studentlikeyou,
Stanford
B.A., Political Science and Government
Happy to chat—accepted for Stanford '21 but attending as Stanford '22.
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20
Essays
9
Schools
9
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15
Advice
9
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1
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Results, Essays, and Advice
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Stanford University (Stanford, CA)
Applied for a B.A. in Political Science and Government
Accepted and Enrolled Legacy: NoSchool Specific Essays
Personal Statement700 WordsChallenged a belief, Feeling out of place, Leaving home, Study/travel abroad, Summer experience, Volunteer/public interest workPROMPT: Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. I slowly peeked my eyes open. Around me, a dozen French men and women whose visages had long ago settled into stately reposes intoned in unison. Taking a quiet breath, I closed my eyes and rejoined the guttural chanting. Earlier that day, as I headed to the...Personal Statement673 WordsChallenged a belief, Creative personal story, Embarrassing mistake, Failure experience, Leadership experience, Story central to identity, Your sibling’s storyPROMPT: Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. There’s a picture I think of often: one thousand bees within a thin plastic ball. Some are motionless, comfortable in the vacuous center of the bubble. Others are pushing and prodding at the surface, directing the course of the ball. Our society is that plastic ball,...Supplemental Essay: Strong beliefs/principles268 WordsPROMPT: What matters to you, and why? When the Framers wrote “all men are created equal,” they couldn’t envision the influence their marked omission of “women” would have on gender relations. Nor could they imagine that the 14th amendment would guarantee liberties to everyone, irrespective of race. Indeed, over time, any document or system, no matter how foundational, becomes outdated. Societal mores periodically undergo waves of change — beliefs that don’t adapt may be swept away. It used to...Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school278 WordsPROMPT: Stanford students possess an intellectual vitality. Reflect on an idea or experience that has been important to your intellectual development. Ancient oracles revered sleep as a conduit for divine omens. Edgar Allen Poe called it “little slices of death,” while the Dalai Lama said it was “the best meditation.” Curious about this gamut of attitudes, I borrowed The Promise of Sleep by William Dement from the library, intending to casually read it over spring break. Instead, I devoured it...Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school291 WordsPROMPT: Stanford students possess an intellectual vitality. Reflect on an idea or experience that has been important to your intellectual development. Dear Roommate, I LOVE lists. I ferociously alternate between paper, my hand, and the foggy shower door for note-taking. In fact, after we first meet, do you want to create a roommate bucket list together? But first, a short list of things about me: 1) Last year, I asked myself, “what good is annotating French poetry if I can’t...Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school761 WordsPROMPT: Using one of the themes below as a starting point, write about a person, event, or experience that helped you define one of your values or in some way changed how you approach the world. “Culture is what presents us with the kinds of valuable things that can fill a life. And insofar as we can recognize the value in those things and make them part of our lives, our lives are meaningful.” Gideon Rosen, Stuart Professor of Philosophy...Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school701 WordsPROMPT: Occasionally, students feel that college application forms do not provide sufficient opportunity to convey important information about themselves or their accomplishments. If you wish to include an additional essay, you may do so. I slowly peeked my eyes open. Around me, a dozen French men and women whose visages had long ago settled into stately reposes intoned in unison. Taking a quiet breath, I closed my eyes and rejoined the guttural chanting. Earlier that day, as I headed to...Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay108 WordsPROMPT: Why Yale? As someone who was once a lone wolf, I’ve never been more excited to join a bulldog pack. It is patently clear that an emphasis on community is embedded into Yale’s cultural foundation; I have no doubt that at Yale, I will find the uniquely tightly knit friend groups and support networks that I’ve grown to cherish. Through the swing and blues dance troupe, through the renowned Yale political union, through my residential college,...Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school228 WordsPROMPT: Reflect on a time in the last few years when you felt genuine excitement learning about something. Curious about sleep one day, I borrowed The Promise of Sleep by William Dement from the library, intending to casually read it over break. Instead, I devoured it within days and spent my vacation sneaking onto Stanford University to shadow an undergraduate course — Sleep and Dreams — taught by one of Dement’s protégés. Did you know that centuries ago, humans...Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school222 WordsPROMPT: Write about something that you love to do. My only experience dancing had been during a ballet class my mother coerced me into before I swore off ever wearing tights again. But years later, when the girls choreographing my grade’s Homecoming boys dance quit, claiming “Boys can’t dance,” I instinctively volunteered to replace them. Noticing the beauty of dance for the first time, I worked to choreograph a routine my peers would be proud to perform. I...Supplemental Essay: Other113 WordsPROMPT: Why do these areas appeal to you? I often think of bees in a plastic ball. Some are motionless. Others push the ball’s clear surface, their efforts just barely influencing the course of the ball. That ball is our society, and to lead it and those within towards progress, we too must fly at our limits, even when it means facing invisible barriers. Although it is precisely “invisible barriers” that politics is infamous for, I’m undeterred. I...Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay165 WordsPrompt: Why Brown? WTF Brown... The volume of feedback on WTFbrown.com (WTF = What To Fix) shocked me—Brunonians seem to lodge complaints to their Undergraduate Council of Students about everything from unsightly statues to unwieldy meal credits. But rather than dissuading me, WTFbrown only reaffirmed my interest in Brown. To me, the comments on WTFbrown.com are indicative not of Brown’s shortcomings, but of its most attractive characteristic: Brown students don’t settle for anything less than the...Supplemental Essay: Other195 WordsPROMPT: Why are you drawn to the area(s) of study you indicated earlier in this application? If you are "undecided" or not sure which Brown concentrations match your interests, consider describing more generally the academic topics or modes of thought that engage you currently. Whenever I feel burned out, I try to imagine a thousand bees in a clear plastic ball. Some are motionless. Others continuously prod at the ball’s surface, their cumulative efforts just barely influencing the...Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school139 WordsPROMPT: We all exist within communities or groups of various sizes, origins, and purposes; pick one and tell us why it is important to you, and how it has shaped you. In freshman year, the girls choreographing our Homecoming boys dance quit after one practice, claiming “boys can’t dance.” Disheartened but undeterred, those boys soldiered on. Practicing almost daily, we worked to defy expectations and prove to not only them, but also ourselves, that we could dance. After five...Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school141 WordsPROMPT: Tell us where you have lived - and for how long - since you were born; whether you've always lived in the same place, or perhaps in a variety of places. I look up from my desk. It’s 8pm and all sounds but those of straggler cars have disappeared. Through the window, I see my neighbors leaving town, in pursuit of excitement elsewhere. When I return to my reading—an online article about local politics—I learn about...Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school166 WordsPROMPT: Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences. My student council team and I spent months on our mental health campaign — creating posters, distributing pamphlets, and organizing awareness activities. But because of an unchecked optimism, we inadvertently conflated common stress with serious mental illness, hurting the very students we wanted to help. Though I have found success through student government — having ended my school’s gender restrictive Homecoming quotas of one “king” and one “queen”...Supplemental Essay: Other173 WordsPROMPT: Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences My only experience dancing had been during a ballet class my mother coerced me into before I swore off ever wearing tights again. But years later, when the girls choreographing my grade’s Homecoming boys dance quit, claiming “Boys can’t dance,” I instinctively volunteered to replace them. Practicing almost daily, my team worked to defy expectations and prove not only to them, but also to ourselves that...Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school399 WordsPROMPT: Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side. The closest I ever got to dance was a single boy's ballet class my mother coerced me into attending, before I vehemently swore off ever wearing tights again. But eight years later, for our freshman homecoming, my grade was expected to perform three original dances: a...Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school385 WordsPROMPT: What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time? Every document or system, no matter how foundational, eventually becomes outdated. Indeed, the Constitutional Framers could neither imagine the damage their omission of “women” from “all men are created equal” would have on gender relations nor envision that people of all races would become equal under the law. But above all else, the Framers wanted our government to represent...Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school387 WordsPROMPT: What is the one thing that you think sets you apart from other candidates applying to the University of California? The typical American understanding of responsibility is transactional; we operate on a system of costs and benefits, choosing whether to act based primarily on the anticipated consequences. But what I understood after working on a self-sufficient and spiritually-oriented organic farm in France is that true responsibility is communal. My first night overseas, after a long day of travel and...Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school390 WordsPROMPT: Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time. We had spent a month creating mental health posters, distributing #fightstigma wristbands, and organizing stress relief activities for fellow students. We wanted to illuminate the universality of mental health struggles and start a dialogue at school. However, we quickly learned how we had failed. Standing before my colleagues, I took a deliberate breath and read...School Specific Advice
Reaching out to professors and coaches at schools I applied to97 WordsIf you live nearby, talk to professors whose work you might be curious about and audit their classes. I did this, and it was frankly enlightening. It's really not...Why I ultimately chose my school26 WordsThe proximity, the quality of education, and the...How to increase chances at my school162 WordsDon't fit into any mold. Be as unique of a candidate as you can. Also, think heavily about how you might not only be a strong candidate but a great FIT for the school. Seriously. Every school has a different culture—you can discover what a school's...List of schools I interviewed with and my interview experience502 WordsEach of my interview experiences was unique, and that's precisely what they all had in common. Your interview experiences will very likely vary greatly: some will take place at office spaces and resemble formal job interviews. Others will take place at cafes and be casual conversations. Some will avoid potentially contentious topics like politics. Others will dive into them. The best way to prepare for interviews is to: 1) Research your interviewer on Linkedin. Learn about their story and think about some things they've done that you'd like to know more about. 2) Think about questions that you would like to hear...How I chose schools to apply to236 Words1) Looked at schools I had already heard of. 2) Tried to figure out WHY I had heard of them (good reasons? bad reasons?) 3) Compared private schools vs public schools vs liberal arts colleges. 4) Paused. After getting a general idea of what was out there, I took time to reflect. 5) Thought about what I wanted to study. 6) Thought about my NON-NEGOTIABLES. What are things that, if present at your school,...Why I declined other schools158 WordsI was accepted to Stanford early, so I started falling in love really early. By the time other decisions rolled around, I had already fantasized about attending and had already connected with other Stanford admits. I also made the mistake of telling a lot of my...
More Essays
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General Admissions Advice
How I narrowed down my essay topics231 WordsI found that having a conversation partner was immensely helpful in narrowing down my essay topics. Most people are surprisingly articulate when they talk out loud—people speak far more than they write, so their thoughts come more naturally when talking. Here's what I did: I sat down with a conversation partner, who would ask me an essay prompt, out loud. I would respond to her and talk...Did you take a gap year? Tell us about your experience.352 WordsI decided to take a gap year AFTER being accepted to a school I was very happy to attend. The process for deferring admission was straightforward: I called the admissions office, emailed my regional admissions officer a short, 2-3 paragraph explanation of why I wanted to take a gap year, signed a gap year contract confirming that I would enroll the subsequent year, and then paid a $200 deposit. Every school has a different procedure, so if you're considering taking a gap year (which I unequivocally recommend considering), I would reach out to your admissions office early to find out more...Why I recommend taking a gap year619 WordsA gap year isn't for everyone, but everyone should CONSIDER taking a gap year. I took a gap year for a variety of reasons: I was burned out from high school, wanted to be more independent, hoped to apply to more scholarships (I dropped the ball on this during high school), and itched to narrow down my potential majors/fields. I realize that college can be a fantastic place to narrow down your interests, but I figured that I could explore on my own and not have to pay skyrocketing tuition to do so. I moved out to live with...How to deal with the stress of applying to college401 WordsGeneral principles for dealing with college application stress: 1) "The only way out is through." It's true: the more work you put in now, the less you'll have on your plate later. Your future self is thanking you profusely every time you put in work now. 2) Realize that the entire application process is human. Admissions officers are human. Humans have implicit biases and are subjective creatures—certain things are going to be out of your hands, so don't sweat details you have no control over. Read “The Gatekeepers” by Jacques Steinberg if you’re interested in learning about the humanness of...My advice about getting recommenders432 WordsChoose staff who KNOW you. I had three teachers write my recommendation letters: 1) My senior-year physiology teacher. 2) My AP French teacher. 3) My leadership teacher. On the surface, none of the classes these teachers teach seem particularly impressive. Indeed, they're not: Physiology was commonly known as the "easy" class for seniors. AP French isn't perceived to be as difficult as say, AP Literature, or AP Calculus. And leadership was an elective class—I had to submit it as a supplemental recommendation. What all of these classes had in common, however, was that they were taught by teachers who had seen me...What set me apart from other applicants759 WordsI was very honest with myself all throughout high school and dropped activities that weren’t genuinely meaningful to me. I didn't hunt for positions or canned experiences. Eg. in freshman year I was one of the only boys in a dance club. I was offered an officer position the following year. I turned it down even though that likely would have led me to be president of the club junior year, because the club wasn't that interesting to me. Similarly, I did well in state and national competitions for a business club—better, in fact, than any freshmen had...Whether I used a private admissions counselor, and advice I received235 WordsI did work with an admissions counselor, and I found it helpful. The three most important pieces of advice that I received: 1) SHOW, not tell. You've likely heard this already in your writing classes, but it's so important I want to repeat it. No one wants to read a list of your accomplishments. We want to be there with you as you struggle through your hardships. We want...Recommended summer activities during high school and college433 WordsDo things because they further an interest of yours. Don't pursue things because they're prestigious. In fact, actively avoid any program or activity for which the biggest selling point is prestige. Granted, they're likely going to be prestigious for a reason, but if you find yourself considering attending a summer program of some sort just because you got in and have nothing better to do, then you're not giving yourself enough credit and should evaluate your other options more carefully. I've done the whole summer program grind—I've attended three since middle school. The first time was fantastic. I don't...What I’d change about my application process450 WordsFirst, I'm going to share a sentiment that you have likely already heard countless times—I wish I started earlier. Seriously. It was tough because I was juggling a lot of responsibilities at school and had been traveling for much of the summer. But I was also lazy. Now don't get me wrong—you NEED free time. You NEED spaciousness in your life. You don't need to be constantly working. But you have to strike a balance of sorts, and there were times where I let myself get too comfortable with inactivity. Here are a few ways you could get...
High School Performance
Academic Performance in High School SteadyGPA4.00(no specification of weighting)RankTop 10%
Test Scores
Original SAT Score2370Highest SAT1590on 1600 scaleHighest SAT2370SAT Score Details
Other SAT ScoresSAT Prep
PSAT Scores
AP / IB Classes and Scores
Details7 classes and scores
Sports
SportsVolleyball
Extracurriculars
ActivitiesStudent Council / Government, French Club, Boy/Girl Scouts, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), Tutoring/Mentoring, Homecoming committee, Philosophy Club, School Newspaper/Magazine/Journalism, Dance
Elaborate on Extracurriculars or Work
Experience & Awards
Volunteer Experiences
Awards Received
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