"Eat Veggies, Not Friends" - Vegan Roommate - Stanford Essay (Supplement)

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.

Dear Roommate,
From the moment you enter our room, one thing will be blatantly apparent to you. I am a vegan. My tee shirts bear vegan sayings such as "Eat Veggies, Not Friends," and you will notice my own vegan poster art and animal sketches on the walls. The mini fridge we share will be stocked with hummus, quinoa, and coconut milk ice cream, my favorite vegan essentials. I have been a vegan since I was sixteen years old, and veganism is an integral part of my personality and character.

I am excited to share my passion for veganism with you. However, I understand that not everyone has the same principles as I do, food or otherwise. I will never bash your favorite foods, but when you order pepperoni pizza I will stick to my cheeseless mushroom and spinach thin crust. They both taste equally delicious during late night study sessions. If for some reason you have an eternal hatred for vegans, never fear. I am also a spirited Ultimate Frisbee player, a recreational artist, and a dedicated environmentalist. I would love to throw a frisbee with you, draw you a portrait, or go on a nature hike with you. These are just a few of my values that I am excited to tell you about. I will be happy to share my dark chocolate with you if you will share your opinions and passions with me.

Sincerely,
Lucy

Lucy, try to talk about more than just your veganism. Surely there are other more interesting things about you that you would want to share with your future roommate. Talk about how you like to have fun, what topics you like discussing, your hobbies, and any eccentric behavior you might have. The information you provide in those areas will help the university line you up with a compatible roommate for the semester. While your veganism is something your room mate should know about, you should tell her more about your personality, your likes and dislikes, and any medical conditions you might have, just to make sure you room mate does not get surprised by any medical needs on your part. Remember, you need to open yourself up to your roommate in order to have a harmonious semester of living with her. So this letter is something that you should take seriously and make sure that it includes all the most important information about you as a person. After all, you want to make sure that your roommate will be your friend for life, not sometimes friend, more often a foe, during the duration of the semester :-)

I enjoyed reading your essay. If I woke you up at 4 AM, and asked you to tell me one thing about yourself, and you said you were a vegan, then this essay is totally what you should go with. A 250 word limit means one can't write an autobiography. Instead, it's best to dig into one or two things, and lightly touch on others. That is exactly what you've done.

One minor thing. You may want to consider rewriting this sentence - "If for some reason you have an eternal hatred for vegans, never fear." Any way you could turn this into a positive-sounding sentence?

"I will be happy to share my dark chocolate with you if you will share your opinions and passions with me." <-- Very strong close, great job.

Your essay is enjoyable to read and very personal. I like the way you flow the story. You also make some brilliant phrases such as :



However, if I were to be your roommate, I want to know more about your personal characteristics, not only your diet. I want to know if you are talkative, critical, calm, etc., so I will know how to befriend you. You should write about it, even with only small portion.

After all, good luck on your application. I'm applying to Stanford too, so I'm looking forward to meet you as freshman in stanford next year :D