stanford supplement: what makes stanford a good fit for you?

i like my essay a lot but its too long for the 1800 character word limit. help!

I jumped and grabbed the monkey bars while my friends stared up at my dangling, four-year old legs. I wrapped my legs around a neighboring bar and hoisted my body through the gap. After wrestling with my arms for the perfect position, I sat up victoriously on the top of the bars. For the rest of the day, I couldn't wipe that smile of satisfaction off my face. Looking back, I can remember those days of elementary school when I was the fearless kid, the first to do everything. Not much has changed for me since then.

When I first started to narrow down my list of colleges, the traits on the list were strong engineering programs (in a university), strong learning environment, great athletic facilities, and near/in a city. However, so many schools fit into these categories that I had trouble narrowing down my prospects. These traits are all good in a college but I was missing the point. What do I want to gain out of my college experience? I want to feel the same way I felt that day on the monkey bars: curious and eager to explore. Stanford is the only college that shares those feelings with me.

Stanford is a research university. More than any other school on my college list, Stanford wants to explore, not only teach. The amazing feeling I felt when I discovered something new on those monkey bars is one I never want to let go of. We might experiment differently from each other but Stanford and I are still both curious. I can see myself several months from now reading in the Meyer Library, searching the stacks with the same curiosity as a jungle gym. Wandering the gorgeous Mediterranean architecture, I will find my new hang out spot for the next four years.

Stanford has thousands of unique qualities, all of which I pondered while choosing it as my first choice, but at the end of the day all that matters is how I feel about that college. I love the way Stanford makes me feel because of its commitment to curiosity.

what I meant by the arrogance thing was that you don't really show that you want to be part of the community there, that you don't show you will give back, etc. I didnt mean it in a bad way~

true. thats a good idea. i'll try to incorporate that somewhere in the essay. not sure as to where though

There is a lot of fluff in this essay. You are limited to 1800 characters and I feel that this essay, that is almost twice the length, only tells me one thing: you like a university that is an explorer like you.

For these short essays there is no need for the anecdotes, save that for the common essay. Cut to the chase and be concise and tell what makes Stanford unique. You say Stanford is an explorer, how so?

You are a really good writer and I think you can really make this a fantastic essay without all the fluff.

"Not much has changed for me since then."
You want to watch out for that sentence. The way it's phrased definitely comes off as a little boastful, even if that wasn't your intention.

Try restating it: "Not much has changed since then." "I haven't changed much since then." "In a lot of ways, the same has held true ever since."

Keep on rewording it and see what you're happy with. Read it to someone else, too, just to see if they see the same things that you do.

"I can see myself several months from now reading in the Meyer Library, searching the stacks with the same curiosity as a jungle gym."

Careful- you just compared your curiosity to a jungle gym! I think you meant to say "searching the stacks with the same curiosity I once felt on the jungle gym", or something like that.

"Wandering the gorgeous Mediterranean architecture, I will find my new hang out spot for the next four years."
To be totally accurate, Stanford's architecture would be better described as "Spanish colonial", since it was inspired by the missionary-style architecture prevalent in California at the time. It's not quite "Mediterranean", although I know what you're trying to say...

Also, I would be a little hesitant about committing to the main point you're trying to make- that you like Stanford primarily because it's "a research university." That is one of many great qualities about Stanford, but there are also a lot of other research universities out there! What about Berkeley? What about Harvard, or Yale, or Columbia? Those are all renowned "research universities"... so why did you choose Stanford, instead of one of those schools?

I hope that helps- good work, and good luck on your application!

I think you should explain more on how Stanford is different than any other university. You said how Stanford not only wants to teach but explore. Maybe indicate there how Stanford's "exploring" can help you individually. Talk about your major and how Stanford will uniquely help you achieve your goals.