How to Write Successful Stanford Supplemental Essays

UPDATE: THE PROMPTS HAVE CHANGED!! For the Complete Guide to the Stanford 2017-2018 Short Answer and Supplemental Essays, click here. 

For many students, Stanford is the dream -- but Stanford's application is a nightmare! After filling out eight short-answer questions, you've still got three more 250-word essays to go! 

Take these essays seriously. It may feel ridiculous to write a letter to your future roommate... but the admissions officers will read (and evaluate you on) every word. 

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As I wrote in this infographic, your odds of getting into Stanford are small, so you really need to rock these essays if you want to be considered for admission. While there is no specific formula (anyone who says there is isn't being sincere) for acceptance, there are definitely a few traits that admissions officers want to see:

1. Amazing recommendations. If you get accepted to Stanford, you are going to have Nobel Prize winners and MacArthur Fellows teaching your introductory-level classes. Are you someone who's going to take full advantage of that? Or are you just going to take hard classes and do well on your tests?

2. Ability to seek and create opportunities. As I wrote in Going to Stanford Doesn't Mean You'll Get a Stanford Education, schools like Stanford have basically unlimited resources -- from undergraduate research opportunities to fellowships to arts grants to anything else you can think of, Stanford can make it happen. Are you someone who will crave​ those opportunities? Or are you just going to take hard classes and do well on your tests?

That said, as you approach your three Stanford supplemental essays, you should ask yourself the following questions:

• What can I do better than anyone else?
• What have I tried that no one else has?
• What perspectives or experiences do I have that might be surprising to someone who doesn't know me?
• What would I add to the student body?
• Why should Stanford admit me?
• What do I want Stanford to know about me that doesn't show up in my activities section, main Common App essay, or short answers?
• Are there any other interpretations of this question?

As you begin brainstorming, think of these exercises as both a journey of self-discovery, and an exercise in creativity. Try to say at least one thing outside of the box -- something no one but you would have thought to say. Because a generic essay about how hard it is to be an immigrant or the challenges of being the captain of the basketball/robotics/debate team is going to put admissions officers straight to sleep.

On the writing side of things, remember to use verbs, not adverbs and adjectives. Remember to give them an "anchor" to remember you by -- after all, they've got 1,000 more of these applications to read by the end of the week, so if all you give them if "robotics team," you'll be quickly forgotten. (You'll see some examples of this in the samples, below.)

One other thing to keep in mind: the same person who reads your essays will be reading all the applications from your high school, and your region. That way, the reader has a way to evaluate you relative to your peers who had similar opportunities to yours (rather, than, say, someone from a small town in the Midwest or an inner city school in New York City). This is great, because it means you can assume they have a basic knowledge of what your school/region is like... but it can also make it much harder to be original. 

With all this in mind, here are the three Stanford supplemental essay questions:

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

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. (250 word limit)

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

Let's tackle the first prompt first:

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

You've already filled out your activities and short answers section, so the reader knows what extracurriculars you do -- and possibly what awards you've won and what your role is in your various groups/teams/communities.

Don't reiterate that here.

This is a space to talk about why you do what you do; how it has changed you; what about it you found the most meaningful

OR. Tell them something you want them to know about you that they don't know already. (Remember earlier, when I asked you what you can contribute to the Stanford student body, and why they should want to admit you?)

Come up with at least three good ideas before choosing one. Here is how I would approach this essay:

Idea 1: Everything I Learned About Life, I Learned From Basketball
Idea 2: Why I Loved Growing Up On a Farm, And How It's Shaped My Intellectual Development
Idea 3: How a Girl From Iowa Fell In Love With Scuba Diving and Became a Rescue Diver and DAN Oxygen Administrator.
Idea 4: The Power of the Mind - My Independent Reading on the Placebo Effect, and What It Means for Human Health
​

I think my interest in biology and life sciences is probably more interesting (intellectually) than my experiences playing basketball, so I will save the basketball essay for the short-answers section and write about growing up on a farm here. 

By the time I was six, I’d seen almost every animal on my farm having sex.

I’d observed that dogs get “stuck together,” butt-to-butt, after intercourse. I’d observed that kitty cats scream when they “do it,” because the tom has a barbed penis. And I’d observed that it’s easy to distinguish male ducks from females -- due to the nonconsensual, gang-bang nature of duck reproduction, female ducks rarely had feathers on the backs on their necks.

I’d also learned that life can be ugly. Ewes can’t count; when delivering twins or triplets, they might accidentally leave a newborn in the snow to die. Horses founder -- sometimes, your only option is a merciful killing. Mother cats hide their newborn kittens, because tomcats will murder them otherwise.

As I grew, I learned about agriculture. I spent my summers detasseling corn -- that is, ripping the male reproductive organs off of corn plants and throwing them on the ground. (This prevents corn from pollinating itself, therefore producing a hybrid vigor.) Corn leaves are sharp, so I wore long sleeves and pants in the humid Iowa heat. I walked miles each day, brushing worms and spiders off of my face as I ripped.

These early learning experiences continue to affect me, both in the classroom and beyond. Oddly, seeing biology at work on my farm sparked my interest in scuba diving. Today, I am a certified Underwater Naturalist, and I look forward to continuing to explore the world of life in the classroom and the field.
​

Earlier in this post, I mentioned an anchor. This essay is a good example of that. It's edgy, because sex​! But it's also an extremely personal look into what my life was like growing up. Life on the farm is hard. I wouldn't trade it for anything, but it was hard. 

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Next question:

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. (250 word limit)
​

Personally, I don't love this prompt. But Stanford clearly does -- this question was on the application ten year ago, when I applied... and it's still there, now. 

Shockingly, some applicants don't put much effort this question. And then they get rejected. If you don't really tell the essay reader something memorable, interesting or impressive about yourself, you won't get in. Period. (Unless you're, like, an Obama. But after growing up in the White House, you'd definitely be bringing a unique and diverse set of experiences to the table, so I am okay with that.)

There is potential here to inject your personality into this application. Need help coming up with some memorable details? Ask yourself the following questions (inspired by the UNC Short Answer questions):

• What five words would you use to describe yourself? You will already have answered this in your short-answer section, so don't be repetitive and say them again here. Instead, think of ways you can illustrate those traits. If you chose "curious," write about how you're always late for class -- because you always have so many crazy hypothetical questions to ask your teachers after your previous class. If you chose "funny," tell a joke. If you chose studious, say that they will basically be living in a single room, because you expect to spend most of your time in a biology research lab or the library.
• What are your personality quirks?
• What's something about you that people find surprising?
• What's your "biggest little worry"?
• What is the most fun you've ever had?
• What is your most outrageous travel story?
• Have you ever had roommates before -- siblings or otherwise? What did you learn?

After answering those questions, you should have a few good ideas or this essay. The next questions you can ask yourself are:

• What are our goals for college -- or even just freshman year?
• What are your goals for your senior year of high school?
• What resources and opportunities do you hope to take advantage of at Stanford?

I think digging into some of these topics is going to be more interesting than the "logistics" trap many students get stuck in. (In other words, don't waste space writing about who's going to bring the microwave.) AND. It will show admissions officers that you have done your research. You're not applying to Stanford because it's a good school. You're applying because you know what the school has to offer, and you're excited to get your hands dirty.

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. (250 word limit)​

Dear Roommate,

I apologize in advance if I don’t shake your hand when we (finally) meet -- I’m an avid rower, and often have oozing, open blisters covering my hands. That said, if you hear me yelping in the shower, don’t be alarmed! That’s just what happens when I get shampoo in my wounds.

When I’m not rowing, you might find me playing guitar (and writing completely non-pretentious originals) or tossing a frisbee on the lawn. I love nothing more than “skying” people who are bigger than me, and have absolutely no problem rhyming “me” with “be,” “see,” and “agree.” If it’s good enough for The Beatles, it’s good enough for me.

Have you picked a major? I definitely haven’t. I know I like biology, but am excited to explore psychology, political science and product design courses once I get to Stanford. I do know that I want to take advantage of IntroSems -- I’m torn between The Ocean Around Us, an oceanography class that provides fieldwork opportunities, and Inside the Jet Engine, which apparently includes a daytrip to the Boeing factory in Arizona (!!!????).  

Obviously, there’s no way either of us can possibly take advantage of all that Stanford has to offer. So let’s divide and conquer! You tell me about the hottest new research in your major, and I’ll tell you about the cool speakers, contests and events on campus. After all, if I learned anything at boarding school, it’s that collaboration is key.

Looking forward to meeting you!
​

I like this because it sounds like me. That's how I talk. That's the way I joke. Don't make the ever-so-common mistake of treating your college applications like a scholarly essay. Contractions are fine. Colloquial language is fine. You are not writing for a professor or a research journal. You are writing for someone who wants to get to know you -- especially in your letter to your roommate. 

It also shows my creativity (writing songs) and curiosity (taking a class about jet engines, even though I'm not majoring in engineering), while emphasizing an extracurricular that I have indicated I plan to continue in college (and have, in fact, been in touch with the crew coach about). I also touch briefly on collaboration, which, as I wrote in If You Want to be Pre-Med, READ THIS, is the future of education. 

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​Next essay:

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

Another super open prompt. You can go wherever you want with this. And probably, the more creative and outside the box you can be, the better. 

Be as colloquial as you want.
Interpret this question however you want.
Try to make sure your essay topic ties into the overall theme of your application in a meaningful way. 
If there's something you want them to know about you that they don't yet, say that here.

As always, start by brainstorming at least five ideas before picking one. Here are mine:

- Riding my bike to the beach with my friends. I work hard in sports and in school, but my friends, and my sense of adventure, are still really important to me. 
- Small farmers. It's hard to make ends meet as a small farmer, and this matters to me because my father and grandfather were both farmers. 
- High school. I LOVE(d) high school, but I feel like a lot of students don't. It is important to me that people have positive experiences in high school, so they can look back on this time of their life fondly, and come out of school with more confidence and happiness.
- The environment, for obvious reasons.

The fact that I care about the environment "for obvious reasons" probably means that it's not a fresh topic to write about -- especially considering I can share firsthand stories about small farmers if I write about that. However, I have written an essay about growing up on a farm, and there's no need to rehash that. The topic that feels the most "me" -- and the topic that I actually did write one of my Stanford essays about, ten years ago -- and the topic that ended up being the topic of​ my Stanford master's thesis -- and the topic I went on to start a blog about -- is playfulness. So that's probably the topic I would write my final supplemental essay about.

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

“CLOSE THE WINDOW!”

A gust of Atlantic wind whips the corner of the “house” out of my hand, exposing us to the harsh elements of Hampton Beach. Are those icicles forming in my hair?

Probably.

I grab my corner of the towel and tuck it into the driftwood, completing the “roof” of our little shelter. In lieu of a fireplace, we cram our wet, half-naked bodies as close together as possible, shivering until we laugh hysterically.

It’s Principal’s Day, an Exeter tradition in which one day of class is unexpectedly canceled. Many Exonians stayed home today, “catching up on work” or “relaxing.” But my favorite thing about myself is my playfulness, my sense of adventure.

So I braved the cold temperatures, rallied the troops, bought a lot of duct tape (that’s totally how you fix the broken bikes you bought last week at a yard sale, right?) and hit the road at 5am in order to make a sunrise penguin plunge.

To write an essay about playfulness may be to imply that I am not a “serious” student. But quite the contrary: my passion for play makes me productive (through play, I learned never to set a Monday deadline). It keeps me curious and inspires ideas for projects, op-eds and miscellaneous undertakings. It keeps my feet dirty and my elbows skinned and my lungs gasping for air. It’s the most important part of me…

And probably the part of me that is most likely to change the world.
​
***

I like this essay because it is nostalgic and fun. It's light and playful -- a lot of these essays are probably going to end up being about social injustice, immigration and eating disorders, so I think a day at the beach is a nice change.

I like the way it looks. When you write long paragraphs, it makes your essay look daunting, and reading it becomes less enjoyable. I like the narrative and what it says about me. It shows my pro-social tendencies, and my tenacity. 

I doubt someone who read this essay ten years ago would ever have guessed that I would end up being a "world play expert." But it continues to astonish me, to this day, that something that was important to me then became my life. I wonder how often that happens in these applications. 

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So here's what my final short essay section will look like:

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

By the time I was six, I’d seen almost every animal on my farm having sex.

I’d observed that dogs get “stuck together,” butt-to-butt, after intercourse. I’d observed that kitty cats scream when they “do it,” because the tom has a barbed penis. And I’d observed that it’s easy to distinguish male ducks from females -- due to the nonconsensual, gang-bang nature of duck reproduction, female ducks rarely had feathers on the backs on their necks.

I’d also learned that life can be ugly. Ewes can’t count; when delivering twins or triplets, they might accidentally leave a newborn in the snow to die. Horses founder -- sometimes, your only option is a merciful killing. Mother cats hide their newborn kittens, because tomcats will slaughter them otherwise.

As I grew, I learned about agriculture. I spent my summers detasseling corn -- that is, ripping the male reproductive organs off of corn plants and throwing them on the ground. (This prevents corn from pollinating itself, therefore producing a hybrid vigor.) Corn leaves are sharp, so I wore long sleeves and pants in the humid Iowa heat. I walked miles each day, brushing worms and spiders off of my face as I ripped.

These early learning experiences continue to affect me, both in the classroom and beyond. Oddly, seeing biology at work on my farm sparked my interest in oceanography. Today, I am a certified Underwater Naturalist, and I look forward to continuing to explore the world of life in the classroom and the field.


​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. (250 word limit)​

Dear Roommate, 

I apologize in advance if I don’t shake your hand when we (finally) meet -- I’m an avid rower, and often have oozing, open blisters on my hands. That said, if you hear me yelping in the shower, don’t be alarmed! That’s just what happens when I mindlessly pour shampoo into my wounds.

When I’m not rowing, you might find me playing guitar (and writing completely non-pretentious originals) or tossing a frisbee on the lawn. I love nothing more than “skying” people who are bigger than me, and have absolutely no problem rhyming “me” with “be,” “see,” and “agree.” If it’s good enough for The Beatles, it’s good enough for me. 

Have you picked a major? I definitely haven’t. I know I like biology, but am excited to explore psychology, political science and product design courses. I do know that I want to take advantage of IntroSems -- I’m torn between The Ocean Around Us, an oceanography class that provides fieldwork opportunities, and Inside the Jet Engine, which apparently includes a daytrip to the Boeing factory in Arizona (!!!????).  

Obviously, there’s no way either of us can possibly take advantage of all that Stanford has to offer. So let’s divide and conquer! You tell me about the hottest new research in your major, and I’ll tell you about the cool speakers, contests and events I've discovered on campus. After all, if I learned anything at boarding school, it’s that collaboration is key. 

Looking forward to meeting you!


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

“CLOSE THE WINDOW!”

A gust of Atlantic wind whips the corner of the “house” out of my hand, exposing us to the harsh elements of Hampton Beach. Are those icicles forming in my hair? 

Probably. 

I grab my corner of the towel and tuck it into the driftwood, completing the “roof” of our little shelter. In lieu of a fireplace, we cram our wet, half-naked bodies as close together as possible, shivering until we laugh hysterically.

It’s Principal’s Day, an Exeter tradition in which one day of class is unexpectedly canceled. Many Exonians stayed home today, “catching up on work” or “relaxing.” But my favorite thing about myself is my playfulness -- my sense of adventure. 

So I braved the cold temperatures, rallied the troops, bought a lot of duct tape (that’s totally how you fix the broken bikes you bought last week at a yard sale, right?) and hit the road at 5am in order to make a sunrise penguin plunge.

To write an essay about playfulness may be to imply that I am not a “serious” student. But quite the contrary: my passion for play makes me productive (through play, I learned never to set a Monday deadline). It keeps me curious and inspires ideas for projects, op-eds and miscellaneous undertakings. It keeps my feet dirty and my elbows skinned and my lungs gasping for air. It’s the most important part of me…

And probably the part of me that is most likely to change the world.

​

Rereading these essays, I feel proud. I feel joy. I feel like I've written an authentic set of essays that paint a pretty accurate picture of me. When you're done with your​ essays, that's how you should feel, too. (Obviously, this is something I can help you with, being a college counselor and all.)

Other useful resources as you finish up your college applications:

• How to Write Your Stanford Short Answers and Optimize Your Application
• This Bug In The Common App Could RUIN Your College Essays
• There's A(nother) Bug in the Common Application - A Dire Warning to Ellipsis Lovers...
• Going to Stanford Doesn't Mean You'll Get a Stanford Education - And Going to a State School Doesn't Mean You Won't

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