Undergraduate / 'intriguing ideas with me' - Stanford - Roommate Letter [2]

Prompt: "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"

I am not sure if I need to describe my habits more, or write more about my personal characteristics. This is about 150 characters over the limit.

Thanks and please be as critical as possible :)

Happy Holidays!

Dear roommate,

I am pleased to hear that we will be sharing a room. Let me break the ice by introducing myself. My name is Elena Georgieva. The last name is from Bulgaria, a small country with a very rich history in Western Europe. I moved to Lompoc, California, about 8 years ago. I think you will find that I will bring a unique mix of cultures to our room. You won't notice an accent in my English, and I love celebrating the Fourth of July, but I also celebrate March by hanging traditional red-and-white ornaments, and I like to cook Bulgarian foods.

I grew up in a single parent household, with a younger brother and sister, so I am no stranger to taking on responsibilities. Organization is not my strongest attribute, but I pride myself with always knowing where things, and ideas, are, even if my method of organization doesn't make sense to others. However, don't confuse unsystematic with messy, I like to keep clean.

I am majoring in Engineering, so it's no surprise that I love to take things apart and see how they work, from computers to blenders to music boxes. I love reading, especially scientific material, so I am going to have to ask you to tolerate the magazines and books that will undoubtedly be around in large quantities. When I am reading, good luck trying to get my attention, because I completely immerse and usually lose track of the real world. Otherwise, I am a very active person, be it camping, swimming, running, skiing, or hiking, I am up for it. In fact, my first camping trip was before my first birthday and I learned to ski when I was five. Since Lompoc is a very small community, there is not much extracurricular activities, so I will be taking advantage of the many student organizations, especially if they involve volunteer work and community service.

I suppose my friends would say that I am friendly, and I usually bring quirky, but intriguing ideas with me. Though I am often sarcastic and joke a lot, I know when it is time to be serious and tackle problems according to priority. I hope we will get to know each other well soon and look forward to sharing a room with you.

Yours sincerely,
Elena Georgieva

Undergraduate / 'Helping people' - Stanford Supplement Essay - "intellectual ability" [3]

This is the prompt - "Stanford students possess an intellectual vitality. Reflect on an idea or experience that has been important to your intellectual development."

This is what I have so far, please be as critical as possible, I really want to have a chance to get into Stanford. Thanks so much!

Ever since I was little, I have been fascinated by the logic of science and math. I was exposed to it relatively early, since my grandma was a high school math teacher and my grandfather was a math professor. I grew up with discussions about math and science at the dinner table. In school, I found that I understood that logic intrinsically. Even now, every month I wait impatiently for the next issue of Discovery Magazine, and race my brother for the first glimpse at the articles. When I am in a room, I find that I have to read every little piece of text within reach, be it a poster, a magazine, or the back of a toothpaste tube. It doesn't matter the subject, or the idea, it just matters that there is a data flow into my brain. It keeps my mind constantly active. There is a constant influx of information surging to my brain, and I couldn't imagine my life without it.

I like helping people. From the articles I read on scientific discovery, I find that the ultimate goal of science is to understand the world in order to help people. Just recently, I read an article about a team of engineers who are building prosthetic limbs for amputees that communicate and take commands directly from the brain. The victim only thinks about moving her arm, for example, and it happens. I can't imagine what that must feel like, to have a part of you lost, and the joy of having that part back. It must be something exceptional. That is the joy I want to help bring to people; to see, to hear, to feel the world around them again after they have lost the ability. I want to help save the environment with a car powered on water, and find new ways to make and store electricity so we can conserve nonrenewable resources. I want to explore the thought-impossible ideas of time-travel and invisibility. People may laugh at that notion, but in reality, who knows what we don't know; who is to say that it is not possible. After all, not a long time ago, people must have laughed at the idea of flying machines or a man on the moon. There is a story that I remember reading when I was very little, maybe eight or nine. It was about a little bad-behaved boy who grabbed the tail of a little demon and they flew to the moon, and met moonmen. Although it is farfetched, the author, in a way, imagined the future half a century before the idea became reality. Today, there are so many science fiction novels about time travel. Who is to say that the authors of those books aren't predicting the future?

I am about 500 characters above the limit, any ideas how to shorten and mch appreciated!