f.light,
Stanford
B.A., Comparative Literature, , Environmental Engineering
Books, outdoor sports, proud Stanford tree.
Features Included
4
Essays
4
Schools
7
Scores
6
Advice
3
ECs
5
Sports
Results, Essays, and Advice
Accepted
Waitlisted or Withdrew
Denied
More Essays
These essays haven't been tagged by school. Click school logos above to see tagged essays.
Personal Statement
680 Words
Love of writing,
Place you’re content,
Summer experience,
Story central to identity,
Interest in fine arts,
Love of outdoors
You wouldn’t believe it—it turns out Shangri-La is just off the McBean Parkway exit on the I-5, near Valencia, California.
The California State Summer School for the Arts, known as “CSSSA” (pronounced see-suh), is admittedly a strange place to find paradise. Temperatures can top 100°, and the CalArts campus, where the program is held, was originally designed to be converted into a hospital if the school failed, resulting in a maze of eerie, fluorescent-lit corridors. So—why there?
The...
Supplemental Essay Unique question posed by school
266 Words
(Prompt was about 'intellectual vitality')
My sophomore year, I fell in love with math.
See, I’ve always been a strong student in mathematics, but until Precalculus with Mrs. Forbes, it was always my least favorite class. In second grade, I remember scribbling down numbers from the Fibonacci sequence while the teacher explained negative numbers for the hundredth time, which illustrates a trend: teachers saw an empty bucket, while I wanted an intellectual adventure.
This is why my first love...
Supplemental Essay Issue of personal significance
273 Words
(Prompt was 'What matters to you and why?')
Giving what I love to others and watching them run with it.
When I was in fourth grade, I took a youth fiction writing class at the library. Our mentor was Tommy Frank, a local author with a white beard, a flat cap, and an amazing way of kindling a kid’s love of writing. Every week, we’d gather, receive a prompt, write, and then present. It was heavenly. Classes...
Additional Essay Details
353 Words
I wrote my personal essay about a summer arts program I completed during the summer after my sophomore year. It was for creative writing, a lifelong love of mine, and it was a month-long residential program with a competitive application process. It was the best month of my life, and I don't say that in the spirit of exaggeration that usually goes with college app topics. It really was, which was why I wrote my essay about it. I tried...
General Admissions Advice
What I now know about my school that I never would have known prior to enrolling
63 Words
From what I've heard and what I've experienced, people have a lot more fun at Stanford compared to Ivy...
What set me apart from other applicants
147 Words
Having spoken to the woman who read my app and got me in, the difference is that I found a passion, pursued it, achieved something, and was able to present what I'd accomplished in a compelling way. I didn't cure cancer or anything—all...
Why I declined other schools
172 Words
At the last minute, I turned down a Yale offer I was sure I was going to accept. I visited both schools during their respective admit weekends and for some reason felt at home with the atmosphere at Stanford much more than that of Yale—which has traditional strengths in more of...
How I chose schools to apply to
341 Words
I spent way too much time agonizing about where to apply, and took a disastrous tour of some New England schools, the result of which was that I didn't end up applying to any of the schools I toured, and none of the schools I applied to were ones I'd toured. The way I did it—browsing websites for hours and talking to every college representative I met—probably isn't the best way to go about it. What ended up being most helpful to me was probably looking at schools with mean SAT scores similar to mine, and looking at...
What I like about my school’s location and culture
249 Words
Silicon Valley is pretty overrated, at least from my point of view as someone not particularly interested in the business or technology world. What I do love about Stanford's area is the trees and the open space. My freshman dorm was on the edge of an open space—still referred to "Lake Lagunita" though the artificial lake hasn't been filled by the university in several years thanks to some endangered salamanders that live in...
Why I ultimately chose my school
127 Words
As I said elsewhere, it really just came down to the fact that I felt at home at Stanford like nowhere else, and that overpowered my fears that there wasn't enough meat in the humanities departments to keep...
High School Performance
Weighted GPA
4.44
Rank
Top 1%
Academic Performance in High School Steady
Explanation of Low Grades
Test Scores
Highest SAT
1530
on 1600 scale
Highest SAT
2230
SAT Score Details
Other SAT Scores
SAT Prep
AP / IB Classes and Scores
Details5 classes and scores
Sports
SportsBaseball, Tennis, Track & Field, Mountain Biking/Cycling, Soccer
Extracurriculars
ActivitiesChoir, Outdoors/Hiking Club, Tutoring/Mentoring
Elaborate on Extracurriculars or Work
Elaborate on Extracurriculars or Work
Experience & Awards
How Spent Summers
Volunteer Experiences
Awards Received
Application Additional Materials
Volunteer Experiences
Awards Received
Application Additional Materials