How to Write Stellar Stanford Essays 3 Expert Tips

How to Write Stellar Stanford Essays 3 Expert Tips SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Are you hoping to be one of the 5% of students admitted to Stanford this year? If so, you’ll need to write some amazing essays as part of your application. In this article, we’ll outline the different types of essays you need to write for your Stanford University application and teach you how to write an essay that will help you stand out from the thousands of other applicants. What Are the Stanford Essays? Stanford requires that you complete a total of four essays as a part of your application for admission. You’ll need to answer a prompt provided by the Common Application or Coalition Application, depending on which one you use to submit your Stanford application through. If you're looking for more information about either of these prompts, we cover them in depth on our blog. You’ll also need to respond to three Stanford-specific short essay questions. The Stanford essay prompts offer you plenty of opportunities to show off your qualifications as an applicant and wow the admissions committee. Want to get into Stanford or your personal top choice college? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. 2018-19 Stanford Essay Prompts You’ll also need to respond to three Stanford Questions for your Stanford supplement essays. You’ll submit the Stanford supplement essays online with your Coalition or Common app. You need to respond to all three of the Stanford essay prompts for your application. Each one of the Stanford essays has a 100-word minimum and a 250-word maximum. Here are the 2018-19 Stanford essay prompts: The Stanford community is deeply curious and driven to learn in and out of the classroom. Reflect on an idea or experience that makes you genuinely excited about learning. 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. Tell us about something that is meaningful to you, and why? Stanford Essays Analyzed In this section, we’ll be looking at each of the three Stanford supplement essays in depth. Remember, every applicant must answer every one of the Stanford essay prompts, so you don’t get to choose which essay you would like to write. You have to answer all three of the Stanford essay prompts well in order for your application to stand out. Let’s take a look at each of the three Stanford short essay questions and see how to write something meaningful for each. Stanford Essay Prompt #1 The Stanford community is deeply curious and driven to learn in and out of the classroom. Reflect on an idea or experience that makes you genuinely excited about learning. This Stanford essay prompt is very broad. The structure of the prompts indicates that the committee is interested in learning about your curiosity inside and outside of the classroom, so don’t feel like you have to limit the lessons you talk about to ones that occur at school. The most important thing to remember here is to be specific. The committee doesn’t want you to wax poetic about the virtues of remaining eternally curious; they want to see how a real-life example has affected you. For instance, instead of talking about how a trip to a foreign country opened your eyes to different cultures, pick a specific moment from your visit that really hammered home the importance of curiosity. Go into detail about how that one experience affected you. Being specific is more powerful than speaking in generalized platitudes. Similarly, you want to write about something that you're genuinely passionate and excited about. After all, it says so right in the prompt! Pick a topic that you truly love, such as a historical fiction book that you read that inspired you to learn about a new era in history or the science fiction movie that sparked curiosity about how time works in space. Don’t feel limited to your potential major. Stanford doesn’t require that you pick and stick with a specific major for your application, so you don’t have to write about a moment here that relates to your predicted course of study. In fact, picking a learning experience in a different field will better show that you’re curious and open to new ideas. Stanford Essay Prompt #2 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. Stanford’s roommate essay question is notorious. While the other two of the three Stanford essays may change from year-to-year, the Stanford roommate essay is always on the application. First, remember that this essay is written to your future roommate, who will be one of your peers. You can adopt a more informal, fun tone with this essay, because the prompt indicates that it’s going to someone who is your age. The Stanford roommate essay is your opportunity to show a different side of your personality than the admissions committee will see on the rest of your application. This essay is your chance to show yourself as a well-rounded person who has a variety of different interests and talents. Don’t repeat information that the committee can find elsewhere on your application. Take the time to share fun, personal details about yourself. For instance, do you make awesome, screen-accurate cosplays or have a collection of rock crystals from caving expeditions? Think about what you love to do in your spare time. Be specific - the committee wants to get a real picture of you as a person. Don’t just say that you love to play video games, say exactly which video games you love and why. The roommate essay is also a great time to show off your community - the friends, family, teammates, etc. who make up your current life. You can talk about the deep bonds you have and how they have affected you. Showing your relationships to others gives the committee a better idea of how you will fit in on Stanford’s campus. All in all, the Stanford roommate essay is a great opportunity to have some fun and show off some different aspects of your personality. Let yourself shine! Stanford Essay Prompt #3 Tell us about something that is meaningful to you, and why? While all three of the Stanford essay prompts are fairly broad, the third Stanford essay prompt is by far the broadest. You can write about anything that’s meaningful to you here - the prompt doesn’t specify that you have to talk about something academic or personal. Sometimes, broad prompts can be more intimidating than prompts that have a very narrow focus. The trick here is to (again) pick something specific and stick to it. Don’t, for instance, say that world peace is meaningful to you because it won’t sound sincere. You should talk about something that is uniquely important to you, not the other thousands of students that are applying to Stanford. Pick something that is really meaningful to you. You could talk about your relationship with your grandmother and how she taught you how to cook or a specific musical album that reminds you of an important experience in your life. You might talk about a club or after-school activity that has broadened your horizons or an academic award you won after an extreme challenge. Whatever topic you choose, your essay should feel sincere. Don’t write what you think the committee wants to hear. They’ll be more impressed by a meaningful experience that rings true than one that seems artificial or implausible. How to Write a Great Stanford Essay Regardless of which Stanford essay prompt you’re responding to, you should keep in mind the following tips for how to write a great Stanford essay. #1: Use Your Own Voice The point of a college essay is for the admissions committee to have the chance to get to know you beyond your test scores, grades, and honors. Your admissions essays are your opportunity to make yourself come alive for the essay readers and to present yourself as a fully fleshed out person. You should, then, make sure that the person you’re presenting in your college essays is yourself. Don’t try to emulate what you think the committee wants to hear or try to act like someone you’re not. If you lie or exaggerate, your essay will come across as insincere, which will diminish its effectiveness. Stick to telling real stories about the person you really are, not who you think Stanford wants you to be. #2: Avoid Cliches and Overused Phrases When writing your Stanford essays, try to avoid using cliches or overused quotes or phrases. These include quotations that have been quoted to death and phrases or idioms that are overused in daily life. The college admissions committee has probably seen numerous essays that state, â€Å"Be the change you want to see in the world.† Strive for originality. Similarly, avoid using cliches, which take away from the strength and sincerity of your work. #3: Check Your Work It should almost go without saying, but you want to make sure your Stanford essays are the strongest example of your work possible. Before you turn in your Stanford application, make sure to edit and proofread your essays. Your work should be free of spelling and grammar errors. Make sure to run your essays through a spelling and grammar check before you submit. It’s a good idea to have someone else read your Stanford essays, too. You can seek a second opinion on your work from a parent, teacher, or friend. Ask them whether your work represents you as a student and person. Have them check and make sure you haven’t missed any small writing errors. Having a second opinion will help your work be the best it possibly can be. What’s Next? If you want to be one of the 6% of students accepted to Stanford, you'll have to have a great GPA. Check out our guide on how to get good grades in high school for some tips and strategies! Confused or intimidated about the college admissions process? Check out our complete guide on how to apply to college. If you want to stand out from the crowd as an applicant, you'll need a solid resume of extracurricular activities. Learn more about your extracurricular options and why they matter. Want to write the perfect college application essay? Get professional help from PrepScholar. Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. We'll learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk you through the essay drafting process, step-by-step. At the end, you'll have a unique essay that you'll proudly submit to your top choice colleges. Don't leave your college application to chance. Find out more about PrepScholar Admissions now: