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College Essays

Are you hoping to be one of the less than 4% 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. We'll also go over the five short answer questions that are part of the Stanford supplement.

So let's get started!

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 one  prompt provided by the Common Application or Coalition Application , depending on which one you use to submit your Stanford application through. You can find more information about the Common Application essays here , and more info about the Coalition essay prompts here .

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.

2022-2023 Stanford Essay Prompts

You'll 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 2022-2023 Stanford essay prompts:

#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.

#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.

#3 : 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. (100 word min, 250 word max)

This Stanford essay prompt is very broad. The structure of the prompt 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. (100 word min, 250 word max) 

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? (100 word min, 250 word max) 

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.

Stanford Short Answer Questions Analyzed

Along with your essays, you'll also need to answer five short questions. You'll only have 50 words to answer each one...so you'll need to make it count!

Question 1: The Social Challenge Question

What is the most significant challenge that society faces today?

There are two ways you can answer this question. First, you can choose a significant social challenge that matters to you. For instance, perhaps your parents are essential workers, and the COVID pandemic revealed the unfair labor practices that exist in the US to you. Labor issues are a major social issue both in the US and abroad, and because you're impacted by it, you'll be able to put together a very compelling and powerful answer.

The other approach you can take to this question is linking it to your academic interests. Perhaps you want to major in mechanical engineering. One huge social issue is access to clean drinking water. In your response, you can explain the issue and then talk about how it inspired you to become a mechanical engineer. Maybe you want to develop better water decontamination systems! That would be a great response to this question.

The big thing to remember is you need to include a why in your answer. Why do you think this challenge is significant? And how are you planning to help solve this problem? Make sure you include these answers in your response!

Question 2: The Summer Question

How did you spend your last two summers?

This is a pretty straightforward question. Make a list of everything you did the past two summers, then parse it down so that you're including the most important aspects. For example, say you volunteered at a summer camp for the past two summers, but you also helped your family with chores and volunteered with a political campaign. Our recommendation would be to leave the chores out and focus on the bigger, more notable aspects of your summer vacation.

But maybe you had to work over the summers. Or perhaps you weren't able to take on extracurriculars because your parents needed your help caring for your younger siblings. Don't worry: those are great answers here, too. Your response doesn't have to be flashy —you don't have to have spent two summers participating in scientific research!

The important thing is to include a why in your answer . Why did you spend your summer vacations this way? And what do your choices say about your values? For instance, if you helped care for your younger siblings, you can explain that family is important to you, and that's part of why you're driven to get a college education. Counselors are trying to get a sense of who you are and what you care about!

Question 3: The Historical Moment Question

What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed?

Think back to your history classes. Is there a historical moment you're fascinated with? This is a good time to share it with the admissions committee! Maybe you love legal history, so you would have loved to have attended Ruth Bader Ginsburg's swearing in ceremony. Or perhaps you're more interested in medicine, so you'd have loved to witness Wilhelm Röntgen discover x-rays.

Our best advice for answering this question is to be specific and original. Stay away from popular and obvious answers, like "the signing of the Declaration of Independence" or "Lincoln's Gettysburg address." Pick something more unique so that you stand out from other applicants. Once you've picked your historical moment, explain why you'd want to witness it!

Question 4: The Extracurriculars and Responsibilities Question

Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities, a job you hold, or responsibilities you have for your family.

The key word in this question is "one." The admissions counselors don't want to read a list of your responsibilities. They want you to talk about one of them and then explain why you participate and/or why it's important to you.

For this question, avoid discussing something that's already evident from the rest of your admissions packet. For instance, if you've already listed band as an extracurricular and talked about it in one of your essays, you don't really need to talk about it here. Give the admissions counselors new information about yourself that they wouldn't be able to learn from other parts of your application.

For instance, maybe you help your dad out with his lawn care business in the summers. That would be a great thing to discuss here, especially if you haven't had a chance to talk about this elsewhere in your application. You could use this opportunity to discuss how helping your family out is important to you, and you also appreciated getting to know the people in your community while cutting their grass.

Whatever activity you choose, be sure to do more than just explain what that activity entails . Go into detail about what it means to you. Why do you participate in that activity? How has it impacted you as a person? You'll have to keep it brief, but these kinds of personal details are what Stanford admissions counselors are looking for.

Question 5: The Stanford Question

Name one thing you are looking forward to experiencing at Stanford.

Answering this question starts with research. What is one—again, just one —thing you can't wait to learn, experience, or participate in as a Stanford student? You'll need to spend some time on the Stanford website looking into the different opportunities available to students.

First things first: limit your answer to academics or academic-leaning extracurricular activities. Yes, Palo Alto is beautiful. And yes, Stanford has a fun football program. But admissions counselors want to see that you're going to be a thoughtful, involved member of the Stanford community. So while these things are true and fun, this question is your chance to explain how you're going to get involved on the Stanford campus ...and maybe even give back, too.

Also, the best answers to this question are going to be specific. Instead of saying that you can't wait to participate in clubs, pick one (like the Food and Agribusiness Club) and discuss why it's so exciting to you. The more specific you are, the more you'll show admissions counselors that you're super serious about being a Stanford student.

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, "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.

Hayley Milliman is a former teacher turned writer who blogs about education, history, and technology. When she was a teacher, Hayley's students regularly scored in the 99th percentile thanks to her passion for making topics digestible and accessible. In addition to her work for PrepScholar, Hayley is the author of Museum Hack's Guide to History's Fiercest Females.

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6 Tips for the Stanford Essays and Short Answers

This article was written based on the information and opinions presented by Vinay Bhaskara in a CollegeVine livestream. You can watch the full livestream for more info.

What’s Covered:

Stanford essay tips.

• Stanford Short Answer Tips
• Overall Writing Tips  

The Stanford application has two different types of essays this year. There are 3 long essays with a 250 word count limit and 5 short-answer essays with a 50 word count limit. 

Here are our expert tips for writing standout essays that will improve your chances of acceptance! Stick around until the end of the post for the most important tip.

With the different word counts in each prompt, you’ll want to approach writing each in different ways. 

1. Make your intro sentence strong.

The important thing to do with the 250-word essays is to make sure your introductory sentence is really strong. Unlike in longer essays or the common application essay, you can use a paragraph or two to build your points and captivate your audience. That isn’t the case here. In this essay, you can’t waste any time building a narrative. You have to come out in the beginning and grab your audience’s attention.

2. Maximize the word count.  

If your essay is 240 words or above, you’re good to go.. One or two extra words won’t drastically change your essay. But, if you have 25 or more words remaining, you could use that space to convey additional material. You could also enhance something you’ve already said, such as taking a couple of sentences and making them more “punchy” or fun to read.

Short Answer Tips

3. don’t sacrifice writing quality.  .

These essays are being assessed for writing quality the same way the longer essays are. The fact that they are so much shorter means they will be put under a microscope even more. 

4. Don’t waste time on detailed explanations.

If you can describe a concept or idea in shorter words, do that. Keep it concise and to the point. It is much more important to get your entire point across in a logical way than to focus on describing a detail that doesn’t fit into the larger picture of what you’re trying to say.

Overall Writing Tips

5. humanize yourself..

This is the most important tip. You want to show colleges that you are not just your college application; you’re not just a series of grades on a transcript or activities on a resume. Instead, you want to give the admissions committee almost a 3D picture of who you are as a person.

So from that perspective, try to have a mix of more fun and more serious answers. You don’t necessarily have to have everything super academic. For example, for the “historical event I want to witness” prompt, you don’t have to say “I want to go back to the signing of the Magna Carta.” If that genuinely interests you, that’s totally fine to say, but try to have some fun in your other responses. 

In fact, at a super-selective school like Stanford, they want you to have the grades and resume that say you’ve spent a lot of your waking life on the admissions process and academics, but they also don’t want to admit students who are trying too hard. It’s not exactly fair, but it’s unfortunately how selective admissions works.

6. Look at your essay with fresh eyes

Regardless of your writing process, the best way to approach editing your essay is with time. In between writing and editing your response, take a break. Whether it’s an hour, a day, or a week, looking at your materials with fresh eyes will be a huge benefit. You will find key points that are missing or areas that you can rewrite in a more concise or interesting way. 

Looking for more Stanford essay tips? Check out our full Stanford essay guide .

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How To Answer Stanford's 2023/24 Supplemental Essays: Tips & Insights

What's New in 2023/24

What Are Stanford's Essay Prompts?

Short Answer Questions

Short essay questions.

General Guidelines

Navigating Stanford University's supplemental essays for the 2023/24 admissions cycle? This guide offers step-by-step advice on tackling each question, from the short answers to the more complex essays. We also include general guidelines to help you craft compelling narratives that answer the prompts, showcase your unique character, and fit with Stanford's community. It is ideal for anyone aiming to make their application stand out in a highly competitive pool.

Stanford’s 2023/24 Supplemental Essay Updates: What's Changed?

Gaining admission to Stanford University , with its acceptance rate of approximately 4% , is an unparalleled accomplishment. In the fiercely competitive world of college admissions, your supplemental essays play a pivotal role in showcasing your unique story and alignment with Stanford's values.

Every academic year, prestigious institutions like Stanford fine-tune their application process to ensure they capture a comprehensive view of their potential students. For the 2023/24 admissions cycle, Stanford has implemented a few notable changes to its supplemental essay questions.

In the short answer section, while four prompts remain consistent with previous years, the question about anticipating an experience at Stanford has been substituted with a prompt asking applicants to "List five things that are important to you." This shift indicates a desire to understand applicants' priorities and values on a more personal level.

The short essay section has also seen adjustments. While the prompts about reflecting on personal learning and penning a note to a future roommate continue to feature, Stanford has amalgamated the questions about defining family and discussing something significant. Now, applicants are invited to describe how their life experiences, interests, and character would contribute to the Stanford undergraduate community.

These revisions highlight Stanford's evolving admissions approach, emphasizing understanding the diverse life experiences and intrinsic values applicants would bring to its dynamic undergraduate community.

What Are Stanford’s Supplemental Essay Prompts for 2023/24?

For the 2023/24 application cycle, Stanford University has thoughtfully designed specific supplemental essay prompts to delve deeper into the profiles of its applicants, complementing the Common App questions. These prompts aim to uncover your societal concerns, personal experiences, academic passions, and how you envision your journey at Stanford.

Stanford's short answer questions provide a snapshot into your perspectives, experiences, and values.

• Societal Challenge : What is the most significant challenge that society faces today? (50 words)
• Summer Activities : How did you spend your last two summers? (50 words)
• Historical Witness : What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed? (50 words)
• Extracurricular Elaboration : Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities, a job you hold, or responsibilities you have for your family. (50 words)
• Personal Priorities : List five things that are important to you. (50 words)

These essays provide a deeper insight into your intellectual curiosities, personal experiences, and how you'll contribute to Stanford's vibrant community.

• Passion for Learning : 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. (100-250 words)
• Roommate Introduction : 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 — get to know you better. (100-250 words)
• Distinctive Contribution : Please describe what aspects of your life experiences, interests, and character would help you make a distinctive contribution as an undergraduate to Stanford University. (100-250 words)

With an acceptance rate hovering around 4% , Stanford's application process is undeniably rigorous. These prompts offer applicants a unique opportunity to showcase their societal insights, personal growth, and the distinct perspectives they'll bring to the Stanford community.

Looking for inspiration? Dive into these Stanford essay examples to see what successful applications look like!

How I Got Into Stanford with Crimson Access Opportunity

How to Answer Stanford’s Short Answer Questions?

What is the most significant challenge that society faces today, - 50 words max.

Stanford seeks students who are not only academically adept but also socially aware and proactive. This question aims to gauge your awareness of global or local challenges and your perspective on their significance . It's an opportunity to showcase your critical thinking and ability to prioritize issues based on their impact.

Selecting a Challenge

The first step is to identify a challenge you genuinely believe is significant. This could be:

• Environmental issues like climate change or deforestation.
• Social challenges such as racial inequality, gender discrimination, or mental health stigma.
• Technological challenges like data privacy concerns or the ethical implications of AI.
• Economic challenges such as income inequality or unemployment.

Articulating the Significance

Once you've chosen a challenge, delve into why you believe it's the most significant:

• Scope of Impact : Is it a global issue affecting millions or a local challenge with profound implications?
• Long-Term Implications : Does the challenge have potential long-term consequences if not addressed?
• Personal Connection : Perhaps you've witnessed the effects of this challenge firsthand or have been personally affected by it.

Being Concise and Specific

With a 50-word limit, precision is key. Avoid generic statements. Instead, focus on specific aspects of the challenge and its implications.

• "The digital divide is society's most pressing challenge. As technology advances, those without access are left behind, widening educational and economic disparities."
• "Mental health stigma is a silent crisis. Many suffer in silence, fearing judgment, which exacerbates the issue and prevents early intervention."

Stanford's first short answer question tests your awareness, perspective, and ability to articulate complex issues succinctly . Choose a challenge you're passionate about, explain its significance, and ensure your response is concise and impactful.

How did you spend your last two summers?

Stanford is interested in how you utilize your free time, as it provides insight into your interests, priorities, and work ethic. This question aims to understand what activities or experiences you value and how you engage with the world when academic commitments are less pressing.

Being Specific and Honest

The key to answering this question effectively is being specific and honest. Instead of saying, "I spent time with family," you could elaborate with, "I explored local hiking trails with my family, fostering my love for environmental science."

Balancing Variety and Depth

You can mention a variety of activities, but remember to be concise. If possible, connect the activities to your intended field of study or personal growth:

• Academic Pursuits : Did you take any courses, attend workshops, or engage in self-study that aligns with your academic interests?
• Work Experience : Did you have a job or internship? What skills did you gain, and how did it shape your understanding of a particular field?
• Volunteering : If you engaged in community service, what impact did it have on you and the community?
• Personal Interests : Did you engage in any hobbies or personal projects? How did they contribute to your skills or well-being?

Appropriateness

Ensure that the experiences you share are appropriate for an academic application. They should be experiences you'd be comfortable sharing with a teacher or in a professional setting.

• "Last summer, I interned at a local tech startup, honing my coding skills and understanding the dynamics of team collaboration. The previous summer, I volunteered at a food bank, which deepened my awareness of food insecurity issues."
• "I spent one summer taking a creative writing course, which fueled my passion for storytelling. The other was dedicated to a family road trip across historical sites, enriching my love for history."

Stanford's second short answer question seeks to understand how you use your free time to engage in meaningful activities or personal growth . Be specific, honest, and appropriate in your response, and if possible, connect your activities to your broader goals or interests.

What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed?

Stanford is keen to explore your intellectual curiosity and how you relate to history, whether it's a globally recognized event or a personal moment in time. This question aims to understand what you find significant or intriguing in the tapestry of human experience .

Unleashing Your Imagination

Don't limit yourself to textbook historical events. This is an opportunity to showcase your unique interests. Whether it's a monumental event like the signing of the Declaration of Independence or something more personal or niche, like a family event or a lesser-known cultural phenomenon, the key is to pick something that genuinely interests you.

Exploring the 'Why'

Once you've chosen the event, delve into why you wish you could have witnessed it.

• What do you think you would learn or gain from the experience?
• Would it offer insights into contemporary issues, personal growth, or your field of study?

The 'why' is as important as the 'what' in this question.

Timing and Context

Consider the timing of the event. Would it be a moment that lasts a few minutes, like witnessing a groundbreaking scientific discovery, or something more prolonged, like being present during a significant cultural festival? The duration and setting can add another layer of depth to your answer.

• "I wish I could have witnessed the Women's Suffrage Parade of 1913. Seeing the courage and unity of women fighting for their rights would deepen my understanding of the struggles that paved the way for the freedoms I have today."
• "I'd love to have been in the audience at the premiere of Stravinsky's 'The Rite of Spring.' The riot it incited speaks volumes about the power of art to challenge societal norms, something still relevant today."

Stanford's third short answer question is an invitation to share your intellectual or personal interests through the lens of history . Be imaginative and specific, and focus on the event and why witnessing it would be significant to you. This is a chance to offer a glimpse into what excites your curiosity and how you relate to the world and its history.

Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities, a job you hold, or responsibilities you have for your family.

Stanford wants to see a fuller picture of who you are beyond academics . This question explores another facet of your life you're passionate about or committed to. It's an opportunity to showcase your skills, values, and contributions in a different context.

Choosing the Right Experience

Select an experience you haven't elaborated on in other parts of your application. It could be an extracurricular activity , a part-time job, or even family responsibilities. The key is to choose something that has significantly impacted you and ideally contrasts with your intended major to show the breadth of your interests.

Narrative Over Summary

Instead of listing what you've done, focus on a specific anecdote that encapsulates the essence of your involvement. Describe a moment that was pivotal or enlightening in that experience. This makes your answer more engaging and provides a deeper insight into your role and its significance.

What You Bring to the Table

Discuss the skills or values you've gained from this experience. Whether it's leadership in a club, responsibility in a family setting, or problem-solving in a job, highlight how these skills have shaped you and how they could be applied in a Stanford context.

• "As the editor of our school newspaper, I once had to navigate a controversial article submission. Balancing freedom of speech with the potential for harm taught me the delicate art of ethical journalism."
• "Working in a family-owned restaurant taught me the value of hard work and customer service. It also fueled my passion for business analytics, as I started to see how data-driven decisions could improve our operations."

Stanford's fourth short answer question is a window into your life outside the classroom. Focusing on a specific anecdote and the lessons learned can provide a more vivid and meaningful picture of your extracurricular involvement or responsibilities . This is your chance to show Stanford another layer of who you are and what you could bring to their community.

List five things that are important to you.

This prompt is a straightforward yet revealing way for Stanford to understand your priorities, values, and interests . It's a snapshot of what matters most to you, from personal beliefs to hobbies, relationships, or aspirations.

Selecting Your Five Things

Choose items that genuinely resonate with you and ideally offer a well-rounded view of who you are. The list can include a mix of the profound and the seemingly mundane as long as they are genuinely important to you.

Be Authentic, Be You

This is not the time to list what you think Stanford wants to hear. Authenticity is key. Your list should reflect your true self, as it offers another layer of understanding about you that might not be evident in other parts of your application.

• Family: The cornerstone of my life and my biggest support system.
• Environmental Sustainability: A cause I'm deeply committed to, both in lifestyle choices and activism.
• Music: A universal language that brings me joy and emotional expression.
• Intellectual Curiosity: The driving force behind my academic and personal endeavors.
• Humor: A necessary tool for navigating life's ups and downs.

Stanford's fifth short answer question is a quick but insightful look into your values and interests. By carefully selecting the five genuinely important things to you, you offer Stanford a glimpse into what drives you, what you care about, and what kind of community member you would be .

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How to Answer Stanford’s Short Essay Questions?

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., - 100 to 250 words.

Stanford is looking for students who are both academically competent and passionately curious. This essay aims to delve into what genuinely excites you about learning , whether it's a specific subject, a method of inquiry, or an experiential learning opportunity.

Identifying Your Idea or Experience

Begin by pinpointing the idea or experience that genuinely excites you about learning. This could be:

• A subject matter that you are passionate about but haven't had the chance to explore in a formal educational setting.
• An experience that sparked your curiosity and led you to further exploration or research.
• A methodology or form of inquiry that you find particularly stimulating.

Narrating the Discovery Journey

Discuss how you came across this idea or experience. Was it through a book, a mentor, an internship, or perhaps a personal experience? If you faced any obstacles or discouragement in pursuing this interest, this is a good place to discuss it.

Connecting to Stanford's Learning Environment

Now, consider how you would continue to explore this interest at Stanford. Would it be through specific courses, research opportunities, or clubs? Are there professors you're excited to work with or facilities you're eager to use?

Formulating Questions and Research Approaches

Discuss the kinds of questions this topic raises for you and how you might go about answering them. Whether it's through lab experiments, fieldwork, or theoretical analysis, indicate how you envision your learning journey unfolding at Stanford.

Collaborative Learning

Stanford values collaborative learning. Briefly touch upon how you see yourself engaging with peers, professors, or even external communities to deepen your understanding of the topic.

Stanford's first short essay question is an opportunity to showcase your intellectual curiosity and enthusiasm for learning. By detailing an idea or experience that excites you and connecting it to Stanford's resources and community, you demonstrate not just your passion but also how you would contribute to the intellectual vitality of the campus. Approach this essay with a focus on specificity, authenticity, and a clear vision of your academic journey at Stanford .

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 — get to know you better.

Stanford wants to get a glimpse of who you are outside of your academic and extracurricular achievements. This essay is a chance to showcase your personality, quirks, and the unique traits that make you, you .

Setting the Tone

Approach this essay as if you're writing a letter to a friend. The tone should be conversational; you can incorporate humor, vulnerability, or even self-deprecation to make it engaging and relatable.

Sharing Personal Anecdotes

Instead of using adjectives to describe yourself, share specific anecdotes or experiences that reveal something about you. This could be:

• A ritual or tradition that's important to you.
• A hobby or interest that you're passionate about.
• A challenge you've faced and how you dealt with it.

Examples for Inspiration

• If you have a religious practice, you could talk about how you adapted it during a school trip, perhaps waking up early to pray without disturbing others.
• If you love aesthetics, you might mention how you can't resist picking flowers from your neighborhood to make your space more beautiful.

Incorporating Humor or Poignancy

Feel free to incorporate humor or poignant moments to make the essay memorable. Whether it's a funny story about a family vacation gone wrong or a touching moment from a community service trip, these details help paint a fuller picture of who you are.

Living Together

Since this is a letter to a future roommate, consider mentioning how you approach shared living spaces. Are you neat or messy? An early riser or a night owl? This adds another layer of personal insight.

Stanford's second short essay question offers a unique opportunity to showcase your personality in a more informal setting. By sharing specific anecdotes and experiences, you not only help your future roommate get to know you but also give Stanford a more comprehensive view of what you'll bring to its community . Approach this essay with authenticity, vulnerability, and a dash of humor to make it memorable.

Please describe what aspects of your life experiences, interests and character would help you make a distinctive contribution as an undergraduate to Stanford University.

Stanford wants to understand how you will contribute to its diverse and vibrant community. This prompt allows you to showcase the unique qualities, experiences, and perspectives you bring to the table .

Defining Your Community

Start by identifying a community you are a part of . This could be anything from a school club, a sports team, a religious group, or even a community of hobbyists. What binds this community together? Is it a shared goal, a common interest, or collective challenge?

Your Role in the Community

Once you've defined the community, focus on your role within it. Are you a leader, a supporter, a motivator, or perhaps a creative mind? How have you contributed to this community, and what impact have you had?

• If you've been part of a mentoring program, you could discuss how you nurtured that relationship over the years, the challenges you faced, and the growth you observed in yourself and your mentee.
• If you started a club in school, you could talk about how it originated from a common interest, how it grew, and what steps you've taken to ensure its continuity after you leave for college.

Connecting to Stanford

Now, tie these experiences back to how you will contribute to Stanford.

• Will you bring your leadership skills to a student organization?
• Will your creative thinking contribute to classroom discussions?
• Will your commitment to service find a new avenue on campus?

Character Traits

Don't forget to mention character traits that enable you to make these contributions. Are you empathetic, resilient, innovative, or collaborative? Use specific examples to demonstrate these traits.

Stanford's third short essay question is your chance to showcase how your unique life experiences, interests, and character will enrich the Stanford community. Focusing on your role in a specific community and how you've contributed to it provides a glimpse into how you'll engage with the Stanford community. Approach this essay with introspection and authenticity to effectively convey your potential contributions .

General Guidelines for Answering Stanford's Supplemental Essay Questions

• Research and Specificity : Stanford's essay prompts are designed to gauge your fit within its diverse and intellectually vibrant community. Be specific about courses, professors, or extracurricular activities that excite you. Mentioning these details shows that you've done your homework and that you're genuinely interested in Stanford.
• Show Self-awareness : Stanford values students who are reflective and self-aware. Whether you're discussing a societal challenge, your summer activities, or your future roommate, always tie it back to what these experiences or thoughts reveal about you.
• Diversity of Thought : Stanford prides itself on a diverse student body that brings many perspectives to campus. Highlight how your unique experiences, viewpoints, or background will contribute to this diversity of thought.
• Be Authentic : Authenticity is crucial. Don't write what you think the admissions committee wants to hear. Your genuine interests, challenges, and aspirations will always make a more profound impression.
• Quality Over Quantity : With strict word limits, focusing on depth rather than breadth is essential. Choose a few points and explore them fully to give the admissions committee a more detailed picture of who you are.
• Narrative Storytelling : A compelling narrative can make your essay stand out. Whether you're describing a historical event you wish you'd witnessed or explaining what brings you joy, storytelling techniques can make your essay more engaging and memorable.
• Proofread and Revise : Your essays should be well-crafted and error-free. Beyond grammar and spelling, ensure your essay flows well and effectively communicates your message. Consider seeking feedback from teachers, mentors, or friends.
• Connect to the Bigger Picture : Always relate your answers back to your potential contributions to the Stanford community and how Stanford will help you achieve your personal and academic goals. This shows that you're not just thinking about admission but also about how you'll fit into the Stanford community long-term.
• Embrace the Challenge : These essays are your opportunity to present a fuller picture of yourself beyond just grades and test scores. Use them to show why you and Stanford would be a mutually beneficial match.

Stanford's supplemental essays provide a platform to express your individuality, aspirations, and suitability for the university. By carefully crafting your responses and connecting them to Stanford's resources and ethos, you can effectively demonstrate why you would be a valuable addition to the Stanford community.

For more inspiration, you might want to explore examples of successful Stanford essays to understand what makes an application truly stand out.

Final Thoughts

Embarking on the journey to Stanford is about more than just academic excellence; it's about crafting a narrative that deeply resonates with Stanford's unique ethos and the admissions committee. Your supplemental essays offer a unique lens into your character, aspirations, and the distinct contributions you'll make to the Stanford community.

Every Stanford hopeful has a unique story to tell. This is your golden opportunity to narrate yours. Approach your essays with authenticity, introspection, and a genuine enthusiasm for your narrative.

If you're uncertain whether your essay truly encapsulates your essence or if it will distinguish you amidst the sea of applications, our essay review service is here to assist. Our seasoned experts will meticulously review and provide feedback, ensuring your essay strikes a chord with Stanford's admissions officers.

Want some helpful inspiration? Explore our ebook and discover essays from students like you who have secured places at elite institutions. And for those aiming for Stanford, our collection of successful Stanford essay examples will offer invaluable insights.

For those at the onset of their college application journey, consider booking a free consultation with our experienced college counselors. We're committed to guiding you in crafting an application that amplifies your chances of walking through Stanford's iconic arch. Your dream of becoming a Stanford Cardinal is attainable, and we're here to support you every step of the way.

What Makes Crimson Different

Key Resources & Further Reading

• Everything you need to know about US Application Supplemental Essays
• Acing your College Application Essay: 5 Expert Tips to Make it Stand Out from the Rest
• How to Tackle Every Type of Supplemental Essay
• 2023-24 Common App Essay Prompts
• What are the Most Unusual US College Supplemental Essay Prompts?

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Successful Stanford Essays

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Stanford Essays 2023-24

Stanford Supplemental Essays 

The Stanford essays form a critical part of the application process. Like at many top schools around the country, when you apply to Stanford, you’ll complete school-specific Stanford essay prompts in addition to the Common App essay. If you’re wondering how to get into Stanford, strong Stanford supplemental essays are a good place to start. 

In this article, we’ll discuss each of the Stanford supplemental essays in detail, including the Stanford roommate essay and other Stanford essays. Additionally, we’ll review the requirements for each of the Stanford essay prompts. We’ll also provide resources with Stanford essay examples that you can use when writing your own Stanford essays. Finally, we’ll offer more tips on how to get into Stanford, including application deadlines, dates, and timelines.

Stanford Essays: Quick Facts

Stanford university supplemental essays quick facts.

• Stanford Acceptance Rate: The acceptance rate for Stanford admissions is only 4% according to U.S. News . 
• Understanding the Stanford Essay Requirements: The Stanford requirements include three Stanford supplemental essays. Each of the Stanford essays must be between 100 and 250 words.
• Applying to Stanford: Students must complete the Common Application and the Stanford requirements before the Stanford application deadline. Make sure you submit your Stanford supplemental essays along with all other application materials when applying .
• Restrictive Early Action Deadline: November 1
• Standard Application Deadline: January 5
• Top Stanford Essays Tip: Because you have to complete three Stanford essays, make sure you give yourself enough time to work on each of them. Even though each of the essays is only at most 250 words, shorter essays can take longer to revise and perfect.

Please note that essay requirements are subject to change each admissions cycle, and portions of this article may have been written before the final publication of the most recent guidelines. For the most up-to-date information on essay requirements, check the university’s admissions website. 

Does Stanford have supplemental essays?

Yes, students must complete three Stanford supplemental essays. Students must submit their Stanford supplemental essays in addition to the Common App essay and the other Stanford requirements. These Stanford essays help the admissions team get to know their applicants better and evaluate whether they will be a good fit for the school.

How many essays does Stanford require?

Students must submit responses to three Stanford essay prompts as part of their application. In addition to these Stanford supplemental essays, there are also several additional short answer prompts that students must complete. 

These responses are limited to 50 words maximum, so they are not quite long enough to be considered full Stanford essays. However, they are still an important part of your application, so plan to spend as much time on those responses as your responses to the Stanford essay prompts. You can find a list of these additional prompts along with tips and Stanford essays examples in our guide here .

Do Stanford essays change?

The Stanford essay prompts do sometimes change from year to year. One of their more well-known prompts, the Stanford roommate essay, has been part of the application for a while and likely won’t change. However, in the 2021-2022 school year , one of the Stanford essay prompts asked students to talk about a topic that was meaningful to them. Now, that question has been changed to ask students: what aspects of your life experiences, interests, and character would help you make a distinctive contribution as an undergraduate to Stanford University?

Even though the Stanford supplemental essays may change, the purpose behind the Stanford essays remains the same. The admissions team uses the Stanford supplemental essays to get to know students on a deeper and more personal level. While grades and extracurricular activities are also important, the Stanford essays allow students to share parts of their life and experiences that the admissions office would not otherwise know. So, in each of your Stanford essays, highlight why you would be a perfect fit for Stanford!

What are the Stanford essay prompts?

The Stanford supplemental essays consist of three different Stanford essay prompts. Each prompt must be answered with an essay of between 100 and 250 words. The Stanford essay prompts for 2023-2024 are as follows and can also be found on the Stanford admissions website:

Stanford University Essay Prompts

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., 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—get to know you better., 3. please describe what aspects of your life experiences, interests, and character would help you make a distinctive contribution as an undergraduate to stanford university..

Before you start writing your Stanford essays, we recommend taking the time to read each of the Stanford essay prompts carefully. This will help you know exactly what each prompt asks so you can craft a strong response. 

Below, we’ll break down each prompt individually and show you how you can write standout Stanford essays for each prompt. For additional tips and Stanford essay examples, check out our Stanford essays guide .

Stanford Essays #1

The first of the Stanford essay prompts is fairly straightforward. This prompt asks you to describe a time or experience that sparked a passion for learning. The possibilities for answering this prompt vary widely. However, the key to any great essay is specificity and focus. Remember that you only have a maximum of 250 words to write your Stanford supplemental essays, so you need to choose which of your passions to focus on. 

Start by identifying a formative moment when you developed a love for learning about your chosen subject. Then, build from that to show your intellectual curiosity. For instance, this could be a school field trip to a planetarium that inspired an ongoing love of space. The best essays begin by immediately pulling their readers into a story rather than restating the prompt or giving a general introduction.

Keep it authentic

Some students make the mistake of trying to look perfect and writing Stanford essay examples that they believe readers want to see. Being authentic and showing off your unique personality is much more important. In fact, your readers will appreciate getting to know the real you. 

This prompt asks about more than just a single defining moment. It is about why this moment was meaningful and how that moment inspired you to keep learning and growing. So, don’t be afraid to show off how much you love your topic.

Stanford Essays #2

Prompt #2 is the famous Stanford roommate essay. While the other Stanford essays share common elements with other essay prompts, the Stanford roommate essay is in a category of its own. In the Stanford roommate essay, students write a letter introducing themselves to their future roommate. This essay can take many forms, from a standard letter beginning with “Dear Roomie,” to a list of important characteristics, and even a “day in the life” snapshot where the writer describes what a typical Stanford day might look like for them.

Whichever format you choose for your Stanford roommate essay, remember that your audience for this essay is not just your hypothetical future roommate, but also the Stanford admissions team. So, like your other Stanford essays, your Stanford roommate essay should highlight what makes you unique. 

Approaching the Stanford roommate essay

Think about what quirks, characteristics, or personality traits you want to reveal about yourself. Then, come up with anecdotes or stories that showcase those characteristics. Instead of simply saying to your reader, “I am an avid crossword puzzle solver,” you can convey the same information in a more interesting way by saying “You’ll probably wake up most mornings and hear me mumbling random words to myself while hunched over a newspaper. Don’t worry, I promise I’ll be more social once I finish my daily crossword!”

The Stanford roommate essay can seem intimidating at first, but it can also be a fun way to show off who you are. If you have trouble coming up with ideas, don’t be afraid to ask family members or friends for help. They may be able to identify parts of your personality that would make great subjects for your Stanford roommate essay. 

Stanford Essays #3

After the Stanford roommate essay, the final prompt for the Stanford supplemental essays asks you to describe why you would make a “distinctive contribution as an undergraduate to Stanford University.” In other words, this essay asks you to tell the admissions team how you would contribute to life at Stanford. Although this question is more straightforward than the Stanford roommate essay, you should still think carefully about your response. 

As with the other Stanford essays, there is no single right answer for how you would contribute to the Stanford community. Like other top colleges, Stanford hopes to create a diverse community of students. So, write about what excites you and let your passion for those subjects shine through. Just remember that you only have 250 words to answer the Stanford essays. So, it helps to pick out two or three key ways you would get involved at Stanford.

Getting specific

The Stanford supplemental essays are also a great place to show off the research you have done about Stanford. Your Stanford supplemental essays should indicate both why you are a good fit for Stanford and why Stanford would be the perfect fit for your interests. The more specific details you include from either an in-person or virtual visit , the stronger your essay will be. Including the names of specific professors, internships, clubs, or study abroad programs is great, but make sure to provide context and specificity. Talk about why that aspect of life at Stanford stood out to you and how it connects back to your academic and career goals.

As with your other Stanford supplemental essays, make sure not to simply repeat your extracurriculars list from earlier in your application. If you do mention these activities, talk about how you would continue to pursue that interest at Stanford. Check out lists of student organizations and/or programs and see what lines up with your passions. For example, if you have an interest in journalism, you might talk about writing articles for the Stanford Daily or contributing to the many other student-run publications on campus. The more detailed you can get about what kind of Stanford student you would be, the better.

What is Stanford looking for in essays?

The Stanford supplemental essays serve several purposes. First and foremost, the Stanford supplemental essays help your application readers learn who you are in a more holistic way. The Stanford essays let you introduce yourself to the admissions team and give them a complete picture of who you are. So, your Stanford essays should highlight your life and experiences. 

The second purpose of the Stanford supplemental essays is to assess your writing abilities. No matter your major, you will write papers of some kind while at Stanford. So, Stanford wants to see that you have strong written communication skills. This does not mean that you need to fill your Stanford essays with impressive vocabulary words. Rather, Stanford simply wants to see clear, well-written prose that shows evidence of revision and thoughtfulness. So, make sure you check your Stanford supplemental essays for spelling and grammar before you submit them.

To learn more about Stanford check out this video from Stanford Admissions below:

Where can I find Stanford essays that worked?

One of the most effective things you can do to write better Stanford essays is to look at Stanford essays examples from admitted students. These essays can teach you what kinds of essays get students accepted to the most competitive schools in the country. It is important to note, however, that you should never copy someone else’s essay. Instead, think of these Stanford essays examples as a source of inspiration for your own writing. 

While there are books of Stanford supplemental essays available for you to purchase, there are plenty of free resources out there to help you with the Stanford supplemental essays. At CollegeAdvisor.com, we have a series of essay guides with tips for many different kinds of essays, including the Stanford supplemental essays. You can find the tips for the Stanford essays including full examples here and additional guidance for the Stanford supplemental essays here . You can also check out our full series about how to get into Stanford through the college page , which has all the info you need to ace your application.

Stanford Essays Examples

What is the application deadline for Stanford?

Like at other schools, students can choose between multiple Stanford application deadlines. If you know that Stanford is your first choice school, you can apply through the Restrictive Early Action pool. This pathway allows you to apply to other colleges as well as Stanford as long as those other applications are through a Regular Decision pathway (not Early Action or Decision). 

If admitted through REA, you are not required to attend Stanford and you have until May 1st to accept or decline your offer of admission. The Stanford application deadline for Restrictive Early Action is November 1st.

Students who do not wish to apply to Stanford through the Restrictive Early Action pathway can instead apply to Stanford through the Regular Decision pathway. Students who choose this route may apply to other schools with no restrictions from Stanford. The Regular Decision application deadline is January 5th, and students receive decisions from Stanford in early April. There are separate timelines and application deadlines for financial aid, which you can find on the school’s website .

Five tips for writing outstanding Stanford essays!

1. Start early

Because there are so many Stanford supplemental essays and short answer questions, it helps to get started on them as early as possible. Especially if you apply through the Restrictive Early Action pathway, you should give yourself enough time to write each of the Stanford essays. You likely won’t submit your first draft of the Stanford essays, so leave plenty of time to redraft and edit. This will also give you time to put the other Stanford essays tips we’ve discussed into practice!

2. Brainstorm ideas before writing

The Stanford supplemental essays, in particular the Stanford roommate essay, require a lot of personal reflection. Because of this, we recommend that you think critically about your passions, interests, and most important personal traits. That way, you can outline what you want your Stanford essays to say about you and choose subjects that highlight those aspects of your personality. The Stanford essays are not long enough to capture every one of your unique life experiences and qualities. So, choosing a few key details will help streamline your essays.

3. Show, don’t tell

This guideline can help you strengthen not only your Stanford essays, but also your writing in general. Try to use examples from your life to highlight your key traits rather than stating them outright. For example, if you want to show that you have exceptional leadership skills and a passion for gardening, you could describe how you created a horticulture club at your school and transformed an old courtyard into a plant sanctuary. These stories help your reader see the kind of person you are. Moreover, they provide perspective into the kind of student you would be at Stanford.

4. It’s all in the details 

Make sure your Stanford essays include vivid, specific details. The more descriptive and specific your language, the better your message will come across. So, keep your Stanford essays focused. Don’t try to include too much information—instead, center each essay on a single, compelling narrative. Then, use as much descriptive language as possible!  

5. Ask for help

The Stanford essays, and particularly the Stanford roommate essay, are not easy to complete. Moreover, writing any college essay is very different from writing a paper for class. So, find someone you trust to help you revise and edit your essays. Additionally, for prompts like the Stanford roommate essay, a second reader can provide useful insights. They also may catch mistakes or see improvements that you would not have otherwise considered. Just make sure that no one writes the Stanford essays for you! Admissions officers are trained to look for essays written by parents or siblings. Additionally, the strongest Stanford essays will capture your authentic voice. 

If you’re looking for help writing your Stanford supplemental essays, our advisors can help. We’ll provide one-on-one guidance to help you make the most of your Stanford essays. Click here to schedule a meeting with our team and learn more about how to make your Stanford essays count.

This essay guide was written by senior advisor, Alex Baggott-Rowe . Looking for more admissions support? Click here to schedule a free meeting with one of our Admissions Specialists. During your meeting, our team will discuss your profile and help you find targeted ways to increase your admissions odds at top schools. We’ll also answer any questions and discuss how CollegeAdvisor.com can support you in the college application process.

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Stanford Supplemental Essays 2023-24 – Prompts and Advice

August 14, 2023

With an acceptance rate of 3.68% in 2023, Stanford University is in a league of selectivity with only a handful of other schools including Harvard, MIT, and Princeton. At Stanford, the median SAT is a 1500 and 96% hail from the top 10% of their high school class. As a result, you need more than just superior test scores and a sparkling transcript to be among the 1 in every 25 applicants who is ultimately admitted. Each year, we work with a number of successful Stanford University applicants. We can say with confidence that exceptional Stanford supplemental essays are a necessary component of any winning application.

 (Want to learn more about How to Get Into Stanford? Visit our blog entitled:  How to Get Into Stanford: Admissions Data and Strategies  for all of the most recent admissions data as well as tips for gaining acceptance.)

Stanford University requires applicants to respond to a whopping eight prompts. This makes the decision to apply an instantly sizable time commitment. Your mission—should you choose to accept it— is to write compelling, standout compositions that showcase your top-notch writing ability and reveal more about who you are as an individual. Below are Stanford’s essay prompts for the 2023-24 admissions cycle along with tips about how to address each one.

Stanford Supplemental Essays: (100-250 words)

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..

Whether it’s a general love for math/science or literature or a specific interest in aerospace engineering or 19th-century French novels, use this opportunity to share what makes you tick, the ideas that keep you up at night, and what subject inspires you to dream big. What topic makes you read books and online content until your eyes bleed? Share the manner in which you relentlessly pursue knowledge. Whether it’s falling down a Wikipedia rabbit hole about the nature of time or consuming thousands of hours of podcasts on game theory, this is a chance to illustrate the ways in which you are an obsessive learner with an endless thirst for information. The admissions reader should emerge from reading this essay with the sense that you are a sincerely curious young person with a strong intellectual drive.

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—get to know you better.

Applicants can utilize this response to give greater insight into the little details about themselves that may not appear elsewhere in the application. Keep the old adage “you don’t truly know a person until you live with them” in mind. Think about what your future roommate will learn about your daily habits, quirks, passions, and preferences. What music do you like to listen to? At what time do you get up in the morning and what is your morning routine? What activities do you like to do (that ideally have not yet been communicated elsewhere)? Most often, writers choose to put together a number of different details. Before including each one, think about what it communicates about you.

Stanford Supplemental Essays (Continued)

For example, if you can seldom be found without a novel in hand or spend an hour every morning practicing yoga, why is that important for us to know? That said, at least a few details are often comical or light-hearted (perhaps you can’t survive without a large supply of lime seltzer or always eat salt & vinegar chips when you’re up late studying). Another common “move” writers use in this essay is to list a few uniquely-Stanford things that they can’t wait to do with their roommate around campus. In the grand scheme of things, this is a genuine chance to reveal more about your character, unique personality, and also—sometimes— how to get along with others.

Prompt 3:  Please describe what aspects of your life experiences, interests and character would help you make a distinctive contribution as an undergraduate to Stanford University.

This prompt asks you to not only share a particular life experience, interest, or value. Additionally, you’ll describe why that experience, interest, or value will help you contribute to Stanford in general. Essentially, it’s asking you to take your essay’s reflection one step further. You’ll need to share why the experience, interest, or value you’ve chosen has impacted you. Additionally, you can explore why/how you believe it will allow you to positively impact the Stanford community.

First, choose a key aspect of your experiences, background, or personality that reveals something deep and meaningful about you. (Although you could choose more than one, we’d advise against it, given that you only have 250 words in which to respond.) As you brainstorm, consider the following avenues:

• Your role in your family.
• Your role in your social group.
• Something you’re particularly committed to, i.e., an activity, social/political cause, or idea (just be sure it doesn’t overlap with the intellectual curiosity response).
• A challenge you’ve faced.
• A formative experience or realization.
• Core values and beliefs.
• Important aspects of your upbringing.
• Most intriguing and unique attributes.
• Cultural, religious, community influence.

Second, you’ll need to describe both personal and future impact. Note the absence of a straight “Why Stanford?” essay in this application. This response is the closest thing to it. Make sure that your answer reveals something about how you will live out Stanford’s values or contribute to an academic/social community. For the latter angle, you could name a specific  course ,  research opportunity , or extracurricular club , to name a few—perhaps living in a beach town has heavily contributed to your passion for the world’s oceans, and you seek to bring that perspective to the biology department’s research opportunities. Alternatively, you could discuss something more intangible—perhaps Stanford’s mission to develop active citizens resonates with you, and you hope to bring your experience of growing up in a large family (which gave you excellent communication and conflict resolution skills) to volunteer positions on campus and within the surrounding community.

Stanford Supplemental Essays – Short Response Questions (50 words)

1) what is the most significant challenge that society faces today.

The admissions committee wants to make sure that your personal aims align with those of the university, as indicated in its mission statement. This mission is “to extend the frontiers of knowledge, stimulate creativity, and solve real-world problems, prepare students to think broadly, deeply and critically, and to contribute to the world, and deploy Stanford’s strengths to benefit our region, country, and world.” The strongest answers usually include some level of previous or hopeful participation/community service on the part of the applicant. For example, if you are concerned about voting rights and the preservation of the democratic process, you may have volunteered with a relevant organization.

2) How did you spend your last two summers? 

We are looking at your summers after sophomore and junior year for this prompt. So, why is Stanford so interested in what you did from mid-June through August, you ask? The answer, primarily, is because this is the time of the year when your entire schedule wasn’t laid out for you–the admissions office can observe your actions in the lone time and space when you are given complete agency and control.

Did you work to earn money to help support your family? On the other hand, did you work to save money for a specific purpose? Did you take a college course or two or enroll in an academic summer program? Or, did you conduct independent research or secure an internship at a company or organization? Stanford recognizes that students in different circumstances have varying levels of opportunity. Therefore, if you spent the summer watching your siblings out of necessity so your mom could go to work, that can be as valid as attending an aerospace engineering program at MIT. Ideally, your summer endeavor will—at least to some extent, align with your expressed passions and academic/intellectual aims.

3) What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed?

Keep in mind that “historical” could refer to a famous event that is included in your average history textbook. Alternatively, it could be something more personal to your family, like when your great-grandmother immigrated to California in 1917. Many times, if students select a moment in world history, it isn’t one that is universally known in endless detail. Unless you are picking something as well known as MLK’s “I Have a Dream Speech” or the 1969 Moon landing, make sure to give the reader some level of context about the actual event in addition to your commentary about why that moment is special to you. No need to get uber-obscure with your answer. However, the most needle-moving answers are generally not usually based on any of the most famous events in human history. These are the kind of events that you’ve known about since elementary school.

You might approach this prompt by choosing an issue of importance to you and then researching corresponding moments/events (whether within recorded or personal history) that allow you to communicate that interest.

4) Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities, a job you hold, or responsibilities you have for your family.

Stanford is not necessarily asking you to write about the activity where you earned the most prestigious awards or held the highest position of leadership. The university is going to see all of your activities in that section of the Common App. As such, you want to ask yourself—which of your entries is crying out for more explanation and detail? Which one is closest to your heart and most representative of your unique passions? Pick the option that will allow you to deliver additional detail that may be memorable to the admissions reader. Start this process by asking yourself, “What is the most interesting and consequential moment that I have experienced in one of my extracurricular activities?” If you can identify one clear-cut moment, that is likely the activity worth sharing with the Stanford admissions staff.

5) List five things that are important to you.

Before answering this question, take inventory of what has already been communicated on the rest of your application. What have you tackled in your other responses? Is there anything that has been left unsaid? What themes are currently present that you could reinforce? The list should be organic. This means that some answers will naturally reiterate passions and experiences shared in other areas of the application. That said, you’ll want to avoid straight-up repeats to the best of your ability. In addition, try to be as specific as possible. Since you have fifty words to utilize, try to include a brief why or explanation for each answer, that, again, is different than what’s already been presented in other areas of the application.

How important are the Stanford supplemental essays?

The lengthy supplemental essay section is among the nine factors that Stanford considers to be “very important.” The other factors are: rigor of secondary school record, class rank, GPA, standardized test scores, recommendations, extracurricular activities, talent/ability, and character/personal qualities.

Stanford Supplemental Essays – Want Personalized Essay Assistance?

In conclusion, if you are interested in working with one of College Transitions’ experienced and knowledgeable essay coaches as you craft your Stanford supplemental essays, we encourage you to  get a quote  today.

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Andrew Belasco

A licensed counselor and published researcher, Andrew's experience in the field of college admissions and transition spans two decades. He has previously served as a high school counselor, consultant and author for Kaplan Test Prep, and advisor to U.S. Congress, reporting on issues related to college admissions and financial aid.

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How to Write Stanford's Essays (with Real 2023 Essay Examples)

Kate Sliunkova

AdmitYogi, Stanford MBA & MA in Education

16 min read

Introduction

Stanford University is one of the most prestigious universities in the world and their admissions process is highly competitive. Writing compelling supplemental essays that stand out from other applicants is key to getting accepted into this top-tier school. However, approaching these essays does not have to be an intimidating endeavor! With some preparation and guidance, you can write powerful and persuasive supplemental essays that will help your application shine among the thousands of other applicants vying for a spot at Stanford University. In this article, we'll look at the supplemental essay prompts for Stanford University and provide an in-depth analysis of how to approach them. We'll also examine real-world examples of successful essays written by past applicants to give you a better understanding of what makes a great supplemental essay. By the end, you'll have all the tools needed to create powerful and persuasive supplemental essays that will make your application stand out from other applicants vying for admission into one of the most prestigious universities in the world. So let's get started!

Stanford's Essay Prompts

Stanford applicants will have to write eight essays in total. This includes writing three longer-form essays (with a 250-word maximum count) and answering five short answer questions (with a 50-word maximum count). Stanford's supplemental essay prompts include the following:

• 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.

Short Answers:

• What is the most significant challenge that society faces today?
• How did you spend your last two summers?
• What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed?
• Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities, a job you hold, or responsibilities you have for your family.
• Name one thing you are looking forward to experiencing at Stanford.

Writing Stanford's Essays

Approaching stanford's intellectual vitality essay.

"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."

When approaching Stanford's 250-word essay prompt about an "idea or experience that makes you genuinely excited about learning," it is important for students to take some time to reflect on what truly excites them. Asking yourself questions such as “What topics engage me the most?”, “What have I enjoyed learning recently?”, and “What interests motivate me to take action or dive deeper into a topic?” can help you identify what ideas or experiences make you truly passionate about learning.

Once you have identified at least one idea or experience with which you are passionate, brainstorming specific examples of times when this passion has been demonstrated can be helpful in creating a stronger and more compelling essay. This could include recalling particular moments in school when the topic was discussed, describing challenges that were overcome during research related to the topic, or even sharing reflections on how this idea has impacted your life outside of school.

In addition, it is important to consider ways in which your passions may connect with others, demonstrating how your passions may create new opportunities for collaboration and growth among students at Stanford. For example, if you are passionate about environmental studies and sustainability initiatives, discussing ways in which Stanford could become a more sustainable campus could highlight both your enthusiasm for learning and potential contributions to the overall community.

By taking the time to reflect on moments where their passions have been demonstrated and thinking creatively about potential connections between these passions and Stanford's goals and values, students can effectively craft powerful supplemental essays that demonstrate their genuine excitement for learning.

Here's a great example from Hannah, a Stanford student who was also accepted to UPenn, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, and many other great schools! You can read all of Hannah's essays and activities here.

Whenever I need an extra boost while studying, I listen to iconic film soundtracks. Not only are they beautiful artistically, but the carefully-selected notes and motifs often unknowingly alter your emotions, giving me a subconscious spike in motivation.

I watched Titanic four times in three days because I was entranced by the repetition of musical themes in critical moments. Similarly, I printed out pictures of certain shots in Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby because the color schemes were aesthetically pleasing while also matching up with the characters’ emotions.

As I’ve been exposed to more music and film, I’ve learned how heavily artists can rely on psychology. Not only can certain colors or musical motifs foreshadow events, but they can complete some of the most iconic shots in cinema.

I plan on further exploring this intersection of science and art on Stanford’s campus. As a psychology major, I will study the intricacies of the human brain and its effects on behavior; on the other hand, I can take advantage of the rich creative culture on campus by participating in the Stanford Storytelling Project. By pursuing both, I can learn how masters of cinema capture audiences’ attention and deliver a beautiful, impactful story.

Tackling Stanford's Roommate Essay

"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."

To ace the Stanford roommate essay, it's important to focus on personal and intimate details about yourself. The essay is an opportunity to reveal something unique, quirky, and memorable about yourself to your future roommate. As you write, think about what sets you apart from others - what makes you special and interesting. Here are some specific tips for approaching the Stanford roommate essay:

• Highlight your unique quirks: The admissions committee is looking for something that sets you apart from other applicants. Consider what makes you different and let those quirks shine through in your essay. For example, maybe you have an obsession with collecting old maps or you're a huge fan of a lesser-known band.
• Think about your ideal roommate: As you write the essay, think about the kind of roommate you want. What qualities would you look for in a roommate? Reflect on those qualities and think about how you embody them yourself.
• Avoid controversy: While it's important to be authentic in your essay, it's also important to avoid controversial topics or anything that might be offensive to others. Stick to lighthearted, positive aspects of your personality and interests.
• Use imagery and senses: To make your essay stand out, use vivid imagery and sensory details. Engage the reader's senses by describing your favorite flavors, sights, sounds, and smells.

We have some specific tips on approaching Stanford's roommate essay here . In the meantime, read through one of our favorite Stanford roommate essay examples from Atman, a Stanford student who is now studying biology and design! You can read Atman's entire application here.

Don’t mind the morning clutter! I’ll be swapping out jewelry. My daily earring choices are contingent on anything from the outfit to the weather—today, I’ve got on a dangly butterfly and a silver key, but I may shift to some big resin sunflowers to protest this Minnesota cold.

Unfortunately, my beautiful smile won’t greet you some mornings as I’ll be starting bright and early in the lab. If I feel like leaving the excitement, we’ll go rate bubble teas from local shops (my spreadsheet would benefit from more Californian influence).

If you’re the type of person who “doesn’t really listen to music,” that will definitely change. Our room will be playing a variety of sounds 24/7—I’m talking tunes from Tyler the Creator to Thundercat, Michael Buble to Baby Keem. You’ll find me making my viral TikToks dissecting Frank Ocean songs—share your music taste with me and maybe I’ll remember you when I’m famous!

I’ll be passively beatboxing as we study, arbitrarily prompting any stranger to freestyle over my bizarre, yet curiously potent beats. Prepare yourself: You’ve arrived at Stanford’s “Bars 101” class.

You play Ping-Pong? Check again. Against more ill-advised challengers, I’ll replace my paddle with objects around me—a stray shoe, my hospital ID, my wallet, or even your wallet (you’ll grumble now, but true mastery requires complete material detachment). This habit had a shamefully large impact on my decision to buy a larger phone, so meet me at the tables!

How to Write Stanford's "Something Meaningful Essay"

"Tell us about something that is meaningful to you and why."

When writing the "Something Meaningful Essay" for Stanford University, it's crucial to choose a topic that encompasses your personal values and beliefs. Your essay should connect with the reader emotionally and relay how an experience or moment has influenced your character. In order to demonstrate your perspective on life and the world around us, you will want to creatively depict the significance of the moment or experience you have chosen. Here are some specific tips to help you approach the "Something Meaningful Essay" confidently:

• Reflect on your values: The "Something Meaningful Essay" is an opportunity to share something that is important to you. Start by reflecting on your values and beliefs. Consider what matters most to you and how those values have shaped your life.
• Choose a specific moment or experience: Once you've identified your values, think about a specific moment or experience that embodies those values. For example, maybe you volunteered at a homeless shelter and learned the importance of compassion and empathy.
• Write with emotion: The admissions committee wants to see that you care deeply about your subject. Write with emotion and use descriptive language to bring your story to life. Don't be afraid to include dialogue or sensory details if they add to the story.
• Connect to the bigger picture: While your essay should focus on a specific moment or experience, it should also connect to a larger theme. Think about how your experience relates to the world around you. What broader implications does it have?

For inspiration and guidance, read through this beautiful Stanford "something meaningful" essay example below from Apollo. Apollo was accepted to Stanford, Harvard, and Princeton! You can read every single one of his college applications here.

I pull out the piano bench, lift the fallboard, and prop up my music. Today, I'm playing Liszt's "Mazeppa." It's one of the toughest pieces ever written for the piano, but to master it, there’s only one thing I need: the metronome.

First, 48 beats per minute, an easy largo.

I hated practicing. Simultaneously, I was a perfectionist. Those two traits clashed throughout my early piano years, contributing to a "limbo" period full of botched performances. Frustrated by my lack of progress, my teacher began imposing slow metronome practice. Although I was stubborn at first, I gradually learned to steady myself. "48" taught me patience, and encouraged me to seek deeper levels of ability.

Now, 112, a striding allegretto.

When I began competing seriously, I discovered a new enemy: performance anxiety. In practice, I came back to the metronome, setting a moderate tempo where I could be rock-solid. Through "112", I was able to build my confidence.

192, a barrelling presto.

My fingers fly. It’s a speed I once viewed as beyond my capability, but it now feels completely natural. "192" was when practice transformed into performance, freeing me to explore new worlds of artistic growth.

0. In high school, I learned how damaging it is to get caught up in a perpetual cycle of work; by taking breaks, I could open up valuable time to reflect on myself. As the foundation of my practice, "0" taught me balance.

I click the metronome off. Practice is done for the day.

Answering Stanford's Short Answer Questions:

Approaching stanford's "significant challenge" question.

"What is the most significant challenge that society faces today?"

To approach this Stanford essay prompt, consider a challenge that you are passionate about. Be specific in identifying the issue and its impact. Then, focus on developing a unique perspective on the challenge and propose potential solutions. Remember, Stanford values diversity of thought, so be sure to express your individuality in your response. Here's a great example of an amazing Stanford significant challenge essay from Ryan, who got into Stanford, Princeton, Columbia, and Brown. You can read all of Ryan's college applications here.

Through many forms of corruption, the ever-increasing wealth and power of the ultra-rich is seeping its way into our governments, slowly redefining who those in power aim to serve. With no control left in the hands of the people, I worry tyrannical, systematic exploitation is only a few "votes" away.

Answering Stanford's Last Two Summers Prompt

"How did you spend your last two summers?"

To approach Stanford's essay prompt "How did you spend your last two summers?" be specific and focus on highlighting your passions, interests, and how you spent your time productively. Did you volunteer or partake in any internships related to your career aspirations? Did you travel to a new place and discover a new culture? Did you learn a new skill or participate in a program that challenged you? Be sure to explain why these experiences were meaningful to you and how it has contributed to your personal growth. Showcasing your unique experiences and interests can make you stand out in your application. So, be bold, creative, and honest. The example below comes from Emma. You can read all of Emma's successful college applications, including her Stanford application, here.

Taking Fiction Writing at Stanford Summer Session, volunteering for the Aspire Education Project, being mentored by fiction author Deborah Davis, assembling masks for essential workers with my nana. Immersing myself in Northwestern’s Medill program, working as a day-camp counselor, teaching sewing at a children’s fashion camp, crafting inventive short stories.

How to Write Stanford's "Historical Moment" Essay

"What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed?"

To approach Stanford's essay prompt "What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed?" choose a specific moment or event that genuinely interests you. Research the moment or event and provide context on its historical significance. Share why you wish to witness it – what do you hope to learn from that experience? Would it enrich your life experiences or understanding of the world around you? Explain how this moment or event could help you shape your personal and academic path in Stanford. Lastly, showcase your intellectual curiosity and passion to learn by highlighting the specific details you found most fascinating. For more information about writing this essay, read our article here ! Below, we've provided an excellent example of Stanford's historical moment essay from Andrew, who got into incredible schools like Stanford and Columbia. You can read his complete set of college applications here.

The broken concrete of the Berlin Wall, encapsulated by Leonard Bernstein’s An die Freude on Christmas Day 1989, still resonates as a symbol of collective self-determination. I am inspired by the power of music to unite people, especially as we seek strength and reassurance to overcome our own challenges today.

Approaching Stanford's Extracurricular Prompt

"Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities, a job you hold, or responsibilities you have for your family."

To approach Stanford's essay prompt "Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities, a job you hold, or responsibilities you have for your family", choose a specific experience that highlights your character. Start by briefly describing your role or responsibilities, then focus on specific instances or achievements that demonstrate leadership, teamwork, or personal growth. Be sure to highlight how this experience has influenced you and contributed to your personal growth. Use concrete examples and quantify your impact, if possible. Remember, the goal is to showcase your unique experiences, skills, and character traits to the admissions committee. This awesome example comes from a Stanford premed student, Jude. You can read all of their applications here!

Heading the lighting department for my school’s theater company is the most difficult and rewarding position I have ever undertaken. Staying at school into the night, I spend hours hanging lights from scaffolding 50 feet in the air and methodically designing each and every lighting cue to tell a story.

How to Approach Stanford's "Looking Forward to Experiencing" Essay

"Name one thing you are looking forward to experiencing at Stanford."

To approach Stanford's essay prompt "Name one thing you are looking forward to experiencing at Stanford", be specific and personal in your response. This question is an opportunity to showcase your individuality, so choose something that genuinely excites you and aligns with your interests and passions. You might describe events, courses, clubs, or traditions at Stanford that you are eager to participate in. Focus on how this experience will impact your academic and personal growth, and how it will help you achieve your goals. Research the specific opportunities at Stanford and show that you have a genuine interest and connection to the university. The incredible example below comes from Thu, who got into Stanford, Yale, and Brown, and also won over $2.5 million in scholarships! You can read about his incredible essays and accomplishments here.

After watching countless videos about it on Youtube, I’ve become obsessed with it. I can clearly picture it in my mind: the bright California sun, the Spanish colonial architecture, and their grief-stricken faces. Rodin’s Burghers of Calais replicated in Memorial Court. It’s my favorite artwork and coincidentally at Stanford.

Reading example essays is an invaluable tool for students when crafting their own college application essays. Remember, the goal is not to copy the examples, but rather to learn from them and apply those lessons to your own unique experiences and perspective. If you want to read more excellent essay examples for Stanford, visit our massive essay database for a wealth of inspiration and guidance.

Writing essays for Stanford University requires more than just good writing skills; it requires ingenuity, creativity, and authenticity. You have the opportunity to showcase your unique experiences, perspective, and personality to the admissions committee. The key is to approach each essay prompt strategically, focus on specific experiences that demonstrate your character and potential, and edit and revise your work thoroughly. Remember that Stanford values diversity of thought, so don't be afraid to express your individuality in your responses. By following these tips, you can craft essays that make you stand out as a candidate and capture the attention of the admissions committee.

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How to Write Harvard's Essays (with Real 2023 Harvard Essay Examples)

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Inspira Advantage

How to Write the Stanford GSB Essays

Introduction ‍.

Now that you’ve decided you want to apply for an MBA at the Stanford Graduate School of Business (Stanford GSB), you need to craft an application that will demonstrate your professional skills, experience, and academic record. You will also need to showcase your skills as a writer, your aspirations, and your individuality. 

The Stanford GSB essays are a crucial component of your Stanford application; they will illuminate your voice and authentic self to the admissions committee. Although writing the Stanford GSB essays can seem like a daunting task, this guide will help you understand, execute, and perfect your essays.

What are the Stanford GSB Essays? ‍

The Stanford GSB essays are two personal essays you'll complete as part of your application to Stanford. The infamous ‘ essay A ’ asks applicants, “What matters most to you, and why?” 

Stanford’s website encourages applicants to “ write from the heart ” and be genuine about what matters most to you and to make an argument for why it is so important. 

Essay B , on the other hand, asks applicants, “Why Stanford?” 

This essay provides the opportunity to describe your personal aspirations and how Stanford fits around them. 

Stanford also allows you to submit several optional short answer essay questions . These questions are completely optional and provide you with more words to discuss topics you may not have been able to address elsewhere in your application. The first prompt reads: 

“Think about times you’ve created a positive impact, whether in professional, extracurricular, academic, or other settings. What was your impact? What made it significant to you or to others?” 

This prompt allows you to provide up to three examples to discuss your resume further. 

The other optional short-answer Stanford GSB essay question asks you to:

“Tell us about a time within the last three years when your background influenced your participation in a situation, interaction, or project.”

This essay facilitates discussion about your background, like education, work, skills, race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or gender identity. 

Stanford GSB Essay Length

Both Essay A and B together should not exceed 1,050 words. 

Stanford recommends writing no more than 650 words for essay A and no more than 400 words for essay B. Stanford asks that all essays are double-spaced and submitted in one document with numbered pages. 

For Stanford’s optional question A, you can provide up to three 200-word responses. You should write around 200 words for Stanford’s optional question B essay. 

This length constraint may seem restrictive, but being concise and adopting the “less is more” approach can make for a particularly effective essay. As Stanford notes, “We often find effective essays that are written in fewer words.” 

What Is the Purpose of the Stanford GSB Essays? 

The rest of your application includes everything you need to make a good impression: adequate work experience , high grades, a lengthy list of extracurriculars, and a stellar resume . 

Stanford understands that you are more than the sum of your total experiences and credentials laid out on these pages. The Stanford GSB essays humanize your application and demonstrate to the admissions committee what makes you unique. 

Stanford GSB Essay A

Essay A is a deeply personal and subjective essay. There is no such thing as a perfect topic to write about here. 

The question, “What matters to you most, and why?” is purposefully tricky to answer as it forces you to delve deep into yourself and choose something that is most important to you. That is easier said than done, especially when so many of us have many great things in our lives that are important to us, like our families, friends, and jobs. 

Some may take the route of writing about big-picture ideas like eliminating poverty, ending world hunger, or halting climate change. But essay A is not the space to write what you think Stanford wants to hear, and doing so would be doing yourself a disservice. 

Derrick Bolton, the former Stanford admissions director , said that your essay should “... be so personal that if you were working on it at 2 AM and accidentally printed a copy to your office printer, you would break out in a cold sweat, grab the keys, floor it and drive as fast as you could to the office to snatch the essay before anyone could read it.” 

Some applicants write about controversial or uncomfortable topics, whereas others write about how they want to impact the world, or how their weaknesses have helped cultivate their strengths. 

Ultimately, how you want to portray your individuality and what you choose to write about is entirely up to you. 

Stanford GSB Essay B

Essay B reflects your personal reasons for applying to Stanford. This writing demonstrates why Stanford is the best fit for you and how completing your Stanford MBA will help you achieve your goals. 

Although you have a tight word limit to explain why Stanford is the school for you, you want to be specific to show that you researched the school and program. You also need to explain how Stanford’s program is a significant stepping stone to achieving your career and personal goals. 

You should have an understanding of your industry and what your working life could look like post-MBA. The other purpose of this essay is to demonstrate how your admittance will enrich Stanford’s class. 

Stanford Optional Short Answer Question A 

The optional question A is focused on uncovering more about you beyond your resume. 

Specifically, Stanford is “... interested in learning about the things you have done that are most meaningful to you.” While you can write about your most impactful experiences in the Stanford GSB Essay A, this prompt allows you to go beyond your resume. 

Perhaps you didn’t have enough words to discuss your love of photography in Essay A. In that case, this optional essay allows you to discuss your contributions more fully. 

Of course, you shouldn’t use this essay to ramble on about why you love Stanford. Write about that in your “why Stanford essay.” Instead, answer the question’s main focus — what positive impact did you create, and what made it significant? 

Write about your impact on a situation and emphasize your skills and abilities that will help you achieve academic and professional success. If you can point to your stellar leadership skills, you will show you are ready for an MBA.  

Stanford Optional Short Answer Question B

Stanford’s optional short answer question B asks you to discuss your background. “Background” is purposefully defined broadly. So, you can write about almost anything, ranging from your socioeconomic status to gender identity. 

Perhaps you chose to pursue a part-time job in college because of your gender identity. In that case, explain how and why your background influenced your decision. Self-reflection is key here.

What Is Stanford GSB Looking for in the Essays?

Stanford’s admissions team uses your Stanford GSB application essays to get to know you beyond your academic achievements. 

Specifically, they want to read about your experiences and hear your “genuine voice.” Each Stanford MBA essay is designed to allow you to open up to the admissions committee. Being authentic is vital here; Stanford’s admissions officers can tell if you are not genuine in your responses. 

There is no “right” or “perfect” answer to Stanford’s prompts. As Stanford says, “... the best answer is the one that is truest for you.” 

Looking at Stanford example essays is helpful, as they show you how other applicants have written about their lives. But they are written by other applicants with different experiences. 

Reflect on your own experiences in your Stanford business school essay, and you’ll increase your chances of admission. 

Step-by-step Guide to Writing the Stanford GSB Essays

Writing the Stanford GSB essays can be a daunting task; you may be asking yourself, “How can I effectively convey all that I want to in so few words?” 

Writing an effective essay about yourself can feel challenging, especially with such a low word limit. These essays are quite different from essays you may have done as an undergrad, where long essays are part of the curriculum. 

Remember that these essays are designed to be challenging, and it’s OK to find them difficult. This step-by-step guide will help get you started and provide tips to write a great essay. 

1. Pick Your Topic 

The first step to any essay is to pick your topic. 

For the Stanford GSB essay A, the best course is to brainstorm; think about all the things that are important to you and why you consider them important. Also, think about your achievements and why you set out to achieve them. 

2. Create an Outline 

After you’ve compiled a list, you can narrow down your topic and begin writing. A bullet-pointed list outlining your Stanford MBA essay’s rough structure will help you develop an overall framework.

3. Start Writing 

You can build upon the points you want to touch on and use supporting points as the foundation of your essay. Your essay should be easily separated into three parts:

• Introduction 
• Body paragraphs
• Conclusion 

Your introduction will introduce the topic, the body paragraphs will provide evidence to support your writing, and your conclusion will wrap up your essay neatly. 

4. Create Your Introduction 

Your introduction should captivate the reader immediately. The introduction is often where candidates introduce a relevant anecdote. 

Many people find it helpful to complete their introduction after the main essay is complete. It’s suitable to begin with your introduction or dive right into the body of your essay.

5. Write the Body 

The body of your essay should provide specific examples related to your anecdote. You should discuss what you’ve learned or gained from your experience. 

6. Write Your Conclusion 

Your conclusion should summarize your main points and reference the future you want. It should also leave the reader feeling satisfied that Stanford will help you toward that future. 

1. Brainstorm Why You Want to Attend Stanford 

With the “why Stanford” MBA essay, because you already have your topic, you will want to work out your specific reasons for why Stanford is the school for you. 

Again, brainstorming reasons will help you develop the framework of your essay. Does the school culture excite you? Are you looking to make connections within Silicon Valley?

Jot down every reason you can think of to narrow down your argument. Similar to essay A, your essay should have an identifiable introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. 

3. Create Your Introduction

Your “why Stanford” essay introduction should immediately explain your interest in Stanford. Why is Stanford the school you want to go to? Alternatively, you can start writing the body of your essay first and return to the introduction after.

4. Write the Body 

The body of your essay should highlight some of your achievements and what you have learned from your experiences. You can also relate your background to classes offered in the program and how they would help you grow. 

5. Write Your Conclusion 

Your conclusion should leave the reader satisfied that Stanford is the only school for you. Be passionate, and be specific. 

For both essays, remember to revise, revise, revise. Your essays should be free of all grammar and spelling mistakes and should flow well. Be sure to read your writing aloud to see how it reads as this can help identify possible errors or substantive issues.

Stanford GSB Essay Examples and What Made Them Successful

Reviewing Stanford essay examples is a great way to understand how your writing should generally look, feel, and flow. Below are two compelling essay examples of Stanford GSB essays that worked. 

These are paragraphs taken from full examples of Stanford essays that worked and are not complete essays alone. To better understand the essays’ makeup, the introduction, body, and conclusion paragraphs are labeled. 

Stanford What Matters Most to You and Why Essay Example

What matters most to you, and why?

Sample Introduction:

One evening during a winter break in college, I was driving home and saw my disabled neighbor on our street, slumped over in his driveway, sobbing. I jumped out of my car and ran. 

The ramp to his house was obstructed by a few recently dropped off packages, and he badly needed to use the restroom, having been stuck there for almost an hour. He was a husband, father, grandfather, and former breadwinner, dehumanized by his disability and utterly helpless in this moment. 

Sample Body Paragraph:

I’m driven by finding answers to the most complex, most challenging problems faced by humanity; the ones that are too daunting, or those that go unrecognized. I had to do something. 

So, I rallied a friend, and together we built a low-cost, AI-driven speech-recognition platform that enabled voice-activated control over electronic systems in a household, thus affording increased independence to individuals suffering from ALS and multiple sclerosis. 

It was an exercise in creativity and persistence, and quite daunting at the outset. But, in the end, our solution worked, and cost a fraction of a now commercially available solution like Alexa.

Sample Conclusion:

In the long run, by proving the benefits of AI-driven healthcare to the world, I want to build an enterprise that not only develops sophisticated technology that improves quality of life but also molds the underlying fabric of healthcare policy. 

Like Uber or Airbnb, I dream of leading an organization that fundamentally shifts the contemporary regulatory paradigm in healthcare to one that appropriately reflects both the medical and psychological needs of the modern patient.

We’re all companions on a journey through life; the same random forces that imbue me with good health compel countless others to live in a state of constant suffering. Humanity is a gift, and I have a social and moral responsibility to empower others to live life with passion, dignity, and hope. It is a mission I am dedicated to for the rest of my life.

What Made This Essay Effective?

• The beginning of this Stanford MBA essay sample immerses the reader immediately into the story the student is telling. The rich anecdote is an excellent starting point to lead the rest of their writing, and we instantly want to know more about their journey. 
• The student’s motivations and passions are illuminated and supported throughout the essay. 
• The student demonstrated how they have worked with their passions and motivations creatively to develop a tool to increase independence for individuals living with disabilities.
• The student’s conclusion articulates their long-term goal and restates their passion. The student explained how they plan to dedicate themselves to their cause and improve others’ quality of life.
• The essay leaves the reader satisfied due to its genuineness.

Why Stanford Essay Example

Why Stanford?

Example Introduction:

Silicon Valley is the cradle of global innovation, a melting pot of creators and visionaries. Its one-of-a-kind community paces the world in invention, creativity, and impact. Stanford is at the nucleus of this ecosystem. 

I dream of building a company that pushes the frontiers of AI to fundamentally reshape the global health paradigm, and the GSB MBA offers unparalleled opportunities to explore myself and my passions on that journey.

Example Body Paragraph:

One important lesson I have learned through my experiences as an inventor is the importance of creativity in navigating constraints and creating lasting impact. I once spent months in rural [Country], with limited materials and guidance, building a [medical device]. Only much later, following conversation with a colleague, did I realize I was intuitively applying design thinking and frugal innovation principles in solving challenges. 

I now want a structured education in accessible, cost-effective, and human-centric design through courses such as Design for Health, which will be invaluable in realizing my mission of improving the quality of life for the disabled.

Example Conclusion:

Steve Jobs once famously said that you can only connect the dots in hindsight. I plan to spend my future creating impactful, long-term change in healthcare. When I reflect on life down the road, I am confident I will see my time at Stanford GSB as the brightest dot along the journey.

What Made This Essay Effective? 

• The student immediately states why they’re interested in attending Stanford and discusses how they will fit into the school. 
• They discuss what they’ve learned in their experiences. This shows that they are mature, reflective, and self-aware. 
• They link their experiences to a specific course at Stanford. This shows that the student has researched the program and is excited about Stanford’s course offerings. 
• This is an exciting and confident conclusion. The student summarizes where they expect to be in the future and how Stanford will help propel them to that goal.

Top Tips for Crafting Memorable Essays 

You want to make sure that your essays stand out for their exceptional quality; it’s not enough to develop pieces that get your point across but come off as formulaic and uncreative. 

Below we have compiled a few top tips for Essay A and B to ensure your essays help you stand out in the best way possible. You can also use these tips if you are struggling to understand how to write the Stanford short essays.

Be a Storyteller

Stanford GSB admissions readers are looking for rich anecdotes and well-crafted stories in essay A . 

Your unique experience is important — and a story worth telling. These elements will entice the reader to want to know more about you and your passions. These stories can be emotional and humanize you and your aspirations to the admissions committee. 

Think about the central theme for your essay, and relay a supporting anecdote. Be sure to give context to help the reader understand why this topic is so important to you. Don’t be afraid to get personal . 

Watch the Length and Keep It Fairly Simple 

When you’re writing about yourself, it can be tempting to write pages and pages to make sure you’re getting your point across. After all, you’re the only expert on the subject! But keep things concise, easily digestible, and confident. 

This assignment is not the space to show off your long-winded creative writing skills and detailed description. It’s also not the space to impress the admissions committee by writing what you think they want to hear. 

Your writing shouldn’t have any frills that can dilute or muddle your answer. Remember to keep things simple, be genuine, and be confident — these are the best ways to set yourself up for success. 

Do Not Focus on Your Accomplishments 

Your essays are not meant to be an opportunity to expand or regurgitate your previous work experience. Your essays can highlight things that you haven’t already discussed. Your resume and letters of recommendation already summarize your professional experiences — this an assignment to show your vulnerability and thoughtfulness. 

If there is an accomplishment that encompasses your passions that you haven’t previously discussed, that is OK. Talk about a person, event, or place that has shaped you. Your essay should give the admissions committee a glimpse at the real person behind the accolades.

Do Your School Research 

Stanford GSB essay B calls for you to do adequate school research. Think about why Stanford is the perfect school for you, and let your research support you. Are there classes, clubs, events, or program elements that will help you realize your goals? 

Be as specific as you can to demonstrate that you have done more than casually surf the school’s website. Your research will help you craft a stellar essay. 

There are No ‘Right’ Answers 

There are no right or wrong ways to write both of your Stanford GSB essays. Your story is yours to tell in whatever way you see fit. If your writing honestly reflects your passions, motivations, and dreams, you are on the right track. 

If you feel yourself agonizing and poring over every line, your essays may not be your brand of “right” quite yet. It sounds a little scary to rely on your intuition and to open up, but you will reap the rewards. 

Stanford GSB Essay FAQs

Writing the Stanford GSB essays isn't easy. However, we’ve put together several questions and answers to help you write killer MBA essays. 

1. How do I submit my Stanford GSB essays? 

You should upload essays electronically in one document. Preview the document to make sure that the formatting of your writing does not change. 

2. What’s the best way to go about editing my essays? 

Beyond checking your essays for plagiarism issues and spelling and grammar mistakes, you should also reflect on your essays’ flow and voice. 

Read your essays aloud and see if they sound and feel right.  An unbiased professional opinion is the best way to polish your essays. The experience of a professional review of your essays would be priceless. 

3. What if I want to exceed the word limit on my essays to fit in everything I want to say?

Exceeding the word limit is not recommended. Stanford is looking for MBA candidates who can write concise and compelling essays about themselves and their aspirations. Try to stay within the recommended 650 words for essay A and 400 words for essay B. 

4. Am I allowed to receive feedback on my essays from consulting services? 

Yes. You are allowed to have your essays reviewed after completion — appropriate feedback is when omissions or errors are addressed and you correct them after. Your thoughts and voice should remain the same. 

Inappropriate coaching occurs when someone else has crafted any part of your essay for you. If this happens, your essays are no longer an accurate representation of you and violate terms. Your application will then either be denied or revoked. 

5. What are the optional essays? 

There are two additional optional essays that candidates can complete as part of their application. The first is, “Think about times you’ve created a positive impact, whether in professional, extracurricular, academic, or other settings. What was your impact? What made it significant to you or to others?” This essay gives you the chance to discuss your resume further. You can provide up to three examples for a total of 600 words, or 200 words per example. 

The second optional essay asks, “Tell us about a time within the last three years when your background influenced your participation at work or school.” This essay facilitates discussion about your background, like education, work, skills, race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or gender identity. The word limit for this essay is approximately 200 words. 

6. Will it hurt my chances if I do not write the optional essays? 

The optional essays are just that — optional. If you feel that you’ve already addressed these topics in your application, there is no need. 

But if you want to expand on something that you may not have discussed already, feel free to complete these optional essays. Stanford has accepted applicants who have not completed these additional essays and has not accepted applicants who have completed them.

Excel on the Stanford GSB Essays, Ace the Application

Writing the Stanford GSB essays can be an intimidating task, but this guide should help you polish your essays to perfection. Remember to keep the purpose of both essays in mind as you write. Make sure that your writing is answering the questions that Stanford is asking. 

The step-by-step guide above can help you to complete your essay. The sample Stanford essays that worked illustrated above will help give you an idea of what makes a great Stanford GSB essay. The tips shared in the article will assist you in the memorability of your essay. 

Remember to tell your stories authentically and be genuine in your Stanford GSB essays, and you will be on the path to success.

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Stanford University 2023-24 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

Regular Decision Deadline: Jan 5

You Have: 

Stanford University 2023-24 Application Essay Question Explanations

The Requirements: 3 essays of 100-250 words; 5 short answers of 50 words Supplemental Essay Type(s):  Why ,  Community ,  Oddball

Unshockingly, given that Stanford is the most difficult university to get into in the country, this supplement is a doozie. It puts both your writing and creativity to the test in a myriad ways. One of the most important things to remember about this supplement, as with all supplements that lob a host of essays and short answer questions at you, is that each response is an opportunity to reveal something new about yourself to admissions. Think about the tidbits you have to offer up as you pull together your package and make sure you distribute them across the supplement. Try as hard as you can not to be repetitive. And, as much as you can, have fun with these. If you embrace the challenge laid out in front of you, your answers will be instilled with that positive spirit as well. Trust us.

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. (100 to 250 words) 

How hungry for knowledge are you? That’s what Stanford really wants to know. Focus on a subject that stokes your curiosity, a specific concept that has infiltrated your browser history, or an experience that has burned itself into your brain. What homework assignments are you clamoring to complete first? Which topics want to make you open up a new book, google the definition of word you’re not familiar with or hit play on a podcast? Who challenges you to think of issues in new ways? Now consider what about the subject, activity, or experience itself is inspiring your pursuit of knowledge. Are you driven by the pursuit of the truth and nothing but the truth? Maybe more abstract and creative arenas are more interesting to you. Regardless of what floats your boat, Stanford University is aiming to bring self-motivated, deep thinkers into their student body. Admissions officers want to know that you’ll be eager to contribute to lively class discussion and maybe conduct research in your latter years on campus. Show them that you’ll be a valuable addition to any classroom setting.

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) 

This, at its essence, is a creative writing exercise. All this time colleges have been asking you to write in a casual but professional voice — until now. Pretend you’re writing an email to a friend. Open your browser window and actually draft in a new message box if it helps you adjust your voice. You are now writing to your peer, not admissions. What might someone you are about to live with want to know about you? And, more importantly, what quirky personal information do you want to convey to admissions that might not be appropriate to reveal in response to a stuffier prompt? Are you a closet botanist who will be bringing 30 plants to your dorm room? Have you been practicing how to make your grandma’s special rice in a dorm room hot pot? This is a great place to inject a little humor in your application — if that’s your style. It is also a great opportunity for you to showcase what it would be like to be friends with you (without the use of emojis and with the addition of perfect grammar).

Please describe what aspects of your life experiences, interests and character would help you make a distinctive contribution as an undergraduate to Stanford University.

College applications are rampant with essay questions about community, so this essay is ripe for recycling (how eco-friendly of you!). If you haven’t already written a Community Essay that you plan to adapt and recycle here, we recommend considering the things that make you unique. What about your experiences, interests, or character might be worth highlighting for an admissions officer? And how can the experience, interest, or aspect of your character you choose enrich the learning environment at Stanford University for others? Maybe you have always been an organizer and the glue that holds your summer camp community together during the school year. How will you bring people together on campus? Maybe you were raised on a farm and developed a strong work ethic at a young age as you helped your parents tend to the fields. Will you be a natural leader in group projects and take initiative in the many clubs (be specific!) that you’d like to join? Be sure to connect your personal story to a future vision of yourself at Stanford.

Short Answers

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

Fifty words is not a lot of words. This is going to be a recurring thought as you begin to tackle the Stanford app. How do you explain society’s most significant challenge in just fifty words? You boil it down to its essence and rely on the topic to speak volumes. Think about what nags at you on a daily basis. How would you like to improve the world? Where might we be going down the wrong path? What you choose to write about will give admissions an idea of what you truly care about and how you see the world. Are you concerned that as a species we will never achieve true gender equality? Does climate change keep you up at night? What activities have you participated in or books have you read to educate yourself about this issue? Maybe you even have a solution to offer up. Show admissions that you can turn passion into action.

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

Fifty words is not a lot of words. For this response, that means you will likely have to add and prune, add again and prune again. Feel free to take a straightforward approach to this question. Stanford really wants to know what you did last summer (and the summer before)! Just make sure to include the unexpected commitments that will not appear anywhere else on the application, like your babysitting job, your road trip with your family, or your backyard photography habit. Anything you can do to add a layer of understanding to admissions picture of you will help.

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

Fifty words is not a lot of words. So this answer is really about creating an effective summary of the event in question, and concisely explaining the motivation behind your selection. This is another question in which your selection of topic tells a story. Maybe you want to witness the creation of Gutenberg’s printing press or the swearing in of the first African American president. Whatever you do, try to avoid subjects other students will likely flock to. MLK’s “I Had A Dream” speech is incredible, but it might not make for the best topic here — unless, of course, you have a highly personal story that connects to that moment that you can summarize in 50 words or less. (There are always exceptions to the rules!)

Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities, a job you hold, or responsibilities you have for your family. (50 word limit)

Like so many other universities, Stanford wants to get a feel for your commitments outside the classroom as well as in. Think about your application as a whole, reading through all of the Stanford prompts before you dig in,  and figure out what you can detail here that hasn’t or will not be addressed in other essays. Also make sure the activity, experience, job, or responsibility you highlight is something you are clearly invested in. Don’t choose to elaborate on a fundraiser to which you contribute five hours of your time, twice a year. This is a good place to feature a work experience if you have one, as that is something that often feels less standard than an internship or activity in which many other students participate. For example, tell admissions about the summer you spent working at a hot dog stand and how it taught you about responsibility, organization, and portable fans. That said, even if you write about a national club or organization that other students may feature, the trick to nailing this essay is personalization. Why is this the activity or experience you have chosen to highlight? How were you a contributor and how will it impact your ability to be a contributor on campus? How has participation made you a more compassionate, assertive, or responsible person overall? And how will this experience impact your future? You don’t have a lot of space here, so make sure you focus on personal and powerful details that other people could not replicate.

List five things that are important to you. (50 word limit)

Write down the first things that come to your mind, then give your brain time to generate some other options. You may be tempted to write “family, friends, football, French fries, and fun,” but answers like those are not going to set you apart in the eyes of admissions officers (even if the alliteration is on point). Make a list (the longer, the better) then try to trim it down by considering the value each “thing” brings to your life and which ones are most likely to add saturation to the artwork that is your application. Remember, your answers should be personal and, if possible, unexpected.

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50 Successful Stanford Application Essays: Write Your Way into the College of Your Choice Fourth Edition

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• ISBN-10 1617601691
• ISBN-13 978-1617601699
• Edition Fourth
• Publisher SuperCollege
• Publication date July 13, 2021
• Language English
• Dimensions 5.9 x 0.6 x 8.9 inches
• Print length 208 pages
• See all details

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From the inside flap.

• How to select the best topics to reveal the genuine you
• What Stanford admissions officers want to see in your essay
• The 25 mistakes that you must avoid
• Insider tips from Stanford students on how to write a successful essay
• PLUS, you will read more than 50 essays written by successful Stanford applicants. Each essay includes a complete analysis so you will learn what worked and why.

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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ SuperCollege; Fourth edition (July 13, 2021)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1617601691
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1617601699
• Grade level ‏ : ‎ 10 - 12
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.9 x 0.6 x 8.9 inches
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Gen Tanabe and Kelly Tanabe are the authors of 1001 Ways to Pay For College, Accepted! 50 Successful Business School Admission Essays, Accepted! 50 Successful College Admission Essays, Adult Students, Get Free Cash for College, Get into Any College, How to Write a Winning Scholarship Essay, and Sallie Mae How to Pay for College. They live in Palo Alto, California.

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Does the US college essay still have value?

Now that it has moved so far from its original purpose – and is often written by AI or a ghostwriter – what purpose does the US college application essay actually serve?

Warren Emanuel

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AI will change the world. Already, we can see ways in which widely available AI tools are shaping education , from enhanced curricular design to renewed focus on academic integrity in schools and universities.

So it stands to reason that the link between these institutions – the college application – would be similarly affected. And yet AI is hardly the only force acting upon the college application. The United States Supreme Court’s decision to ban the use of race in admissions decisions too will reshape what information universities request from applicants and how students choose to provide it.

Given the dynamics at play, it seems an appropriate time to re-evaluate the college essay and its intended purpose. 

The US college essay: a brief history

For the purposes of this exercise, let’s consider the college essay as the primary essay or personal statement required by the Common Application or by individual universities as part of the university application in the US.

It is important to note, however, that the term “college essay” is an oversimplification. In the US alone, there are myriad forms that the college essay or personal statement can take, including the Common Application essay. Yet not every applicant will use the Common Application to apply to university, or there might be university-specific supplemental essays required along with a personal statement.

Furthermore, there are key differences between the US college essay and the UK personal statement. 

An inauspicious beginning

The origin of the application essay is not one that reflects well on US universities. The application essay traces its roots to early 20th-century antisemitism, with the “character-based application” used predominantly as a tool to keep unwanted minority groups out of prestigious institutions. Those curious to learn more might read The Chosen ,  by sociology professor Jerome Karabel.

The college application essay, of course, evolved. And so for several decades, along with a combination of academic transcript, standardised testing and letter of recommendation, it remained a tool by which admissions offices throughout the US could assess an applicant’s preparedness to succeed at that particular institution.

Embracing the mass

Marketing guru and social thinker Seth Godin frequently writes about our historical movement towards the mass: mass production, mass communication, mass marketing. Perhaps curiously, the college essay was included in this shift.

The Common Application, a convenient and free application form accepted by more than 1,000 schools globally, requires one primary college essay. It offers students a choice of six essay prompts, and a seventh, “topic of your choice”, each with a word limit of 650 words.

Until somewhat recently, there were only five prompts, and a limit of merely 500 words. Applicants thus had to embrace the mass, to find a way to stand out slightly within a rather rigid mass-market application structure.

For decades it worked. It was imperfect, but it worked. The college essay retained a dual purpose of articulating academic and intellectual preparedness through the use of grammar, syntax, styles and mechanics, along with values and interests (drivers of fit) through content.

Tipping point

Like so many practices and processes before it, the college-admissions process reached a tipping point fuelled by the confluence of globalisation, ranking systems, cost, prestige and shifting cultural values.

Colleges and universities no longer had to sort through applicants to assess who was qualified to attend. Instead, they had to sort through the qualified applicants to determine which of them fit the institutional values and needs in that particular year, all while shaping (somewhat) diverse communities.

Preparedness remained an integral purpose of the college essay. Yet more than ever, an applicant’s voice, interests and values needed to shine through, so that admissions offices could assess the nebulous concept of fit.

Increasingly, applicants were instructed to “be unique” – which, while well intentioned, is not particularly helpful advice. The college essay peaked in importance, required to convey so much more than perhaps originally intended.

The college essay, disrupted

The US Merriam-Webster dictionary should consider “disrupt” the word of the year, to reflect the current infatuation with disrupting absolutely everything. Of course, sometimes we need a little disruptive behaviour. Other times, disruption occurs before we fully consider the implications.

It was fascinating to read that Duke  University – and likely other institutions – no longer assumes that applicants write their own college essays . This invites many questions:

• Is it OK if applicants are not writing their own essays?
• Who (ghostwriters) or what (AI) is writing them?
• How does an admissions committee assess preparedness if essays are inauthentic and testing is optional?
• What is the new purpose of the essay?

Contrary to any inclination towards fear or scepticism, there is ample reason to believe that the college essay, which has undergone multiple evolutions already, can still be beneficial to both applicant and admissions office. Consider the following questions:

• Is the applicant able to use modern tools, including AI, with integrity?
• Does the applicant share meaningful lived experience in a thoughtful and reflective way?
• Can the applicant convey authentic personal values and interests?

Within these rhetorical questions, the current purpose of the college essay is found. Certainly many applicants will continue to pen their own essays without AI assistance for years to come.

But even for those who use AI or rely on a ghostwriter, it is worth remembering that the shift away from preparedness as the primary purpose of the college essay began long ago, and that values, interests and voice still have merit. 

Stanford's Rachel Heck pens first-person essay to explain why she won't go pro

T his spring, after Rachel Heck completes her senior year at Stanford, she’ll put her golf clubs away and take on an internship in private equity. She’ll also be pinned as a Lieutenant of the United States Air Force. Heck explained her reasons for not turning professional in a first-person essay on nolayingup.com.

“I was strongly considering attributing my decision to my injuries,” wrote Heck, who has grappled with several in recent years. “It is true that even if I wanted to, I do not know if my body would hold up on tour. But frankly, after a couple of years of painful deliberation, I have come to realize that I do not want to play professional golf.

"I do not want a life on the road and in the public eye. I no longer dream of the U.S. Open trophies and the Hall of Fame. And I realize now that these dreams were never what my dad intended when he first put a club in my hand.”

https://twitter.com/rachelheck2020/status/1772274878592266370

Heck qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open at age 15 and, as a hotshot junior, suffered a back injury that left her sidelined from the game. Without golf, she felt lost, and during a period of darkness, decided that she wanted to pursue the Air Force ROTC to find something more. Heck’s parents told her she was crazy, but she persisted.

As a freshman at Stanford, with dreams of playing on the LPGA and serving in the Air Force in full throttle , Heck set an NCAA scoring record (69.72) en route to sweeping the postseason.

Heck won six times in nine starts in 2021, including her last five events. She became the third player in NCAA history to sweep the postseason, winning the Pac-12 Championship, NCAA regionals and nationals. She posted 15 of 25 rounds in the 60s, including 12 consecutive.

But, as her college career progressed, more injuries followed. While Heck intends to pass on the professional life, she does plan to continue to play amateur golf, following a similar path set by Wake Forest grad Emilia Migliaccio.

“I have grappled with anger, hope, depression, joy, and everything in between,” Heck wrote, “but amid each trial in which I so desperately sought the clarity of a deeper meaning, God always showed me the next step. Right now, the next step is not professional golf.”

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Stanford's Rachel Heck pens first-person essay to explain why she won't go pro

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Jonathan Levin, Dean of Business School, Is Stanford’s New President

Dr. Levin faces the challenge of guiding the university through politically fraught times.

By Stephanie Saul

Stanford University’s next president will be Jonathan Levin, an economist who currently serves as dean of the graduate business school and whose association with the university dates back to his undergraduate days in the 1990s.

Dr. Levin’s selection, announced on Thursday, was based partly on his deep understanding of the university’s culture, the school said.

His appointment is also viewed as a stabilizing force, as Stanford faces turmoil stemming from protests over the Israel-Hamas war, as well as controversy over a predecessor, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, who resigned as president last summer amid questions about the quality of scientific research that was conducted in labs he supervised.

Jerry Yang, the technology entrepreneur who is the chair of Stanford’s board of trustees, said that the selection committee chose Dr. Levin, 51, as someone who could chart a course for the university during these politically fraught times.

The trustees held dozens of listening sessions, Mr. Yang said. “People wanted someone with a very distinguished academic record, somebody who has a deep familiarity with Stanford, understanding our spirit and culture,” he said on Thursday. “And they wanted someone with deep integrity.”

In choosing Dr. Levin, who serves on a White House advisory panel on science and technology, Stanford’s 20-member search committee also picked someone steeped in the world of academia.

Dr. Levin holds multiple degrees, has served on Stanford’s faculty since 2000 and is the son of the former Yale University president Richard Levin .

After obtaining undergraduate degrees in math and English from Stanford, Dr. Levin received his master’s degree from the University of Oxford, and then obtained a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was chair of Stanford’s economics department before becoming dean of the business school in 2016.

His research has been wide-ranging, covering topics such as early admissions at selective colleges, subprime lending and the impact of financial incentives on health and health care delivery. As dean, Dr. Levin has promoted educating business entrepreneurs in developing countries through a program called Stanford Seed.

In an interview on Thursday, shortly after his selection was made public, Dr. Levin did not comment directly on the scandal involving Dr. Tessier-Lavigne, but he did address another controversial topic on the Palo Alto, Calif., campus: free speech.

Referring to an address he gave at a faculty Senate hearing this year, Dr. Levin repeated his comments that universities should “get out of the business of making statements on current events.” Instead, he said, “we should focus on encouraging students to listen to different perspectives and engage in dialogue and form their own opinions.”

After campus protests erupted over the Israel-Hamas war, the university’s interim president, Richard Saller, in January said the university would refrain from making statements about national and international affairs unless they directly affected the university and its missions. But the declaration of institutional neutrality has not subdued campus controversies.

Just this week, the university became the defendant in a lawsuit by a former instructor, Ameer Hasan Loggins, who is Black and Muslim. The lawsuit accuses Stanford of discrimination because it dismissed Mr. Loggins over a lecture on colonialism several days after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

Even before the campus protests, the university was the focus of a free-speech battle when student protesters heckled Stuart Kyle Duncan , a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit who had come to speak with the university chapter of the Federalist Society.

Dr. Levin will take over as Stanford’s 13th president in August, succeeding Dr. Saller, a scholar of Roman history who began serving as interim president last September after the resignation of Dr. Tessier-Lavigne, a neuroscientist.

Dr. Tessier-Lavigne stepped down after a university report last summer found flaws in studies that he had supervised, going back decades.

But the review , conducted by an outside panel of scientists, refuted the most serious claim involving his work — that an important 2009 Alzheimer’s study was the subject of an investigation that found falsified data, and that Dr. Tessier-Lavigne had covered it up.

Stephanie Saul reports on colleges and universities, with a recent focus on the dramatic changes in college admissions and the debate around diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education. More about Stephanie Saul

Stanford University

Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions is a joint effort of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research .

Track 2 Diplomacy Effort on U.S.-China Scholarly Exchange Publishes Final Report

In early 2023 Professor Scott Rozelle, SCCEI Co-Director, was asked to participate in a track 2 diplomacy effort focusing on the current state of scholarly exchange between the United States and China. Led by CSIS and Peking University, the initiative produced a report consisting of 27 essays by American and Chinese scholars explaining the benefits of U.S.-China scholarly cooperation to the two societies and the world at large, identifying the obstacles to greater exchanges, and outlining practical strategies for overcoming these challenges. Scott Rozelle contributed two essays to this report: Scholarly Exchange between the United States and China: The Benefits of Collaboration and the Costs of Disruption and Scholarly Exchange Must Not Be Collateral Damage of National Security Impulses .

View the report summary on the CSIS website .  

Watch the Recorded Event on U.S.-China Scholarly Recoupling: The Path Forward

Download the Report

U.s.-china scholarly recoupling: advancing mutual understanding in an era of intense rivalry, scott rozelle joins track two diplomacy efforts on scholarly exchange between the united states and china, adb's chief economist shares insights on china’s economy and asia’s rise, 2023 china business conference: washington’s view of china.

ME 2024 Commencement and Diploma Ceremony

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Stanford Mechanical Engineering Diploma Ceremony for the Class of 2024

The Stanford ME Department is thrilled to welcome the class of 2024 to participate in our Diploma Ceremony on Sunday, June 16, 2024.  We look forward to celebrating our graduates as they walk the stage in front of family and friends.

• When:  Sunday, June 16, 2024, from 12:30 to 3:30 pm, reception to follow
• Where:  Maples Pavilion ,  655 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305. Reception will be held at Chuck Taylor Grove, adjacent to the Avery Aquatic Center and a short walk from the ceremony. 
• Who:   Graduates of the class of 2024 (BS, MS, ENGR, PhD)

Only students who confer a degree in autumn, winter, spring, or summer of 2023-2024 may participate in the ME Diploma Ceremony as a member of the class of 2024. If you graduated in a previous quarter (summer 2023) or will be graduating in a future quarter, please see details about submitting a Walkthrough petition.

• Graduate : student who has graduated and conferred a degree in any quarter of 2023-2024. 
• Walkthrough : students who have conferred their degree in a previous quarter, or will be conferring their degree in the summer quarter of 2024 will need to register as a Walkthrough participant in the ME Diploma Ceremony. See details below. 

Mechanical Engineering Walkthrough Form 2024 :  https://forms.gle/QSs5u8M7cmC6kbrPA

This is a form for people who are not receiving a degree this spring, but want to participate in the ME Diploma Ceremony in June. This is not an application to graduate. 

• ME-BS  students must have completed at least 160 undergraduate units by the end of spring quarter. 
• ME-MS  students must have completed at least 36 graduate units by the end of spring quarter. 
• ME-PhD  students must have a scheduled Oral Exam for spring or summer quarters. 

You can check how many units you've completed by checking your transcript. Be sure to order your cap and gown from the Stanford Bookstore. Caps and gowns must be worn to participate in all Commencement ceremonies. We'll send an email in early May to confirm whether your Walkthrough Petition has been approved by ME Student Services.

This form is only for the ME Diploma Ceremony that will take place on Sunday, June 16, 2024. This form is not for the main university ceremony that takes place at the football stadium. If you have any question about the main university ceremony at the football stadium, please read the information at  commencement.stanford.edu .

We will be hosting boxed lunches for students and guests between 11:15am - 12:00pm. 

• Tickets will not be required for the ME Diploma Ceremony. Graduates are welcome to invite family and friends to celebrate, with no restrictions on the number of guests.

Graduates:  Important things to know and do

• Apply to graduate in Axess.
• Indicate whether you will be participating in Commencement and Diploma Ceremonies (this is part of the application to graduate, in Axess).
• Be on the lookout for emails from ME Student Services with details about Commencement Info Sessions (attendance is mandatory), and other ceremony logistics.
• Be sure to submit a final, completed program sheet (BS, MS) which will be used to clear you for graduation. 

For Family and Friends

• Due to staff bandwidth, the mechanical engineering department will be communicating details about our ceremony with students/graduates only, not with family members. Please continue to check this web page, or speak with your graduate in order to obtain information about our ceremony.  
• https://visit.stanford.edu/basics/lodging.html
• https://reunion.stanford.edu/plan-your-visit/hotels-lodging  

Health and Safety Update

• Clear Bag Policy: Maples Pavilion follows the Public Safety Clear Bag Policy . See the link for details. 
• Maples will have a limited bag check station in front of the building, but we cannot guarantee that there will be space available for your bag. Also, please be aware that any checked bag may be subject to inspection when checking it in. 
• All attendees are subject to security screening. 
• We follow all federal, state, and local guidelines regarding public health and safety, so please check back here before you arrive. 

The Program:

Graduating Students

(all times are approximate)

12:00-12:30pm: Grad Check-In/Line-Up

12:30pm: Ceremony begins

12:45pm: Opening Remarks (~10 minutes)

12:55pm: Graduate Awards (~10 minutes)

1:05pm:  Awarding of Doctoral Degrees and Hooding Ceremony (~45 minutes)

1:50pm: Awarding of Master's Degrees (~25 minutes)

2:15pm: Undergraduate Awards (~20 minutes)

2:35pm: Awarding of Bachelor's Degrees (~45 minutes)

3:20pm: Closing Remarks

Accessibility

There will be an accessibility Dropoff tent on Campus Drive right in front of Maples Pavilion. You may drop off/pick up guests needing assistance there.

If you need accommodation for accessibility issues, please email [email protected] .

Request for Disability-Related Accommodations 

Access, Mobility, and Transportation Resources

Helpful Links

For information about the main in-person Stanford University Commencement Celebration please go to Stanford's Commencement webpage .

updated 4/10/2024

Latest information about COVID-19

Poetry scholar and critic Marjorie Perloff has died

Perloff, a world-renowned scholar of contemporary poetry and champion of experimental poetry, was known for her ability to untangle complex ideas in modern and conceptual poetry and explain it in jargon-free books and essays.

Marjorie Perloff, the Sadie Dernham Patek Professor of Humanities, Emerita, in the Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences, a world-renowned scholar of contemporary poetry and champion of experimental poetry, died March 24 at her home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. She was 92.

A leading literary critic and author of more than a dozen books, roughly 250 scholarly articles and book chapters, and hundreds of book reviews, Perloff was known for her ability to explain complex experimental and conceptual poetry in jargon-free books and articles read by general audiences and literary scholars alike. 

“Marjorie came to Stanford in 1986, at the peak of a distinguished career,” said Roland Greene , the Mark Pigott KBE Professor and the Anthony P. Meier Family Professor of the Humanities in H&S. “Before she retired in 2000, she published several of her most influential books, mentored a generation of doctoral students, served as president of both the Modern Language Association and the American Comparative Literature Association, and gave Stanford a lifeline to the world of avant-garde poetry past and present. This is a place with a strong tradition in poetry criticism, but Marjorie was easily the most important poetry critic ever at Stanford.” 

Making the complex clear

Perloff was singular as a literary critic and scholar for her mastery of making complex ideas and writing clear.

“What made her such a compelling force in modern letters was her passionately engaged intellect, excited by experimentation but grounded in the literatures of the several languages she knew,” wrote Professor of American Literature, Emeritus, Albert Gelpi and Professor of English, Emerita, Barbara Gelpi in a joint statement. “She addressed difficult texts with clarifying empathy and argued out the issues that they raised.”

Perloff published her first books in the 1970s, and they focused on the works of William Butler Yeats, Robert Lowell, and Frank O’Hara. In the 1980s, Perloff’s books explored poetic themes within larger avant-garde movements. These works include The Poetics of Indeterminacy: Rimbaud to Cage (Northwestern University Press, 1981) and The Futurist Moment: Avant-Garde, Avant-Guerre, and the Language of Rupture (University of Chicago Press, 1986). Her byline also frequently graced the pages of The Washington Post, Boston Review, and The Times Literary Supplement .

She detailed her belief in the power of close reading and why it is critical for gaining a true understanding of literary and poetic works in her book Differentials: Poetry, Poetics, Pedagogy (University of Alabama Press, 2004). This collection of essays explored topics in writing that spanned modernism and contemporary avant-garde. Differentials received the Robert Penn Warren Prize for literary criticism in 2004.

Perloff also made her mark as a teacher and mentor. At Stanford, her undergraduate and graduate classes explored topics such as literary theory; introductory, modern, and contemporary poetry; comparative British and American poetry; digital poetics; and visual arts analysis.

Former Stanford student and friend Craig Dworkin, professor of English at the University of Utah, described her dedication to teaching saying, “one semester our classroom was across an atrium from the building entrance, so we could see Marjorie arrive, and before she reached the room she would already be talking; I realized that she was always teaching, but only sometimes were you lucky enough to be within earshot.”

Perloff made many contributions to the Stanford community, including serving as director of the undergraduate honors program in the Department of English (1991) and director of graduate studies from 1994 to 1997.

From Vienna to the U.S.

Perloff was born Sept. 28, 1931, in Vienna. At age 6, she fled Vienna with her family three days after Germany annexed Austria in March of 1938. In her memoir, The Vienna Paradox (New Directions Press, 2003), Perloff recounted her early life in pre-World War II Vienna, her escape to the U.S. and childhood in New York with her Jewish family, and how the German-speaking Gabriele Mintz became the English-speaking American girl Marjorie in her teens.

She studied English at Ethical Culture Fieldston School, then Oberlin College, and Barnard College, where she graduated in 1953. She married Joseph Perloff, who became a renowned cardiologist and pioneered the study of congenital heart disease, in 1953. They had two children, Nancy and Carey.

After working as a movie subtitle writer for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Perloff moved to Washington, D.C. with her family. There, she earned a Master of Arts (1956) and a doctorate (1965) in English literature at Catholic University of America. Her doctoral dissertation, “Rhyme and Meaning in the Poetry of Yeats,” was published as a book in 1970. Perloff became a full professor at Catholic University of America, where she taught from 1966 to 1971. Later, she taught at the University of Maryland (1971-1976) and the University of Southern California (1976-1986). In 1986, Perloff joined the Stanford faculty as a professor of English and comparative literature.

At Stanford, Perloff had a profound and lasting impact on her students and colleagues.  Robert Pogue Harrison , the Rosina Pierotti Professor of Italian Literature, Emeritus, team taught  Introduction to the Humanities  and two graduate seminars on the French 19th-century poets Charles Baudelaire and Arthur Rimbaud with Perloff in the late 1990s.

“No one who spent an hour in Marjorie’s company could ever forget her,” said Harrison, professor of French and Italian. “In addition to being the best scholar of modern poetry of her generation, she was multi-lingual, immensely articulate, and a tour de force of wit and storytelling. She gave greatly more to Stanford than she took from it. Team teaching with her was an exhilarating experience that I will always cherish.”

She received numerous awards and honors including a Guggenheim Fellowship (1981) and National Endowment for the Humanities Senior Fellowship (1985). She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1997) and American Philosophical Society (2012). She also received honorary degrees from the Chinese Foreign University in Beijing, Bard College, Chapman University, and the University of Innsbruck, Austria.

“She was an inspired teacher and committed mentor to generations of students,” wrote Albert and Barbara Gelpi. “Marjorie lived that same passionate commitment: companion and wife of Joseph Perloff, beloved mother and grandmother, and devoted and loyal friend. She was a vibrant presence in the world, and she will be remembered by the many near and far who grieve her loss.

Perloff is preceded in death by her husband, Joseph, who died in 2014. She is survived by her daughters, Carey and Nancy,   and her three grandchildren. A memorial service will take place in May.

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