<p>i dunno its just confusing me. is it supposed to be something you'd really tell a roommate? i mean, pretty much all i'd tell a future roommate right off the bat would be things that could be "issues" between us if we differed GREATLY on them: i.e. i'm not a drinker, not a smoker, not a partyer, not a drug-doer, i'm bi, i'm an atheist, i'm a libertarian...but these things don't seem relevant at all to stanford. :-/ are you supposed to focus in on just one? i just have no idea what they want from this essay. help?</p>
<p>Those things actually are relevant to Stanford. They want to know exactly what type of person you are. If they feel like they really get to know you and you have a really unique personality, it raises your chances of admission. I’d say put some of those “issues” in the essay. And yes, it’s definitely things you would actually tell a roommate. Good luck!</p>
<p>thanks!! i just don’t get how to show my personality really through things i’d tell a roommate. cuz those things that i actually would tell them…i don’t feel like they say anything about my personality, but i wouldn’t just come out and tell a roommate “oh and i like to read art history books to relax” or something. lol.</p>
<p>Just plain things you’d like anyone, not just your roommate, to know about you.
Your ideas are good. I’m with wangatang about including some of those in your essay.
I didn’t focus on one thing too greatly in mine.
They really do show your personality (:</p>
<p>ya know i think it wouldnt be a bad idea to straight up say “i like to read art history books to relax” lol youd def stand out</p>
<p>Hey guys,
What format did you write these in? An essay about yourself? A letter to your roommate? A list?</p>
<p>I think I’ll end up writing it in a letter.</p>
<p>I’d put yourself in the actual scenario. Imagine you are writing a letter to your future roommate. That’s the policy in place at Stanford. You have to write a letter before you see your roommate. You can say anything you want quite frankly, but remember this is your roommate’s first impression of you. So you’ll probably want to be as honest as you feel comfortable with. I’d also attempt to sound likeable (so humble, fun, etc.). Of course, if it floats your boat, you don’t have to do that. Just like you can say whatever you want when you actually meet your roommate (but you likely have some censorship working). </p>
<p>I’ve read essays for this about tons of things. Just like how people like to introduce themselves differently in real life.</p>
<p>Do what comes naturally as cliche as that sounds. Do not overthink your roommate essay. There should be a flow and naturalness to it y’know? For me it ended up being a quirky letter about my assumed lunacy and my love of photography and inviting my roommate to travel the world with me. :D. For you it be a classified ad? a blog entry? “Work it” whitecadillac and hopeandaudacity. Even if you aren’t original (i.e. having a novel idea no applicant has thought of), as long as you are authentic it should come out well. Remember forced originality is highly detectable to the trained eye. Shoot for naturalness, once again, so it makes your entire application cohesive and representative of you. Do not look for a set standard formula. I would stray away from relying on the “techniques” of others too much. my 2 cents yo. >.></p>
<p>It does not have to be a letter … not sure what policy Senior0991 is referring to.</p>
<p>I was saying to imagine you’re in a scenario where the policy in place at Stanford is to write a letter to your future roommate before you meet them. Which would work in place with the prompt. </p>
<p>Prompt: “What would you want your future roommate to know about you? Tell us something about you that will help your roommate—and us—know you better.”</p>
<p>We reasoned that this essay was really for the benefit of the admissions staff, it should show the applicant in a positive light and should reveal personal information not already elicited by the other essays and profile questions. Of course, what you write shouldn’t be so stuffy or self-promotional that it wouldn’t be appreciated by a potential roommate, but keep in mind that the audience is not really the future roomie. Stanford’s application is pretty involved, so in my daughter’s case there wasn’t much of importance left to cover except minor preferences, family background, and unimportant hobbies. She ended up reworking something she had used for a summer program application whose prompt was the basic “tell us about yourself”.</p>
<p>Our D’s roommate essay was everything she thought her roommate should know. It was funny, but not too funny, and quirky. She’s never shown it to her roommate, though.</p>
<p>Senior0991, Sorry. Now I understand what you were saying. There was some confusion for 2013 applicants because the prompt changed last year from something to the effect of “write a letter to your roommate” to “tell us something that will help your roommate and us know you better.” Some CCers did not notice that the prompt had changed and had the impression they were required to write in a letter format.</p>
<p>The GFG, I think you are on the right track. My S kept the essay light and humorous. Whatever approach you choose to take – e.g., serious, funny – the essay should engage the admissions reader and make him/her want to have you on campus because you sound like a fantastically wonderful person!</p>
<p>just not overthinking this essay is probably the most important thing, for most people. there’s no deep secret thing that the admissions committee wants to see.</p>
<p>I hear there’s a dtella DC++ hub on Stanford: <a href=“https://sites.google.com/site/dtellastanford/[/url]”>https://sites.google.com/site/dtellastanford/</a></p>
<p>I think what helped me most in conveying my personality was the roommate essay. What would you tell your roommate? Would you just state facts with no explanation and really don’t have any substantial insight into who you are as a person (e.g. I am a catholic)? How would you get to know your roommate? You would tell them your likes, your dislikes, your little quirks (e.g. how you like the LA lakers even though you live in boston because you feel a connection to the city since it was your birthplace), your hobbies, what kind of music you like and why, etc.
What do you do in your spare time? What do you think about when you lay in bed to sleep? Who are you? </p>
<p>You need to develop some kind of rapport and create an image in the adcoms mind of what kind of person you may be.</p>
<p>Are you supposed to use colloquialism and text/email lingo (“haha,” or “lol”?)
Is it inappropriate to start the letter out with “Yoyoyoyoooooo!!!”? haha</p>
<p>^ Yeah that’s dumb, don’t do that.</p>
<p>Hey everyone, I’m a member of the Stanny class of 2015 (I was just admitted) and thought I’d add my two cents on the roommate essay.</p>
<p>It was, in my opinion, my weakest essay, but probably covered the most ground. I used it to give the admissions office a good synopsis of some of the things that define me as a person, but I kept it lighthearted and conversational, too. You can write it as a letter, as an essay, or whatever. I made mine half a dialogue, leaving room for my roommate’s responses.</p>
<p>And then with the roommate essay as my “background,” I delved a bit deeper and narrowed my focus for the intellectual vitality, common app (personal), and why stanford essays.</p>
<p>It worked out for me, but that’s only one way of going about handling the prompts. Don’t go off topic, and don’t write prepubescently, and you should be fine.</p>
<p>If you are funny (and be honest with yourself), the roommate essay is a great opportunity to be funny. Don’t be so concerned with cramming every possible reason why you’re good for Stanford into your essays - be a natural. Develop some kind of voice for you writing, and then buckle down and write something. What Stanford is NOT looking for are drags, so don’t be one - unless you are one, in which case, it’s almost always more effective to just be yourself.</p>