<p>I'm having an absolutely awful time writing something that isn't contrite or cliche. I need some ideas to jog my head. What did y'all write about?</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter if it’s trite or cliche, if it’s genuine, they’ll be able to tell. I wrote about self-expression and I got in, even though lots of other people wrote apparently wrote about the same thing</p>
<p>I’d say be sincere and genuine. The topic is less important than your approach to it. After following / discussing / losing sleep over the applications of 3 kids, I assure you that this is something admissions people are experienced in detecting. And they can tell whether what matters to you really matters to you from the way you write about it. </p>
<p>Another tip: never say things like “this is very very important to me”, “I have a passion for it” etc. Show it. The rule of thumb repeated zillions of times remains decisive: Show don’t tell.</p>
<p>Once you finish your piece, have a couple of people read it and then ask them: “If you didn’t know me, would you like the person who wrote this?”</p>
<p>Let yourself go a little bit, don’t try to impress. </p>
<p>Sorry, those were too many instructions, I’m a parent after all, but please consider them. Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>It is very difficult to write well on a truly original topic. You can write about family, hard work, respect, or learning value or anything else but chances are someone has thought of it too. So I think it’s more a matter of how you show how you value what you value.</p>
<p>I wrote about Stanford, e.g., “Stanford matters to me.” The adcom appreciates the showing of interest in their school.</p>
<p>I’m afraid doyourhomework is offering really bad advice. The admissions committee at Stanford knows it will have no trouble filling its entering class, and they really don’t give a hang how interested you are in Stanford.</p>
<p>On the other hand, Repede, I really don’t think you are entitled to any better advice than that. You really need to write your own essay, and you really, really shouldn’t expect other Stanford applicants to be giving you advice.</p>
<p>Yield rates factor into school ranking. Interest matters. They give a hang and a half, I’d wager.</p>
<p>250 words is not a lot. They cannot expect depth or originality here. Just be honest and keep it simple.</p>