Undergraduate / (Programming / Hospitality / Geeks) Stanford - Intellectual, Roommate and Why [5]

Hey everyone,
I am an international student from Bangladesh. This is my first thread in EssayForum.
I would be very much grateful to anyone who would check my Stanford University essays and say what they feel about them. Please dun hesitate to correct any mistakes and provide any feedback on how I can improve the essays.

First essay: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.

From the day I took my baby steps in programming, I have found it an intellectually engaging experience. My first programming language was PC Logo, used to teach programming to beginners. The class's preliminary task was to make the turtle draw a square. Even with such a simple problem, there was clear difference in the thought process of the students. Some people chose to draw it by moving the turtle clockwise, but others achieved the same feat by going in an anti clockwise direction. The advanced thinkers used the REPEAT command, while others wrote the 4 lines of code individually. I was fascinated at how clearly the reasoning was displayed within the syntax.

The fascination continued as I moved from PC Logo to more advanced languages such as Basic. I found more tools to materialize my internal logic, resulting in better programs. I remember a particular day in programming class, when the teacher assigned us to derive the first 10 numbers of the Fibonacci Sequence. Some students decided to utilize the fact that multiplying the previous number by "phi", the magical number of 1.618, would give the next number. However, this logic was not accurate enough as the higher numbers diverged from the sequence. So, I tried a different approach. I declared an array and stored the previous 2 numbers of the sequence. Simply by adding these 2 numbers, I could arrive at the next. The new number would then be stored in the array. It felt great to make the perfect program, and I was reminded again of why I loved programming and found it engaging.

Second 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.

Hey Buddy,
First of all, let us give a round of applause for ourselves. We got into Stanford! I am sure you are as thrilled as I am. But I assure you, things are going to get a lot better for us in the days to come.

Let me introduce myself. I am Tazrian Rafi, and I come from Bangladesh, a small country in Southeast Asia. It is a beautiful country, consisting of rivers, streams, paddy fields and some of the most hospitable people you will ever meet. I invite you to visit Bangladesh, and I am certain that you will have a memorable experience.

Hospitality will really come to play as we room together. True to Bangladeshis, I am a good host. I will try my best to make our room sharing days comfortable for both of us. But I can't say I am without faults. I go really quiet and moody when I am studying, so you might find me a silent companion when I have a book in my hand. If there is anything else that bothers you, please don't hesitate to inform me. I will try to rectify if possible.

But I am not all bad either. I am a good sport, ready for anything that one throws at me. You ask me to play baseball, and I will teach myself till I am good enough to face you. Share your thoughts and feelings with me, and you will find me a good listener. I hope we can be cooperative with each other. Together, we will rock Stanford, and make the most of the opportunity that we were blessed with.

Your new roommate,
Tazrian Rafi

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

For a tech geek, what could be more exciting than studying at Stanford, the university that effectively laid the foundations for Silicon Valley, the university that holds almost half of the recipients of the Turing Award, and possesses the founders of such great tech companies as Google, HP, Yahoo, Cisco Systems and nVidia? There is no other university in the world which can boast of so many achievements in the technology sector.

My attraction to Stanford is mainly due to its amazing engineering school, especially the computer sciences department. In almost every account that I have read on Stanford's academics, there is an overwhelming fondness towards this department, with everyone praising the rigorous course and the ample opportunities for research. Besides, the university's vicinity to Silicon Valley would make finding good internships easier. All of these aspects make Stanford a perfect place for me to pursue my interest in computing.

The second important aspect of Stanford that I appreciate is the general atmosphere and student culture. I read in an account that the admissions board somehow manages to admit all around great people every year. The student body has a reputation of being happy and friendly, and making the years at Stanford memorable. I also love the idea of co-ops housing, as the other members in the housing might serve as a second family. And when you are so far away from home, the factor that differentiates between a good experience and a great experience is usually the helpfulness of the people around. And people at Stanford are indeed helpful.