What Stanford is looking for/Analysis of their supplemental questions and short essays

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
1

So I was breaking down the supplemental questions and short essays for Stanford…

Briefly respond to the following inquiries so we can get to know you better. Do not feel compelled to use complete sentences.

Name your favorite books, authors, films, and/or artists. (50 word limit)

What newspapers, magazines, and/or websites do you enjoy? (50 word limit)

What is the most significant challenge that society faces today? (50 word limit)

How did you spend your last two summers? (50 word limit)

What were your favorite events (e.g., performances, exhibits, competitions, conferences, etc.) in recent years? (50 word limit)

What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed? (50 word limit)

What five words best describe you?

Stanford students possess an intellectual vitality. Reflect on an idea or experience that has been important to your intellectual development. (100 to 250 words)

Virtually all of Stanford’s undergraduates live on campus. Write a note to your future roommate that reveals something about you or that will help your roommate – and us – know you better. (100 to 250 words)

What matters to you, and why? (100 to 250 words)

OBVIOUSLY, to get into any school of THAT caliber, you need to be the total package, a bit of luck, and to be “really special”…but wtf does REALLY special mean exactly?

With virtually all applicants with near flawless GPAs, scores, and a ton of soft credentials and talents, what does Stanford want? What are they REALLY looking for? Who comprises of that ridiculous 4.6% or whatever absurd statistic of admitted students?

After having some long discourses with students applying for Stanford and going over some of their answers with them, I realized that it wasn’t really able to comment on their “content”, “why”, “community”, or even writing ability. Over and over, I found that I was unable to assist them in most situations because the only relevant feedback I could give to them was…feedback on their CHARACTER.

This pattern showed up over and over again as I looked over their answers. Yes, you can inject some creativity, critical thinking, or even writing ability into those super short answers but overwhelmingly I found that I was judging their character more than anything else.

Furthermore, of the three alumni of Stanford I know personally…they do have very unique character traits…perseverance…the total package…a unique background…they were VERY different to be sure…but character was what stood out.

Am I way off the mark or is there some merit in what I’m saying? Any thoughts?

2

Well, I think that there is no doubt that character plays a huge role in whom they accept. Also, however, Stanford places great importance on something they call intellectual vitality. They even have a third category to rank this metric while most schools only rank two (or in Duke’s case five). I would advise any applicant to spend some time trying to understand exactly what they mean by intellectual vitality and then showing how they embody the concept.

3

I agree with character and intellectual vitality and would add humility and “niceness.” Do not underestimate the value of coming across as nice and likable in the supplement. Just my $0.02.

4

There is no such thing as a flawless (or nearly flawless) Stanford student. Stanford students are smart kids who love to learn and have a true passion for whatever particularly interests them - whether that is their research area, hobby, sport, artistic pursuit, etc. Think about what makes you tick and how your presence might contribute to the Stanford community and try to make sure that comes across. Remember, Admissions is putting together a class of students with diverse backgrounds, interests and talents that they feel will make a full use of the tremendous resources that will be available to them on campus. They don’t want perfect. The want passionate.

5

Passionate about…?

6

@astontsui - it doesn’t matter. Whatever it is, show that you have taken your area of interest to a higher level than most.

I have no idea what got my ds into Stanford, but he was passionate about his music and that showed, I think, because he pursued it on many levels. While he did participate in serious classical music competitions (and won some), he also volunteered to play for charity events, played for veterans, had paying gigs for parties, played at church as a soloist and also in the youth praise band, volunteered to accompany the school choir, composed, etc. So, he wasn’t just a kid who took piano lessons for 12 years (which he had) who practiced an hour a day but did nothing with it.