<p>dangermoose, your essays themselves sound great. the language one was brilliant i am guessing.</p>
<p>early approval!!!
<em>jealous</em></p>
<p>jk...</p>
<p>I keep reading posts that say your application should be like a grant proposal that has one central point.</p>
<p>dangermoose, your essays seem to point is really different directions but sound really smart. culture, language, globalization, music, physics. What in your application do you think got you the (very exciting) early approval letter?</p>
<p>My vitality was listening to comedy cd's (and other music), go to a movie, and playing in Halo 3 tournaments. It was more of just a list of things more than an anecdote.</p>
<p>This proves my point that admissions is a crapshoot. All of these sound interesting to me...I couldn't decide who to admit if I were an admissions counselor!</p>
<p>I'm guessing that gpas and SAT scores will play a factor too. :p</p>
<p>^Though on CC, it's a pretty safe bet that everyone is way up there in both of those categories. I'm not sure how they would decide between people with great gpas, scores, and these topics. o.o</p>
<p>dangermoose, liked that bit with PE and KE. i had a little physics in my roommate essay as well. told my roommate that he would sometimes have to help me overcome my inertia of rest. think i am gonna be rejected though as my stats are low for an international student asking for fin aid.</p>
<p>Intellectual vitality: talked about my time as a Senate page and how I got to see our government work in a way that most people never will</p>
<p>Roommate: discussed my favorite band, Keane; basically said all the crazy things I've done to go see them live (i.e. waiting in line for 12 hours for a front row spot AND going all the way to London to see them), and how my new roommate better start getting used to listening to them</p>
<p>Why Stanford: used a quote from Cicero about finding yourself and basically tied all the things I love about Stanford to it; sounds cliche, but it was actually one of my favorites I wrote, even though I MAY have digressed into begging at the end!</p>
<p>Regardless, I got in SCEA, so they must have worked out! As long as you present yourself, you can be happy with them.</p>
<p>bynumTHEbeast if you and I get into Stanford, I want to be your roommate.</p>
<p>For me
Intellectual vitality: Talked about chess and how it not only trains my logic but also my psychological strength, ultimately making me a more mature thinker.</p>
<p>Roommate essay: Lakers, Lakers, Lakers, ANDREW BYNUM and KOBE (talked about trading Lamar Odom for Jason Kidd.... thank god that didn't happen), Mountain View (next to Palo Alto), Church Retreats, Stanford's big games against Cal and USC. </p>
<p>Why Stanford: The fun-loving, happy student atmosphere at Stanford, Stanford's athletics, Stanford's emphasis on the freedom in pursuit of my passions, distance myself from family but stay in Cali</p>
<p>Common app: Kinda long, talked about how moving so much was healthy for my family and how it nurtured my adventerous spirit and contrasted it to how volatile we seem to be today rooted to one place. Concluded that my passion is traveling and how traveling is something I want to integrate into my future.</p>
<p>For the roommate one, I pretty much wrote an apology note to my future roomie, saying I was sorry for my weirdness (listening to weird music, being supercompetitive at board games, being a slob)</p>
<p>For the intellectual vitality one, I wrote about how the brain was fascinating and how working with an autistic girl and reading this one Babysitter's club book got me interested in the disorder.</p>
<p>My Why Stanford one was pretty typical. I wrote about the location, the diversity, the interesting students it attracts, and cited some neurological research they did I thought was amazing.</p>
<p>Intellectual vitality: Passing a world history test in Japan. It was a pretty good topic, but upon reading it a few weeks ago, I realized it was horribly written.</p>
<p>Roommate: A bit risky. I wrote my love for sweettarts (the candy). Explained how it was a metaphor for my outlook on life, and how I valued the mixing of opposite ideas & experiences in a collegiate setting.</p>
<p>Why Stanford: Pretty cut and dry; residential college system creates a "small college feel," which is similar to my small-town background. Also talked about the location, which is much more feasible than a New England college for someone from Washington state.</p>
<p>intellectual vitality: it's about a thought experiment with a bunch of geeks and a white board</p>
<p>why stanford: interdisciplinary stuff, and ummm the opportunity to mingle with the creative geniuses and leaders in the rest of the frosh class</p>
<p>roommate: lol about being an anglophile and my love of manchester united</p>
<p>common app: about stumbling, literally, and figuratively, and then being able to rectify the situation. lol it was a recycled UC "special ability" essay. seemed pretty good at first, now i think it sounds umm....lol a little sarcastic</p>
<p>common app: A somewhat cliche essay about a friend James and how he influenced me positively even though he made some bad decisions. I think it tries to a paint a realistic picture of our relationship, with his stance on pre-determination and mine on individualism</p>
<p>intellectual vitality: Narrative extending the story with James. It's a somewhat symbolic scene from a time we went snowboarding and further discusses our conflict of pre-determination against individual will.</p>
<p>roommate: Based on my experiences living at CTY, which created one of my hobbies (writing) and also led me to make some great friends. It ends on a note of offering friendship.</p>
<p>why stanford: A pretty standard essay about stanford's influence in the modern age and how it'll allow me to explore different opportunities in the future</p>
<p>common app: essay about how my interests are united by a love of details... focused more on writing quality than content, though</p>
<p>intellectual vitality: minesweeper (and connections to math and physics)</p>
<p>roommate: list of wacky things about me</p>
<p>why stanford: talked about my goals and what kinds of courses I'd take at stanford... pretty boring</p>
<p>Nobody gets accepted to Stanford from my school. And... considering that my essays lack intellectual spark AND were thrown together at the last minute... I won't either.</p>
<p>aww, buffalowizard, you never know, you could be the first person from your school to get in!</p>
<p>my school NEVER accepts more than two people, and two people have already been accepted, so i dont have much of a chance either. but we can all still hope :)</p>
<p>oh boy guess ill share too. Common app: about how i grew over a summer program (i personalyl think my best essay)
Vitality: i wrote about evolution......
roommate: i wrote about why i was called Sid and what that says about me.......
why: i had a Halo (well, masterchief really) intro and talked about genetic engineering as well as my goals for my future</p>
<p>Commonapp: My hobby - record collecting...the luxury of free time and completely devoting yourself to something you love</p>
<p>Intellectucal Vitality: My love of words and the effect they have on me</p>
<p>Roomate: silly story about an embarrassing thing that happened to me (kinda like an ice breaker)</p>
<p>Why Stanford: All kinds of things...location, atmosphere, and it's overall laid-back image - how the school as a whole seems unpretentious, with a sense of humor</p>
<p>Commonapp: How family and community helped me shape my dreams and apirations
Intellectual Vitality: Talked about a movie which had a great impact on me(Definitely sci-fi)
Roommate: General things about myself.
Why Stanford: Everything from leadership opportunities, education, ranking, location and research related to computer science which was printed in their fall 2007 newsletter</p>
<p>my inseparable twin "Braun Aromaster" (my coffee machine)</p>
<p>Driving down canyon roads </p>
<p>how I constantly rearrange my desk </p>
<p>Stanford was one of those apps where I put all of my weird essays. I couldn't have cared less</p>
<p>oh man, so many creative ideas... mine seemed good back in November... :(</p>
<p>roommate essay: a list of my bad habits and what I like to eat
Int. vitality: staying up once till 3 a.m. talking about politics and philosophy with friends
Why Stanford: It's been my dream school since I was in 7th grade.</p>
<p>what'd you guys write about in the short answer "history revisited moment"? I actually enjoyed that question. I described Beethoven's last performance, when he was already deaf. (please don't let anyone else have written about this!)</p>