyone!</p>
<p>No, it does not have to start with an address to your roommate. You can just start as though it were an essay. Really, this is the essay that Stanford lets you get really creative with -- they want to see who you are.</p>
<p>You can write it any way you want. It is a short essay that allows you to talk about stuff not normally addressed on college application, to show your fun/human/silly/humble/whatever side.</p>
<p>I had the most fun with this essay. I just gave it a lighter tone from the more serious, number-crunching, data-filled essays that Stanford also asked me to do. I simply wrote about myself but made sure not to mention any of the academics, as I really wanted to let them know why Stanford was a fit for me and who I am as a person as if they were a friend or, as the essay sugested, a roommate.</p>