Undergraduate / Trip to Disneyland/Leadership Common App [4]

(For Stanford)

Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.

There I was, my red patent shoes tapping across the wooden floors, bright white tights displayed under the neat puff of my Minnie Mouse dress. The signature red velvet bow and black ears perfected the look, but today, I was not just a cute little blonde girl; today, I was on a mission. After countless hours of twirling in my dress, begging my parents to take me to Disneyland for my fifth birthday, I had finally persuaded them to make my dream come true.

Twelve years later, I would find myself in high school, using all of my persuasion to convince the parents, teachers, and administration comprising my school's governing body, the Drake Leadership Council (DLC) to let me organize a senior trip to Disneyland. Surely I've had more grandeur undertakings than this one, but this was Disneyland. I sat there, prepared as I could be, one against fifty more qualified and experienced speakers. Being back at DLC reminded me of what it was like serving as a student representative for my freshman and sophomore years; the room would fill with tension as heated debates would arise over various, often trivial issues. As nervous as I was, I would always keep my opinions to myself. I knew I was persuasive and a very good public speaker and debater, but my anxiety held me back from being an integral part of the adult dominated discussions.

I had grown since then, no longer the shy underclassman appointed to represent my grade. In my four years in the leadership program, I never consciously realized that I was changing, but as I assumed greater responsibility in riskier endeavors like becoming the chairperson of the school-wide Blood Drive, I began to transform into a new person. I felt empowered by what I was capable of planning and executing, and as I was mastering how our campus worked I was also learning about myself; out of many of the group projects I worked on, I was the one who emerged as the responsible leader and was looked up to by others for guidance. My developing perseverance, organizational skills and fervency gave me the confidence to assert myself rather than continue as an anonymous girl at a school meeting. Today, I wasn't going to let anyone hold me back from pitching my ideas and achieving my goal; I was no longer plagued with intimidation and could firmly stand my ground.

As I sat adjacent to the Principal, conveying my ideas to the room while being told that I was being economically unrealistic and simply impractical, it occurred to me that I was no longer a little girl; I couldn't rely on dressing up like minnie mouse to achieve my goal, nor could I sit idle, expecting things to miraculously go my way. Amongst the discouragement flooding the room, I assured myself: I am persistent. If I want Disneyland, it is not in my nature to settle for something lesser, not Great America nor Marine World. I wasn't there to be appeased, and thus it would take a lot more than a committee of angry teachers to stop me from getting what I wanted.

Tabling my motion and coming back with a stronger presentation at the next meeting, I managed to get 94% of the committee members present to vote on the motion allowing me to move forward with the trip. I had eloquently addressed the exasperating rejections from many of the teachers with a professional demeanor, keeping level headed with my goal in mind. I came out of that meeting feeling triumphant. While the daunting tasks of convincing 75% of my class along with twenty chaperones to participate lays ahead, I'm not doubting myself. I feel confidently that I can overcome the hurdles that already are presenting themselves as well as those that I have yet to reach.

I've finally realized that I can achieve many things regardless of what seems to be in my way, because the only real thing that can stop me is my own hesitation. Through my newfound sense of confidence, I have matured, into a strong willed young woman and a capable leader, but the part of me that's never really changed is what fuels my desire to use my acquired skills to accomplish my goals.

Undergraduate / Stanford Roommate Essay (I'll bring pictures and many priceless memories) [24]

"Virtually all of Stanford's undergraduates live on campus. What would you want your future roommate to know about you? Tell us something about you that will help your future roommate -- and us -- know you better."

Dear Roomie,
I am ecstatic at the prospect of delving into a college life, although there are a few things I'll really miss. For one, my adorable Olde English bulldogs whom are incessantly begging and insisting that they are lap dogs. Yet, while I know I can't bring along my dogs that doesn't mean I'm coming without an animal. I'm bringing along Raja, my Steiff tiger that I've slept with since I was three, his fur matted to the point that you may not believe me that it is a tiger. I'll also miss my lovely Parisian room that I am constantly perfecting. I'll miss the array of antiques I've collected over the years, from the glass perfume bottles, mirrors, paintings, and possibly even the piles of clothes my messy sister has draped over everything. I'll bring along a couple things to remind me of my room and maybe you'll be able to help me out with the mess I'm used to from my sister- but it's okay if you're tidy like me too. I'll also miss crowding in my bed with my friends on rainy days around my laptop, watching classics or comedies and downing warm cups of Earl Grey tea with honey, but I'll bring my movies and tea and we can see if we can find some time amongst the hours devoted to studying to bond over a good movie or TV series like The Office. I'll miss watching the baseball games at my school and going out to get frozen yogurt with mochi and raspberries after, but I can't wait to be an avid benchwarmer at all the Stanford football games and I hope my roommate is as spirited as I am. I'll miss living in a cute, hundred year old bungalow with a loud Irish family and bad acoustics, my own contribution to the noise from sitting at the piano and getting wrapped up in deeply dramatic music from the Phantom of the Opera or by blasting "Defying Gravity" and teaching my brother how to Irish Step Dance. I'll always miss some things from my past, but I'm exuberant to think that with new memories comes future nostalgia. I'll miss my room, my house, my boyfriend, friends, and family, but I'll bring pictures and many priceless memories so we can share our stories and help each other embrace an entirely new community together.

So... I know it needs a lot of work right now. Do you think the style I've written it in doesn't really answer the prompt? I'm not really sure if i need to write more about my personality or what not

Undergraduate / 'San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge' - makes Stanford a good place for you? [13]

-Tell us what makes Stanford a good place for you.

Sitting atop a cliff at the Marin Headlands, overlooking the lights of San Francisco, I couldn't help but ask myself: why would I want to leave this beautiful place? While I'm not too different from the average high school student in the regard that I, too am looking for a new experience, but for me, a new experience means Stanford. I am intrigued by Stanford's liberal art aspect and its connection with its graduate schools, as well as the many interdisciplinary studies offered, culminating in an expansive wealth of resources and opportunities.

The Science, Technology and Society Program is exactly the academic program that I've been looking for. My avid interests in science, law and math could only be satiated by this unique interdisciplinary program and let me avoid compromising my academic interests. Rather than devoting myself to one field of study, I would rather explore the interaction of science and society and the effects of technology on the world. I plan to flourish in the liberty of academic exploration and through STS, I will gain a comprehensive education while working closely with professors on engaging research.

I feel strongly that Stanford is the perfect place for my many future intellectual pursuits and that the STS program will give me both the freedom and support to help me discover my career goals. While there are other universities offering similar programs, only Stanford encourages such a high level of intellectual curiosity and discovery. At Stanford, I will be surrounded by and exposed to a new world of perspectives and expertise while staying in the amazing area in which I've had the privilege of growing up. Surely Stanford is merely an hour away from home, but it is an entirely different world which I would be blessed to be a part of.

Undergraduate / "I am not legally able to vote yet" - Stanford Essays [6]

So, I'm not sure if this essay is even in the right ballpark/if I should find a new topic or not. Thanks!

-Stanford students are widely known to possess a sense of intellectual vitality. Tell us about an idea or an experience you have had that you find intellectually engaging. (250)

"The unexamined life is not worth living."-Socrates.

These words have resonated with me ever since I first heard them. This statement poses a challenge, questioning the nature of our human tendency to examine the world around us, and provoke thoughts about whether our use of technology is beneficial to society. Although the accrual of knowledge is both dangerous and unprecedented, I believe that it is more important for us to aspire to step outside our self defined "natural" borders and accept the drawbacks of technology than to sit back and be ignorant and naive to the world around us. The thirst for knowledge is only dangerous if it is reckless and purposeless.

In the novel Frankenstein, Victor irresponsibly seeks after knowledge for no good other than his own curiosity. This ruthless pursuit of knowledge proves dangerous, as his creation results in the destruction of his loved ones and drives him to insanity. Indeed Frankenstein shows us how the reckless lust for knowledge can prove dangerous, yet it doesn't say that knowledge should simply not be sought after. If we aren't willing to take any risks or make any sacrifices, society will never improve.

In an article by Neil Postman, "Informing Ourselves to Death," Postman asserts that technological change always results in winners and losers, and that technological innovations such as the computer are incredibly dangerous. However, I feel that technology becomes dangerous when people use it for their own personal gain rather than the good of society. Postman ends with the compelling thought which many prominent intellectuals have reached: "There is no escaping from ourselves. The human dilemma is as it has always been, and we solve nothing fundamental by cloaking ourselves in technological glory." While an overload of information and technological glory are not crucial to our most basic needs, if we never look for anything greater than ourselves then we will never be so grateful for having what we do have, and ultimately it is a life "unworth living."

Despite the fact that Prometheus tales have been taught to us since day one about he who tried to play God and failed miserably, we must consider the fact that those who were willing to step outside what people consider their natural boundaries learn something very valuable whether or not they find what they are looking for. If responsibly sought after, it can either make us more grateful for having what we already have, or lead us to new innovations that help solve problems and expand the boundaries of the natural human world.