Stanford's 2012 supplement essay:
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.
Hey Stranger,
You've probably heard this a hundred times, and you're probably going to hear it a hundred more. Congratulation on being accepted to Stanford! It looks like we will be living together for awhile, so let me say a little something about myself. First, the basics: my name is John Gresl, though most of my friends call me Randy. I have a yearning for the sciences, mathematics and physics being my top two, and strive towards becoming a well-known plasma physicist/mathematics instructor. I actually have some qualities that may seem odd. For one, I have somewhat of an obsession with tigers (the animal, not the sports team); in fact, I have about twelve of them sitting around my room, whether they are posters, stuffed animals or painted figurines. I just wanted to give you a heads up in case you begin to notice tigers migrating into our room, though I'll keep them out of your way if a problem arises. Although I am very reliant on technology being a part in my everyday life, I am also somewhat regressive in the sense that I enjoy the feeling of an actual paper book more than an electronic version. With tigers and books lying everywhere, it may seem that I am a pretty cluttered roommate, but in actuality I make an effort to keep everything in a neat and orderly fashion. Another trait you may want to know is that I usually stay up late studying and whatnot, so I hope you do not mind a small lamp being on while you try to sleep. If you have a problem with that, then I will migrate myself to the library. I like to use my time efficiently by using the daylight hours for productive activities such as hanging out with friends and biking around. Night hours are reserved for work that can be done anytime, like homework. Sometimes I wait until the last minute to get an assignment done; but the fact of the matter is that no matter what, I will always get it done. My motto is, "If it doesn't kill you, get it done, and try to have some fun while you're at it."
I was also selected as Questbridge as a finalist so this essay is due by November first!
This essay is very good. I enjoy the fact that it is very cheerful and warming, and it kept my attention the whole time as I would learn more about you. It definitely stayed on topic the entire time and it is very noticeably set in the format of a note. However I do feel like the ending is a bit dangling. Maybe a quick "hope to see you in the fall" or something like that would tie the essay (note) together. Overall great job, and Good Luck.
I have edited it somewhat. I changed a few words and had to modify it a bit to get everything to fit within the required space (2000 characters EXACTLY)
Hey Stranger,
You've probably heard this a hundred times, and you're probably going to hear it a hundred more. Congratulation on being accepted to Stanford! It looks like we will be living together for awhile, so let me say a little something about myself. First, the basics: my name is John Gresl, though most of my friends call me Randy. I have a yearning for the sciences, mathematics and physics being my top two, and strive towards becoming a well-known physicist/mathematics instructor. I do have a few qualities that may seem odd. For one, I have somewhat of an obsession with tigers (the animal, not the sport team); in fact, I have about twelve of them sitting around my room, whether they are posters, stuffed animals or painted figurines. Just giving a heads up in case you begin to notice tigers migrating into our room, though I'll keep them out of your way if a problem arises. Although I am very reliant on technology being a part in my everyday life, I am also somewhat regressive in the sense that I enjoy the feeling of an actual paper book more than an electronic versions. With tigers and books lying everywhere it may seem that I am a pretty cluttered roommate, but in actuality I make an effort to keep everything neat and orderly. Another trait you may want to note is that I frequently stay up late studying and whatnot, so I hope you do not mind a small light while you slumber. If you have a problem with that, then I will migrate myself to the library without fuss. I like to use my time efficiently by using the daylight hours for productive activities such as hanging out with friends or biking around. Night hours are reserved for work that can be done anytime. Sometimes I wait until the last minute to get an assignment done; but the fact of the matter is that no matter what, I will always finish what I started. My motto is, "If it isn't going to kill you, get it done, and try to have some fun while you're at it." Well that's about it. Hope to see you in the fall
Great essay! I love the use of "migration" and how you're optimistic about procrastination.
