Good times at the Cardinal this year, with Stanford requiring the long Common App essay, the short Common App essay, three other 250+ word pieces of writing, and a series of short answers. Stanford, you are truly a world-class academic institution. One of the best, if not the best in the country. But we're looking at over 1500 words where our favorite stand-by Dartmouth got 'er done with less than a third of that.
This is the Stanford mascot. Seriously. Just so you know.
And the questions? They're a bit odd. Let's take a look and see if we can't give you a few ideas on how to crack 'em.
Besides the one-liners they require (which films and newspapers do you like, how do you best describe yourself, what's up with your summer vacation, etc.), Stanford asks what you find intellectually engaging, what you'd like your future roommate to know about you, and what makes Stanford a good place for you. They want about 250-300 words on each of those.
What makes this tricky is that at first they all seem like the same essay. What are you interested in and what makes you interesting can seem pretty similar. But if you remember that the goal of these pieces of writing is to emphasize what you do rather than who you are, you'll have no trouble banging these out.
Your intellectual interests should be straightforward enough - again, emphasize how you've applied them and what the results of those interests are. Your roommate might not want to know your intellectual interests, but rather your social or community interests. (See our blog post below on what not to do when talking about how awesome you are and you'll be fine here.)
Now for the kicker - why is Stanford a good place for you?
Well, why is it?
Again, think not about what the school has, or what it already knows about itself (this is definitely not a place to repeat what's in the guide book), but talk about what you're going to bring to the school and how it's going to affect the community there. This is part of The Deal we've written about before. You're not talking about what you like, but what you can do. Why are you going to be a vital part of this community? If you can identify that clearly, it will be evident why Stanford is a good match for you.