Stanford application -- important question, not chances

<p>Hi, I am applying to Stanford RD and their due date is approaching (Dec. 15). I am working on filling out form 2 online. I have a big problem. There is NO space whatsoever to fill out extracurricular activities! I have a good number of them with depth (ie, organized events and spent a lot of hours) and one of the activities is a community service program that is very unique and needs a sentence of explanation. I have already removed a lot of information about activities that I'm not really involved in, but even then I need some more space. Even half a page of a word document would be enough. Am I allowed to do that in the optional information page? It seems unreasonable to give so little space...the common app gives an astronomical amount compared to this! What did you all do?</p>

<p>Explaining these just through essays is not an option because I can only do that for 1 of the activities, and there are at least 3 that I need to expand upon.</p>

<p>You need to limit yourself to those eight spaces and the optional info. page is just for special circumstances that they tell you to write about if you want (extra ECs don't count).</p>

<p>It's hard, but think about it and try to prioritize, which is what Stanford wants. Which ones are the most important to you? List those down.</p>

<p>Taking off a few ECs won't hurt you in admissions, even though you really do want to list them. Focus on the essays. If the eight ECs you choose are amazing, then your essays will be the final factor on whether you're accepted or not.</p>

<p>Oh great. Well, at least everyone else is similarly limited.</p>

<p>One of the essays is about your most important EC. You can incorporate the other two in your other essays.</p>

<p>You can also briefly describe what you've done to teachers/GCs writing recs for you, especially if it's something outside of school they wouldn't know about.</p>

<p>Ditto, my friend. I had a painful time chopping up my 'baby' ECs, and it hurt. if it matters THAT much to you, write an essay on it. it'll be good no matter what.</p>

<p>they want the most significant ones...not all of them. because then it actually looks more harmful than good. they want dedication & quality not quantity</p>

<p>That sucks. I'm dedicated to quite a few activities and I need that space to show them how...it's not just membership in clubs...otherwise I wouldn't need extra space. Whatever, I managed</p>

<p>i don't know if it's too late for you to switch, but i did the paper app because my 8 activities had really long names and couldn't fit in the space. i scanned the paper app into my computer and typed the names into the boxes using word. it took A LOT longer, but it was worth it for my situation.</p>