sample college essays for stanford

12 Best Stanford Supplemental Essays That Worked 2024

Your essays are one of the best ways you can stand out in Stanford's competitive admissions process.

In this article, I'm going to share with you 12 answers to Stanford's notorious writing supplement from an admitted student.

Stanford University Admissions FAQs

Many students are interested in applying to Stanford, even though admission may seem like a long-shot.

But you may surprise yourself, and for many students it's the only time in their life they'll apply.

Here are some common questions students and parents have about Stanford's admissions:

What is Stanford University's acceptance rate?

This past year, Stanford had a record 55,471 applications and admitted 2,190 students. That gives Stanford an overall admit rate of 3.95%.

Or in other words, less than 1 in 25 students are admitted.

Just having good stats is not enough to get into schools like Stanford.

Which makes your essays are a critical opportunity for you to show why you should be accepted.

Stanford University Acceptance Scattergram

But for any school that has competitive admissions like Stanford, that only means your essays are more heavily weighed.

Each year thousands of students apply with stats that are good enough to get in. And your essays are one important factor admissions officers use.

What is Stanford's application deadline for this year?

Stanford offers two admissions deadlines for 2022-23: restrictive early action and regular decision.

For this year, Stanford's deadlines are:

Restrictive Early Action (REA): November 1st, 2022
Regular Decision (RD): January 5th, 2023

How many essays does Stanford require?

This year, Stanford University requires applying students to answer five Short Questions and write three Short Essays. If you're applying with the Common App, you'll also need a strong personal statement essay .

Stanford is notorious for its lengthy and creative writing supplement. The questions are known to be thought-provoking, which is done on purpose.

Stanford admissions officers want to dig into your thought process, and learn how you think.

What are the Stanford supplemental essay prompts for 2022-23?

For 2024, the Stanford writing supplement consists of eight questions total:

Short Questions

Stanford requires applicants to answer five short answer questions of between 3 and 50 words each.

What is the most significant challenge that society faces today? (3-50 words)

How did you spend your last two summers? (3-50 words)

What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed? (3-50 words)

Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities, a job you hold, or responsibilities you have for your family. (3-50 words)

Name one thing you are looking forward to experiencing at Stanford. (3-50 words)

Short Essays

Stanford's short essays are three required essays of between 100 and 250 words each.

The Stanford community is deeply curious and driven to learn in and out of the classroom. Reflect on an idea or experience that makes you genuinely excited about learning. (100-250 words)

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 – get to know you better. (100-250 words)

Tell us about something that is meaningful to you and why. (100-250 words)

Stanford's unique prompts give you a lot of freedom in how you choose to respond.

But being so open-ended can also make it difficult to get started.

Because of that, it can be helpful to see how other students wrote answers to Stanford's prompts in recent years.

12 Stanford University Essays That Worked

For getting your best shot at Stanford, you'll need to write authentic and interesting essays.

My advice: Have fun with the prompts when coming up with ideas. But write about them with care and diligence. Above all, be authentic.

Check out how these admitted Stanford students wrote their essay and short answer responses.

I've also included a great Common App essay from an admitted student.

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1. Stanford University Short Question

Prompt: What is the most significant challenge that society faces today? (50 words max)

RECOGNIZING. CLIMATE. CHANGE.

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Why This Essay Works:

Bold and Unique: Stanford's prompts reward bold and genuine writing. It is okay to be simple and straightforward, but still must be thoughtful as this response is.
Well-Composed: Although only three words, this response still shows thought. The use of capitalization and periods separating each word emphasizes the author's point and makes it even more poignant.

What They Might Change:

Use The Full Word Limit: It is risky to leave 47 words unused. This essay succeeds in taking that risk, but generally you should use all the words available because each one is an opportunity to convey more meaning.

2. Stanford University Short Question

Prompt: How did you spend your last two summers? (50 words max)

[Date] : Working with the head of IT at Golden Gate Parks and Rec to renovate the social media program and redesign the website. (sfrecpark.org)

[Date] : Studying at Stanford High School Summer College, building a family in two months.

Make a Strong Impression
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Write Outstanding Essays
...and Apply Confidently!
Answers Prompt Directly: This response leaves no room for doubt. And shows that you don't have to be fancy or "try hard" for all essays. Sometimes plain answers work best when it is a short prompt like this one.
Organized Clearly: For straightforward answers, having a straightforward structure can be a good thing. Each word is used carefully and has a purpose.
Has Strong Ideas: You don't need much to convey meaning. In just the last six words ("building a family in two months") there is hints of deeper ideas.

3. Stanford University Short Question

Prompt: What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed? (50 words max)

The Trinity test, the first detonation of the atomic bomb. For one, an opportunity to meet my role models: Oppenheimer, Feynman, Fermi, etc. But also, to witness the 4 millisecond shift to an era of humanity that could eradicate itself. “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”

Connects To Author's Interests: The author cleverly reveals about themselves by telling their role models: the physicists involved.
Shows Specific Knowledge: Rather than just saying "the first atomic bomb test", the author names it specifically: The Trinity Test. Including the famous Oppenheimer quote from the Bhagavad Gita also shows real thought was put into it.

4. Stanford University Short Question

Prompt: Name one thing you are looking forward to experiencing at Stanford. (50 words max)

Representing an ideal.

Stanford is a gathering place of people working towards a common ideal; one of engagement, passion, intellectual vitality, and devotion to progress. This is what I stand for, so I want to help Stanford represent it.

(Also those cream cheese croissants from CoHo.)

Idea-Focused: The author's take on what Stanford represents ("an ideal") is a unique perspective.
Authentic Motivations: Revealing your genuine motivation for attending a school shows your interest is not surface-level. The author's motivation is also a powerful one: representing an ideal.
Lighthearted and Relatable: The last remark in parantheses lightens the tone, while still relating to Stanford specifically. Admissions officers surely would crack a smile at this remark because it is relatable to them and genuine.

5. Stanford University Short Question

Prompt: What five words best describe you? (5 words max)

I don’t conform to arbitrary boundaries.

Bold and Takes a Risk: Stanford supplements are the perfect place to take a (calculated) risk. This type of answer only works if A.) it hasn't been done before and B.) it is genuine and not done just for the sake of risk-taking.

6. Stanford University Short Question

Prompt: Imagine you had an extra hour in the day — how would you spend that time? (50 words max)

One extra hour is thirty minutes extra of daylight.

The US has 28 GW of installed solar capacity. With the extra daylight, there will be a 4% increase in national capacity, an entire GW added. This small increase alone powers 700,000 homes. I’m spending the time investing in photovoltaics!

Thinks Outside the Box: Most students would answer this prompt more literally: with what activity they would do. Having a unique approach shows your ability to think differently.
Cleverness: Strikes the right balance between being clever and genuinely answering the prompt. Trying too hard to be clever is easily seen-through.
Explain Acronyms Before Using: Instead of writing "GW," the first reference should say "gigawatt." This is a minor semantic correction that would make things slightly more clear.

7. Stanford University "Genuinely Excited About Learning" Short Essay

Prompt: The Stanford community is deeply curious and driven to learn in and out of the classroom. Reflect on an idea or experience that makes you genuinely excited about learning. (100-250 words)

It’s in the mail.

I rip open the package.

It feels sleek along my fingertips. Three volumes. Gorgeous red binding with stunning silver lettering. THE Feynman LECTURES ON PHYSICS The NEW MILLENIUM Edition

I had heard about them previously, but a Quora thread on “essential physics texts” convinced me to invest in them. I thought I was buying a textbook, but I was buying a new way of life. That night, while I laid in bed, Feynman changed my entire perspective of the universe. In the first lecture.

Not only was he a Nobel prize winning physicist with a unique approach to the subject, but his pedagogical capabilities were perfectly suited to my personality. When Feynman teaches, he does not just teach physics, he teaches how to think and understand. He helped me recognize that my passion wasn’t for physics, it was for a passion for learning and understanding.

Spoken directly from the source: “I don't know anything, but I do know that everything is interesting if you go into it deeply enough.”

Reading the Lectures rouses within me the most intense feeling of elation I have ever experienced. When I open the Lectures, any bad mood is erased, any haze in my mind is cleared away, and I become the person I strive to be.

Now, I always have at least one of the Lectures on me. At festivals, in backpacks, in carryons, if I am there, so are the Lectures.

Tells a Story: Painting a vivid picture can bring admissions officers into your world. Using stories also is a compelling way to share ideas without stating them plainly.
Showcases Genuine Interest: Write about things in a way that only you could write about. The authenticity in this essay is palpable.

8. Stanford University "Letter to Roommate" Short 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. (100-250 words)

Dear roommate,

Don’t be alarmed if you glance over at my laptop late at night displaying a plague doctor examining a watermelon with a stethoscope, meticulously listening for a heartbeat.

I apologise for waking you, but before requesting a room change, allow me to explain. This twisted scene is innocently my favorite video on YouTube. I have ASMR, Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. It is a euphoric, calming sensation triggered by visual and auditory stimuli like whispering and fine movements, which I use to aid my insomnia. This plague doctor, played by youtuber Ephemeral Rift, has movements as he inspects the watermelon that are as calming to me as a mother’s lullabies are to a child.

I know we will both have our strong, unique personalities with our individual quirks like this. However, I guarantee we have a fundamental similarity which lead us to becoming Stanford students.

We have passion for learning. Even if two people are polar-opposite personalities, they can become family if they have this.

That said, I have a feeling we won’t be polar opposites. I love jamming on my guitar, going out to parties, playing video games, messing around with soccer, and a hodgepodge of other hobbies. I’m sure we’ll have some common ground to start off but either way there will be plenty of time to grow together!

P.S. I am a whiteboard fiend. I hope that’s okay.

Humanizes the Author: Being quirky for quirkiness sake isn't good. But the author strikes a balance between showing their unique (some may say strange) interests and the relatable aspects (like whiteboards, going to parties, and soccer).
Connects to Bigger Ideas: Even in "unserious" writing, connecting to meaningful ideas is key. The author brilliantly shows what relates all Stanford students: their passion for learning.
Minor Writing Fixes: Small edits such as capitalizing the proper noun "Youtuber" and some word choices could be altered.

9. Stanford University "Meaningful To You" Short Essay

Prompt: Tell us about something that is meaningful to you and why. (100-250 words)

A meaningful discussion can be found deep in the jungle of YouTube, during an obscure “CBS This Morning” interview with Bill Murray.

“What do you want, that you don’t have?” - Charlie Rose

Bill Murray - “I’d like to be here all the time, and just see what I could get done, what I could do if I really, you know, didn’t cloud myself... if I were able to... to not get distracted. To not change channels in my mind and body, to be my own channel.”

Death is scary but my slimy, monolithic, Lovecraftian fear is unengagement. I only have a brief time to experience life and I know I will find the most fulfillment in “[seeing] what I could get done.” When I feel that signature fuzzy, tired feeling in my head, I am reminded of my old night terrors; I would be awake yet unable to interact with my surroundings.

In sophomore year, when I discovered my passion for physics, I found a powerful way to stay engaged. Developing a passion fundamentally requires me, as Murray puts it, “to be my own channel.” Problem solving, understanding difficult concepts, having intense discussions all demand your mind to be present and I am more than happy to oblige.

Intellectual vitality is not my application buzzword, it is my lifestyle.

Shows What Drives Them: Admissions officers are interested in the root of your being. That is, what gets you up in the morning. Showing your perspective on life and what you hope to get out of life is key.
Connects to Application's Interests: A central theme of this author is physics. And each essay relates back to their intended area of study to a varying degree. By connecting to the rest of your application, it creates a cohesive picture of yourself as an applicant.
Use Less Quotes: Quotes can be great for introducing ideas. But ultimately admissions officers want to hear your words, not other people's. The first three paragraphs are about other people's ideas, not the author's, and could be condensed.

10. Stanford University Short Essay

Prompt: Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences. (150 words max)

One month into AP Physics C Mr. Shapiro's cancer came out of remission. With no teacher for the rest of the semester, I offered to give a few lectures. The first try was a huge success and I was hooked on teaching.

Following my newfound addiction, I started Lowell Physics Club (LPC). Our first lecture attracted 50 students, with 40 returning the next week!

A victim of grandeur, I designed an environment more than a club. It had to be innovative, attractive, and have a tangible payoff. We tutor students in physics, connect those looking for fun projects, prepare students for the F=ma Olympiad, and sometimes I give lectures which expand rather than repeat. This year two students qualified.

Mr. Shapiro returned this semester and continued teaching. I can now relax in the back of the room listening to his engaging lectures, occasionally giving one of my own.

Provides Backstory: Explaining how you got started in an extracurricular is compelling because it reveals your motivations for doing it.
Shows Takeaways from Their Achievements: Listing achievements and extracurriculars isn't as important as what you got from them. The author emphasizes the important of their extracurricular and why it is meaningful, rather than just what they did.
Be Careful With Personal Details: Unless this author got permission from "Mr. Shapiro" to use their name, revealing personal details such as health conditions is not good to do. Always be careful naming people in your essays, but especially for potentially sensitive topics.

11. Stanford University Short Question

Prompt: When the choice is yours, what do you read, listen to, or watch? (50 words max)

From my bookshelf, Youtube subscriptions, Netflix history, and Spotify.

The Feynman Lectures, MF Doom, Ephemeral Rift, Tank and The Bangas, The Eric Andre Show, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Hubbard and Hubbard’s Differential Equations and Vector Calculus, Thích Nhất Hạnh, Kamasi Washington, 3Blue1Brown, Al Green, Band of Gypsys, Oxford Press - Very Short Introductions

Answers Prompt Clearly: Provides a straightforward response without room for misinterpretation.
Has Good Context: By stating where these interests come from ("bookshelf, Youtube subscriptions, Netflix"), the answers have more context.
Organization: Listing their interests by type (such as musical artists, authors, and TV shows) would help readers who may not be as familiar with all the interests.

12. Stanford University Common App Essay

Common App Prompt #7: Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design. (250-650 words)

Slowly, my passion emerged from pretense and envy into reality.

This essay is all based upon the metaphor of "the itch" representing a desire to understand the world. By using a central theme, such as a metaphor, you can create a thread of ideas that run throughout your essay. If you want to use a metaphor, make sure it clearly relates to the idea you're trying to express, rather than choosing one just because it is a creative or unique approach. In this case, there is perhaps no better metaphor than "the itch" which would capture their main idea, so it works well.

Instead of "telling" their ideas, this essay does a lot of fantastic "showing" through specific anecdotes. Sentences like "I learned to sing the blues before I knew the words..." capture a lot about the author's character and background without having to say it outright. By showing the reader, you allow them to draw their own conclusions rather than just having to accept what you're telling them. Using specific language also creates a more vibrant and interesting essay. Rather than saying "I loved learning as a kid," this student shows it using a concrete example: "my favorite book was an introduction to fulcrums".

Writing about other people in your essay can be a great way to tell things about yourself. Known as a literary "foil," by describing other people you can show your own values without stating them plainly. In this essay, the author shows their value (of being passionate about learning) by first recognizing that value in somebody else, "Kikki" in this case. By writing about people in your life, you can also create a sense of humility and humanity. Nobody is an "island," meaning that everyone is influenced by those around us. Showing how you draw inspiration, values, or lessons from others will show more about your character than simply telling admissions would.

In general, listing activities in your essay is a bad strategy, because it is repetitive of your activities list and comes across boring. However, this essay manages to list their activities in the 3rd-to-last paragraph by connecting them to a central idea: how their newfound passion for learning sparked all these new engagements. Listing activities can be okay, but only if they have a clear purpose in doing so. In this case, the purpose is to show how these activities are representative of their new passion for learning. But the purpose for listing activities could also be to show a specific value, provide examples for your idea, demonstrate your new perspective, etc.

What Can You Learn From These Stanford Essays?

Do you want to get into Stanford in 2022? If so, writing great application essays is one of your most critical parts of applying.

With selective schools like Stanford, your essays matter even more.

Hopefully these 12 Stanford short answers and essays have helped inspire you.

From these essay examples, you can learn what it takes to write some stellar Stanford supplements:

Don't be afraid to be creative
Don't write formally. You can write as you would speak.
Showcase your genuine self, interests, and passions
Think outside the box, if appropriate and natural

If you enjoyed these essays, you'll also like reading UCLA essays and USC essays .

What did you think of these Stanford essays?

Meet the Author

Ryan Chiang

I'm Ryan Chiang and I created EssaysThatWorked.com - a website dedicated to helping students and their families apply to college with confidence & ease. We publish the best college admissions essays from successful applicants every year to inspire and teach future students.

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What do outstanding essays have in common? Here are our 23 most effective strategies based on lessons from admitted students.

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How to Write the Stanford University Essays 2024-2025

Stanford University was founded in 1885 by California Senator Leland Stanford and his wife, Jane, in memory of their son Leland Jr. It’s a private institution located in the gorgeous heart of the California Bay Area. The exciting buzz of start-up opportunities and entrepreneurial spirit permeates student life on campus, with an impressive offering of excellent STEM and humanities majors.

Stanford has become one of America’s most selective universities, with an admissions rate of 4.4% for the class of 2023. However, starting with the class of 2023, they have decided to stop releasing their admissions statistics . They have publicized that this move is “intended as a small step in reducing the outsized emphasis placed on the admission rates at U.S. colleges and universities.”

Other defining aspects include its status as the second largest campus in the world with over 8,000 acres , its undergraduate enrollment of 7,000 students , and ranking as one of the best colleges in the nation and world.

Stanford’s freshman application asks students to respond to 4 different short questions and 3 relatively longer essay questions as part of their admissions process. CollegeVine is here to provide detailed tips and examples to help you approach Stanford’s supplemental essays.

Read these Stanford essay examples to inspire your own writing.

How to Write the Stanford University Supplemental Essays

Short Response Questions (50 words)

What is the most significant challenge that society faces today?
How did you spend your last two summers?
What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed?
Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities, a job you hold, or responsibilities you have for your family.
List five things that are important to you.

Essay Questions (100-250 words)

Prompt 1: The Stanford community is deeply curious and driven to learn in and out of the classroom. Reflect on an idea or experience that makes you genuinely excited about learning.

Prompt 2: 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.

Prompt 3: Please describe what aspects of your life experiences, interests and character would help you make a distinctive contribution as an undergraduate to Stanford University.

Before we dive into the specifics of how to answer each of these short prompts, remember that limiting your responses to only 50 words requires writing answers that are straightforward and direct . Be honest with what you write, but also think critically about the different aspects of your personality you are highlighting with each answer. Try to vary the responses so that they don’t all cluster around only one or two activities or themes.

While these answers won’t make your application, they could break it if you use any inappropriate content; be mindful of your audience by choosing tasteful responses. However, overanalyzing what you think the admissions officers want you to write misses the point of showcasing your individuality.

Let’s discuss each question individually.

Want to know your chances at Stanford? Calculate your chances for free right now.

Short Answer 1

What is the most significant challenge that society faces today (50 words).

For this significant challenge question, you might decide to go with a traditional answer but still put a creative spin on it. Avoid picking an obscure or arbitrary topic that is not actually a significant challenge, and also watch out for writing about an issue in overly vague terms. You could write about topics like gender parity, aging populations, skills development, or climate change, but be careful since those topics have the potential to become trite depending on how you address them.

Writing simply about the fact that the challenge exists is also less interesting than if you wrote something referencing momentum in terms of future change, or possibly even past decline. For example, in addressing a topic like pollution, you could talk about how your view is that you believe the greatest challenge will be spreading actionable awareness of the issue to overcome our current apathy, maybe with a brief suggestion on how that could be attained. Doing so would make your answer stand out more than just speaking too generally.

To give another example, if you talked about gender inequality, and suggested focusing on addressing the gender gap within STEM fields more specifically, you would be showing that you think proactively about trying to solve the issue without oversimplifying it.

Short Answer 2

How did you spend your last two summers (50 words).

Writing about how you spent your last two summers should be pretty direct — anything you have been involved in is fair game, and showing a variety of interests is again advisable. For example, you could write out a list of the disparate activities like:

“I prepared for and competed in SkillsUSA’s National Skills and Leadership Conference, vacationed in California to visit my family, volunteered at my local food bank, started working at TJ Maxx, hiked with friends, went on family camping trips, tried new cupcake recipes, and helped run a STEM camp for girls.”

This mix of activities allows them to see that you participated in some resume boosters, but also had fun and didn’t just completely restate your activities list section. You could also choose to hone in on just a couple of activities and give them each a bit more explanation instead of solely listing activities. For example:

“Family vacations always feel too long and too short. I melt in the SoCal summer heat, but returning home to cool breezy Washington brings 30-hour retail work weeks, with interspersed respite at the local library. After just finishing SkillsUSA nationals, the challenge to engineer a new invention returns, energizing me.”

This conveys some of the same ideas with a slightly more narrative structure.

Try not to waste space with a lead-in sentence like, “For the last two summers, I have mainly spent my time doing…” because that already uses up 12 of your precious 50 allotted words.

Short Answer 3

What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed (50 words).

If no historical events come to mind after thinking about this prompt for a few minutes, and you’re starting to question whether you learned anything at all in your high school history classes, doing a quick google search of top 100 historical moments is not a terrible idea. However, since many of your peers will likely employ the same strategy to identify their historical event, you should strive to select one that makes sense considering your unique profile and current interests.

For example, if you want to indicate your interest in the techy Silicon Valley, you could write about witnessing the process Hewlett and Packard went through starting their business from their garage because you loved tinkering through your own projects throughout high school. Or if you are interested in history or politics, this is a good place to easily select one of the thousands of moments to tie into your interest. For instance, you could write about the time when Washington rallied his troops and convinced them not to abandon the Continental Army late in 1776, even when things looked just about as bleak as they could get.

The specific moment you choose isn’t extremely relevant, but again remember that if you pick something obscure, it might not qualify as a “historical moment” and may need more than 50 words to describe and add a brief explanation. Here’s an example of incorporating a potential major interest in engineering while going for something out of the box :

“I have always been fascinated by the pyramids and Egyptian culture, although my perception of them has been greatly romanticized by my childhood obsession with The Mummy. I wish that I could have witnessed the pyramids’ amazing and mysterious construction to know the secret of their advanced ancient engineering.”

“When I was a little kid, I was obsessed with NASA. I always had glow-in-the-dark stars above my bed and rocketship sheets. I would love to see the moon landing (especially from the capsule) to experience the awe of seeing a new world.”

You don’t need to directly connect it to a personal reason or specific explanation like these examples did, but noting why you picked this moment allows your response to ultimately feel more memorable .

Short Answer 4

Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities, a job you hold, or responsibilities you have for your family. (50 words).

This prompt gives you a little more space to discuss one of your most meaningful extracurriculars from your activities list.

To pick an activity, think about the one that taught you the most, changed your perspective, or is most unique. If there’s something you haven’t been able to express in other parts of your application, this is your space.

Keep in mind that trying to write about multiple aspects of the activity will be difficult with only 50 words, and it can result in simply reiterating what will already be on your activities list. Pick just one aspect that was most important to you, and highlight that. Feel free to be straightforward rather than artsy, as you have limited space. Also, don’t forget to briefly address what you gleaned from the activity as opposed to simply describing what it was.

For example:

I developed a marketing and sustainability initiative for my family’s grocery store. We gave free monthly workshops on topics like composting and zero waste cooking on a budget, which grew our client base 120%, and spread important ideas. People are interested in living more sustainably; they just need accessible education .

Short Answer 5

List five things that are important to you. (50 words).

This short response question is asking for you to reflect on things that are most important in your life. Keep in mind that these things can be a physical object (like your phone) or a concept or idea (like family or friendship). It’s also important that the items you list relate to ideas that have been represented in the rest of your application to provide a cohesive message across all your application elements. If you were applying for an arts major at Stanford, perhaps you wouldn’t say an important item to you is your model rocketship in your room unless you have previously suggested that your artwork is inspired by space travel and celestial bodies.

Some questions to help you brainstorm for this prompt include asking yourself: What things from my childhood or daily life bring me joy or purpose? If this thing was missing from my life, would I notice? Why is this thing important to me? What purpose does this thing bring to my life?

You should list out the things that are important to you from 1 to 5. When listing these items that are important to you, you can use any additional word space to briefly describe why the thing is important to you. For example, if you gave your faith as an important thing in your life, you could write “1. My faith: It gives me hope and strength in the face of adversity.”

Here are some additional tips for writing this essay:

Be specific. Don’t just say that faith is important to you. Explain what makes your faith so special and why it is so important to you.
Be genuine. Don’t try to be someone you’re not. The admissions committee will be able to tell if you’re being fake.
Be concise. This is a short essay, so you need to get your point across quickly and effectively.

Essay Prompt 1

The stanford community is deeply curious and driven to learn in and out of the classroom. reflect on an idea or experience that makes you genuinely excited about learning. (100 to 250 words).

As you approach this first longer prompt, think back on all the hours you spent during class, after school during activities, or at home studying. Try to select an experience where you seriously felt that love of learning . Just writing about this idea or realization should make you feel like an extremely happy nerd (you are applying to Nerd Nation after all!). Whether you are someone who approaches standardized testing like it is a thrilling game, or someone who feels so excited after getting through a test that you poured countless hours into studying for, you can really highlight your own drive and intellect through this prompt.

For example, you could write some sort of introduction about deciding to self-study for the AP Physics C tests, then add some analysis like:

…I began to honestly enjoy learning all the new applications for the calculus concepts I had been learning alongside physics, previously unaware of just how intertwined they were. The relationship between position, velocity, and acceleration through derivatives and integrals tied everything together in a way that made so much sense it gave me chills.

After a few study sessions, I began to devour YouTube videos to prepare for the test, and each time I understood a new concept by learning it on my own, I felt more accomplished and intellectually independent. As I worked through practice problems and self-corrected my way across old exams, I felt driven to stop excusing or dismissing my mistakes, and to instead pull them apart by analyzing exactly why I had made them to target and avoid them in the future. This experience improved the way I study and showed me the value of truly mastering knowledge on my own.

This response shows an authentic passion for learning without overloading on narrative. Another solid example that takes a more creative response could look something like this:

“How do you make pianos?

In 4th grade, I entered and won PBS’s Curiosity Quest question contest, resulting in my co-hosting a Curiosity Quest episode at New York’s Steinway and Sons Piano Factory. There I realized for the first time what can be found beyond textbook teachings. I saw the palpable pride the factory had in the heritage that they displayed, and the stunning beauty of a legacy and its centuries of refined knowledge. After that day, it was as if my consciousness had awoken. I resolved to begin creating my own legacy. I spent early morning hours in front of my piano daily, determined to make it my art — all because my curiosity rewarded me with knowledge that expanded the depth and range of just how far I can strive in this world.

Theory of Knowledge teaches of knowledge’s paradox: The more we know, the more we don’t. In retrospect, TOK put into words what I’ve since sensed — this inexplicable duality of filling a void that is ever-expanding. What began as a simple question of how something was made laid the very foundation upon which I’ve grown to ask questions that dig deeper: Why is there more inequality today than a century ago? What, if any, measures can be taken to end the conflicts in the Middle East? How can I further my legacy through striving to address these issues?

And as always, my quest for curiosity will serve to dually nourish and enlighten me, expanding my world once more.

This response from a Stanford 2020 student majoring in International Relations shows the admissions office a thirst for learning without ever just overtly stating it, especially with tying in the childhood anecdote as an excellent hook.

As you approach your own essay, avoid using basic statements like “This made me excited because…” or “An idea that made me genuinely excited about learning was…” since your writing style is extremely important throughout this essay. Compare the two examples above syntactically to see why the essay becomes more engaging with the style of “show not tell” displayed in the latter.

As with all college essays, do not forget that the emphasis is on teaching the admissions officers something about you and why the idea or experience made you so excited; avoid spending too much time explaining the logistics or trying to use excessively flowery language.

Essay Prompt 2

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. (100 to 250 words).

The point of this essay is to invoke the casual nature of roommate relationships and invite students to take a more relaxed approach to writing about themselves. It brings the application to life by asking you to write only about your own personality, which feels more open than other essays that ask you to answer a specific question like “Describe your community” or “Talk about a mentor who got you through a difficult time.” While answering both of those prompts still offers insight into who the author is, they are fundamentally centralized around another person or topic, which is why Stanford cuts straight to the chase with this prompt to actually get to know you better.

Stanford is looking for an extremely authentic 250-word portrayal of your character that could distinctly identify you from a crowd of essays. If you got to meet your admissions officer in person, and only had 60 seconds to pitch yourself without using anything from your activities or awards, what would you say first? If you were legitimately writing a letter to your roommate at Stanford, what would you want them to know about the prospect of living with you? If you imagine how your Stanford alumni interview might play out, what topics do you hope to steer towards?

Think deeply about these questions and first see if there is something meaningful that you want to convey, and look through Prompt 3 to see if it would best serve answering the question, “What matters to you, and why?” instead of this roommate prompt. If you do have a more serious answer, you can style the essay like a very formal letter or like a traditional 1-2 paragraph short essay without any of the letter gimmicks at all to stand out syntactically.

If you don’t think you have any important topics on the serious side that you want to specifically cover in the space for this prompt (an extreme medical condition, a family hardship etc.), you could also go for another popular tactic by creating a fun, miscellaneous essay.

This prompt can arguably be one of the most entertaining to write and read of all college supplemental essays because of the opportunity to present the admissions office with an amalgamation of weird topics. A previous CollegeVine guide encouraged students to explore their quirky side with this prompt by writing about unique hobbies or interesting personality oddities. It also advises staying away from things like politics (i.e., don’t indicate which party or ideology you tend to support, even through jokes or minor references, since you don’t want to step on any toes).

Don’t sweat too much over the exact way to put the essay in letter format. Starting with something like “Hi! I am ridiculously stoked to meet you!” or any other straightforward greeting that doesn’t sound too cheesy is totally fine. If you decide to, you can essentially make a bullet list of “fun me facts” if you want to include the maximum amount of content. Remember that this essay should be fun!

Since it is usually hard to come up with good material about your own diverse personality while staring at a blank computer screen, try keeping a note on your phone and adding to it gradually as you think of things throughout the day. Think about what you enjoy and jot down notes like:

I love Sandra Bullock movies. I wish I could stop biting my nails, and sometimes I do, but only until I take a test or watch a freaky movie. I hate doing my laundry and the song ‘Drops of Jupiter.’ I planned myself a Cutthroat Kitchen -themed birthday party last year because I love cooking contest shows. My favorite store is the Dollar Tree, and when I’m there I always feel like I’m getting too much stuff, but when I leave I regret putting stuff back. Before I go to bed, I like to watch clips from Ellen or Jimmy Fallon because I think it gives me funny dreams. I’m attracted to buying gift wrap even if I have no reason for it, a trait I inherited from my mom. I love chicken. I sleep like a rock and unfortunately, that means I need an incredibly loud alarm clock, but I also will never be bothered by late night noise, etc.

You can see by how long this section got just how easy it can be to talk about yourself once you get started…

Try to intersperse some facts that relate to activities you could do together or things that would be important for an actual roommate to know to stay true to the prompt. Juxtaposing random facts might not be the way to go if you feel they are redundant with your short answers or too all over the place for you. Putting together just a few key aspects of your personality and typical habits with more coherent elaboration on each and topping it off with a “Love, your future roomie” holds the potential to become an engaging essay as well.

Here is another example that shows a ton of personality and utilizes a list format:

Ahem…May I make a toast?

First off, I am so pumped to live with you. I don’t have a sibling, so this is as close as it gets! Also, I just wanted you to know…

I’m an ENFJ. I’m not nearly as brilliant as Obama or Oprah, but I do fancy the idea of sharing traits with them! ENFJs are “focused on values and vision, passionate about the possibilities for people, tuned into the needs of others, and tend to be optimistic and forward-thinking” — sums up my personality I’d say!
I free my mind by exercising and writing. Our campus’s fresh forestry is perfect for morning/night runs/picnics. It would be so fun if you joined!
I’m one to stay up all night to chat over coffee and pastries. I’m also one to venture out and walk/bike ten miles for Polaroid pics and yummy eats. Yelp4lyfe.
I have a passion for fashion. I love it because style is universal and uniquely personal (read Worn Stories). I have a blog dedicated to learning about global cultures/styles — can’t wait to study abroad!
I’m so deeply humbled to be surrounded by exceptional, passionate people like you who are going to rock this world. I had visited Stanford three times before applying, and I had written on my secret blog during my 2nd visit that my heart felt so moved to call this place home one day.

Well, I couldn’t be happier to be home with you.

Name (or nickname)

While this is just one essay (and remember that there are many, many directions you can choose to take your own essay), you can see from this example that showcasing a variety of passions can highlight how multifaceted and genuinely interesting you are. A year from now, you might find yourself cracking up over how weird you sound while exchanging what you wrote with your actual roomie to procrastinate working on your p-sets or essays. We know we did!

Essay Prompt 3

Please describe what aspects of your life experiences, interests and character would help you make a distinctive contribution as an undergraduate to stanford university. (100 to 250 words).

This is a classic example of the Diversity Essay . Your response should focus on your personal background and how your life experiences or cultural traditions provide you with a unique perspective that has influenced your interests and character. Stanford is looking for what makes you unique and how you will share that uniqueness with their community.

Your response should directly answer the question at hand; however, remember to “show, not tell.” A personal narrative is one way to successfully highlight your potential individual contributions to Stanford’s community.

For example, instead of simply saying that you are hardworking and persist despite obstacles, describe a time where you displayed this skill. Perhaps you grew up in the central US where there are seasonal tornadoes and damage to property. You could share a story about how you help rebuild neighbors homes every year after the storms and how you have learned about the value in lending a helping hand to strangers. Or, if you want to discuss your deep connection and commitment to your culture, describe a particular event or custom that has meaning to you that most other applicants would not be aware of. Or maybe you have a strong commitment to sustainability—you could discuss a time you created an initiative to reduce food and plastic waste in your school cafeteria.

Beware that this question is similar to some Common Application prompts. Since the Stanford application is on the Common App, you should use this supplement as a means to communicate something new about yourself to the admissions committee, so avoid discussing topics that you’ve already covered. For example, if your Common Application focused on your analytical mind, consider using this prompt to discuss your compassion for others.

In the remaining space you have in the essay, tie your unique identity back to how you will contribute to Stanford’s campus. If you have a deep connection to your Native American culture, mention how you are excited to be involved with the American Indian Organization at Stanford.

All in all make sure that the life experience, interest and/or character trait you are sharing in this essay is unique to you and provide evidence to support the unique self that you will bring to campus.

Is Your Stanford Essay Strong Enough?

Do you want feedback on your Stanford essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

Need feedback faster? Get a free, nearly-instantaneous essay review from Sage, our AI tutor and advisor. Sage will rate your essay, give you suggestions for improvement, and summarize what admissions officers would take away from your writing. Use these tools to improve your chances of acceptance to your dream school!

If you create incentives for yourself to work on your Stanford University essays early and choose topics that you genuinely care about, then you will end up devoting much more time to them, resulting in more polished essays . Since Stanford admissions are so extremely selective, it places a good deal of pressure on both the content and execution of all 11 essays.

While Stanford has a reputation of being pretty relaxed and laid back, you shouldn’t try to exude that attitude throughout all your essays. Remember that it is the admissions office’s job to read through over 40,000 of these essays each year and discern whether you would be a good fit, so avoid topics that are even vaguely cliché and be brutally honest with yourself about whether you would enjoy the essay you’ve written from an outsider’s perspective.

Overall, do your best to put in the effort on ideas that you feel are unique, personal, and truly meaningful. Good luck!

How To Answer Stanford's 2024/2025 Supplemental Essays: Tips & Insights

Essay Prompts

Intellectual Curiosity Essay

The Roommate Essay

The Personal Essay

Stanford Essay Examples

As a former admissions officer at Stanford, I've noticed a few elements that all strong application essays have in common. Likewise, there are common mistakes that can make a student's essay much less likely to stand out.

In this guide, I’ll explore the best practices and common pitfalls when answering Stanford’s essay prompts—from the famous roommate essay to the community essay. Let’s go over everything you need to know.

Stanford’s Essay Prompts & Requirements

Gaining admission to Stanford University is a competitive university, with its acceptance rate ranging from 3.6 to 4.6% . To gain admission, your application has to be as close to perfect as possible - supplemental essays included!

Besides the common app and coalition app , Stanford requires you to submit 3 additional short essays in answer to these following prompts or questions for the academic year of 2024/2025:

The Stanford community is deeply curious and driven to learn in and out of the classroom. Reflect on an idea or experience that makes you genuinely excited about learning.

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—get to know you better.

Please describe what aspects of your life experiences, interests and character would help you make a distinctive contribution as an undergraduate to Stanford University.

For all three of these essays, the length has to be between 100 to 250 words. You don’t have a huge word limit, so every word counts. Let’s get right to business: how should you answer each Stanford prompt, and what mistakes should you avoid?

Prompt #1: The Intellectual Curiosity Essay

How to answer it.

This is a fairly common prompt across many schools—what I call the "intellectual curiosity" essay. The key to standing out is to focus on a topic you’re genuinely curious or passionate about.

There’s no right or wrong answer here. I’ve read essays on everything from the Pythagorean theorem to Schrödinger’s cat. As long as you choose an intellectual idea that excites you, even if it’s niche or unfamiliar to the admissions committee, you’ll be on the right track.

In this essay, you'll need to embrace your inner nerd and dive deep into a topic that interests you. For example, as a psychology major, one of the things that fascinated me was parapsychology—the study of the supernatural, like telepathy and telekinesis.

While many would argue it’s not a critical science, I believe it’s an intellectually stimulating topic that fits within the realm of my studies - and it made my essay stand out.

An admissions officer has only 15, maybe 20 minutes to review your application. If you can talk about something that is both personally meaningful and unique, it becomes a trigger for them to remember you.

I’d start by jotting down all the different intellectual ideas that fascinate you, whether or not they're related to my declared major. Even if they don’t seem to connect at first, just write them down—you can decide later which one to focus on.

Think about what excites you about these topics, how you've explored them so far, and how you hope to explore them further.

Mistakes To Avoid

A common mistake that students make is thinking they need to write about a specific topic because it aligns with their chosen major . For example, if you’ve listed mechanical engineering as your first major of interest, you might feel compelled to write about mechanical engineering.

This isn’t necessarily true. If it fits your application and you find it compelling, then by all means, go for it. But keep in mind that admissions officers aren’t looking for an essay that simply supports your major. They want to see you nerd out on a topic you genuinely love. Focus on what excites you, not what you think they want to hear.

It’s that intellectual curiosity that catches their attention and sets you apart. They’re more interested in seeing your personality and passion than just how well your essay aligns with your major.

That said, if you’ve built your entire application narrative around your passion for a particular discipline, writing about something related to your major might make sense—as long as it fits within your overall application structure. Even then, it needs to be something where your genuine passion shines through—something that shows that intellectual spark!

Otherwise, this essay is a great opportunity to showcase other interests and broaden the character you present to admissions officers.

Prompt #2: The Roommate Essay

The roommate essay has been a Stanford staple for quite a while. The key to answering it isn’t so much about standing out as it is about avoiding common pitfalls.

The goal is to show that you’d be a good, empathetic, and thoughtful roommate. Admissions officers want to understand who you are within the community—who you’ll be when you finish your classes and get back to your dorm. How do you share space with others? How do you build relationships and contribute to your living environment?

This essay is all about highlighting the ways you want to connect with your roommate and foster a positive relationship. There’s no single way to go about this, so you have some flexibility.

One option is to talk about the campus events and activities you’d want to experience with your roommate, and how you’d want to go take your roommate to them to experience these things together or create a bond together.

An example of this: I’ve seen an essay in the past written about making homemade ramen, which was a favorite activity of the student. They talked about how they planned to bring a small warming set to teach their roommate how to make it their own way, sharing what the process meant to them. It was a cute and personal way to express how they wanted to build a relationship
Another example: A student wrote about a favorite Stanford tradition —jumping in different water fountains on campus. They described a day where they and their roommate could go around campus, hopping into all the fountains, creating a great experience they can share. They imagined repeating the tradition four years later, just before graduation.

This essay worked well because it referenced a specific tradition Stanford is known for while also tying it to building an authentic relationship with their roommate.

A lot of people have the question of whether they should write this as a normal essay or as a letter to their roommate. I recommend writing this essay as a letter to your roommate —not in the typical format of your other supplemental essays.

Even though it won’t actually go to your future roommate, pretend it will. The goal is to make it feel like you’re writing to someone you’re about to meet and embark on an adventure with. Try to tap into the heart of that connection—that’s the essence of this essay.

Basically, when writing this essay, it’s important to stay true to yourself while avoiding common pitfalls. Speaking of which…

In the roommate essay, the worst mistake you can make is presenting yourself as an unlikeable or unwelcoming roommate. Highlighting any non-community-oriented qualities is something you absolutely want to avoid.

For example, if you focus too much on a rigid schedule—like waking up at 8 AM, going for a jog, and detailing all the things you do—it can come across as self-centered. If your essay is more focused about what you want to do at Stanford, with little regard for how you’ll create a shared, communal space with your roommate, it’s not going to win the admissions officers over. This approach can be off-putting.

A good way to gauge if your essay is hitting the mark: imagine receiving a letter from your future roommate. If all they did was talk about themselves and what they want to do at Stanford, how excited would you be to meet them?

Compare that to a letter where they talk about creating memories, sharing experiences, or building a specific environment together. Which would you prefer?

Prompt #3: The Personal Essay

This essay prompt is designed to delve into the personal experiences that have shaped who you are.

The approach I’d recommend here is to aim for impact rather than just trying to stand out. Your goal should be to leave a lasting impression on the admissions officer, giving them a moment to pause and truly understand who you are as an applicant.

In this essay, be candid about the experiences and relationships that have profoundly impacted you—how they’ve shaped your thinking, your character, and how you hope to bring those qualities to the Stanford community.

An example of this: I’ve seen students write about caring for a parent with a degenerative disease. That experience instilled a deep sense of empathy and a collaborative spirit, making them realize that we accomplish things better together rather than alone. They then expressed a desire to bring that energy to Stanford, to be actively involved in a community that values and lives by collaboration.

This type of essay is powerful because it shares a specific, personal experience that allows the admissions officer to see a unique layer of who you are. It also illustrates how that experience has shaped your character and how you’ll bring that character to campus.

Another example: An essay that really stood out to me was a blog about Hot Cheetos. Initially, I was skeptical—why would someone write about Hot Cheetos? But as I continued reading, the story revealed a deeper message. The student’s grandmother used to give her Hot Cheetos every day, and at first, the student just enjoyed them without thinking about sharing. As she grew older, she noticed that her siblings didn’t receive the same treat. Eventually, she realized her grandmother was teaching her a lesson about privilege and sharing resources.

This was a profound lesson about sharing, privilege, and responsibility, which the student planned to carry with her to Stanford.

The essay highlighted how she intended to use her intellectual growth to contribute positively to the community, and to continue building on her own intellectual interest to build knowledge that can help make the community better. By the end, the story left a strong impact on me—I’ll never forget that Hot Cheetos essay!

When writing your essay, consider what values Stanford cares about—community, social responsibility, contributing positively to the world—and connect those values with your personal experiences.

Focus on the relationships and moments that have shaped how you think, interact with others, and engage with the world. Then, explain how you’ll bring those qualities to Stanford in a way that aligns with the university’s values, such as social good and intellectual curiosity.

The biggest pitfalls you can run into with these kinds of essays are being too vague or staying too surface-level.

Sometimes students think they shouldn’t get too personal or too detailed because they assume admissions officers don’t want to read such personal pieces. However, this is exactly what can make your essay forgettable.

If you don’t personalize it and dive into your own history and experiences, you miss the chance to stand out. While many people may share similar experiences, only you have lived your unique version of it. If you don’t speak directly to that, you’re not giving yourself the chance to shine.

Another common mistake is focusing too much on someone else without relating it back to your own experiences.

An example of this: a student wrote about someone they deeply admire—a grandparent who survived difficult circumstances and showed incredible resilience. While that’s a powerful story, if the essay spends too much time on the grandparent and doesn’t connect it to the student’s own life, the admissions officer may end up knowing more about the grandparent than the applicant. By the end of the essay, I might be ready to admit the grandparent, but I still won’t know much about you.

The key is to ensure that, while you can certainly highlight the influence others have had on you, the essay should ultimately focus on your personal experiences and how they’ve shaped you. That’s what makes your story unique and memorable.

Stanford Essay Examples

The intellectual curiosity essay example.

The Stanford community is deeply curious and driven to learn in and out of the classroom. Reflect on an idea or experience that makes you genuinely excited about learning. (250 words)

When taking Abnormal Psychology freshman year, I was fascinated to learn that my family’s stoic attitude under stress stems from culture's influence on human behavior. The course concluded, but I hungered to learn more about culture’s connections with the mind. Sunlit days crept into moonlit nights as I learned that culture impacts visual perception (that’s why East Asian websites are more “cluttered” than Western ones) and influences decision-making (such as through a focus on collectivism or individualism). Some cultures even have unique disorders, like ataque de nervios, a panic disorder in Latinx patients. I fell in love with reading about culture influencing cognition and plunging into the science explaining it.

My fascination led me to conduct two independent studies assessing mental health apps’ cultural competency and the DSM’s cultural elements. I was mesmerized by case studies like one about a Japanese woman, “M,” who was misdiagnosed with depression instead of adult separation anxiety because her psychiatrists didn’t factor in the cultural context of her immigration story. While assembling my papers, I grappled with even more questions. How do sociocultural frames of reference influence the way mental illness is treated? How can technology provide more equitable access to mental health care?

If I’ve learned anything from theater and literature, it is that context deeply affects how humans think and act. Sherlocking the connections between culture and cognition and analyzing their impact on science, medicine, and design doesn’t just feed my curiosity; it energizes my soul.

The Roommate Essay Example

Dear Roommate,

My bedroom is my refuge, and I hope ours will be the same. Through immersive design, there are countless possibilities to personalize our room. All it takes is the simple command: “Alexa, it’s Christmas time,” and we teleport from a hot, stuffy room in June to a winter wonderland. The ceiling lights turn red and green, Christmas lights begin to sparkle, “Jingle Bells” bounces through the speakers, and The Christmas Story is cued. My friends giddily sing along to Christmas carols, and we joke about Alexa’s unquestioning loyalty. When my friend [Name Redacted] got dumped last summer, he asked for “Christmas time” in my room to cheer him up. And when my basketball team won the semi-finals, we said “Alexa, it’s party time” and celebrated as disco lights whirled and “Bohemian Rhapsody” blasted. We have a command for (almost) every occasion. Rigging my room has brought laughter and joy into the lives of friends and family and is something I look forward to doing with you. We can learn about each other while we set up our room. Whether it’s our music, lights, jokes, or auto-stocked products, I’m excited to create a room that reflects both of our identities, cultural backgrounds, and humor. In our spare time, I also look forward to taking a hiatus from indoors to head out to surf, play basketball, or plan spikeball matches on the oval. Whether we’re indoors or out, I can’t wait to get to know you. “Alexa, it’s Cardinal time.”

The Personal Essay Example

Please describe what aspects of your life experiences, interests and character would help you make a distinctive contribution as an undergraduate to Stanford University. (250 words)

Starling murmurations move synchronously, traveling across oceans. Each bird focuses on supporting its seven neighbors, which lets over a million birds fly at once. [Organization Redacted] is my murmuration.

Growing up, my passion for Taylor Swift songs (“Red” is still a bop!) morphed into a love for opera. However, when I joined the [Organization Redacted] Opera, though other queer artists surrounded me, I quickly realized I was one of two people of color in the room. I cherished how opera let me tell stories through music, but the stories didn’t represent me.

So, I joined [Organization Redacted], where I’m surrounded by starlings telling the stories of marginalized communities. At [Organization Redacted], I learned how to create art centered around the decolonialist principles of sustainability and equity. I learned through outreach events on [Place Redacted] how art brings glimmers of joy into the eyes of children and elders alike. I learned through working on “[Redacted Content],” which showcased the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, how art unites people and creates social change. I was finally surrounded by artists like me, who tell stories about blazing our path in a society that often silences BIPOC and queer voices.

At Stanford, I hope to become a student fellow with the IDA to spotlight marginalized voices. Within the IDA, I’d connect my fervor for music with my passion for analyzing STEM’s impact on society by designing and collaborating on an opera with my peers about data justice or colonialism’s negative impacts on South Asian healthcare.

The Best Way To Stand Out

The best way to perfect your essay is to work with an expert .

Working with expert strategists makes you 7x more likely to gain admission to your dream school! Our experts, including former admissions officers, guide you through the admissions process from A to Z, tailoring your application to maximize your chances of admission.

What Makes Crimson Different

Key Resources & Further Reading

Acing your College Application Essay: 5 Expert Tips to Make it Stand Out from the Rest
MIT Supplemental Essay
Northwestern Supplemental Essay
Harvard Supplemental Essay
Columbia Supplemental Essay
Princeton Supplemental Essay
Cornell Supplemental Essay
Brown Supplemental Essay
UPenn Supplemental Essay
Dartmouth Supplemental Essay
Johns Hopkins Supplemental Essay
University of Chicago Supplemental Essay
NYU Supplemental Essay
How to Tackle Every Type of Supplemental Essay
What are the Most Unusual US College Supplemental Essay Prompts?

About the Author

Shane Trujillo

Former Admissions Officer

With experience in highly selective admissions at Stanford and Haverford College, and a master's degree from Harvard University, Shane has worked with thousands of students who have been admitted to some of the most prestigious schools and programs in the United States, including Stanford University, the Wharton School of Business at UPenn, and Harvard University.

Your ultimate guide to the johns hopkins supplemental essay prompt 2024.

How To Answer UPenn's 2024/25 Supplemental Essays: Tips & Insights

Ace Your NYU Supplemental Essay: Expert Advice From a Former Admissions Officer

Stanford Essays 2024-25

Stanford supplemental essays .

The Stanford essays form a critical part of the application process. Like at many top schools around the country, when you apply to Stanford, you’ll complete school-specific Stanford essay prompts in addition to the Common App essay. If you’re wondering how to get into Stanford, strong Stanford supplemental essays are a good place to start.

In this article, we’ll discuss each of the Stanford supplemental essays in detail, including the Stanford roommate essay and other Stanford essays. Additionally, we’ll review the requirements for each of the Stanford essay prompts. We’ll also provide resources with Stanford essay examples that you can use when writing your own Stanford essays. Finally, we’ll offer more tips on how to get into Stanford, including application deadlines, dates, and timelines.

Stanford Essays: Quick Facts

Stanford university supplemental essays quick facts.

Stanford Acceptance Rate: The acceptance rate for Stanford admissions is only 4% according to U.S. News .
Understanding the Stanford Essay Requirements: The Stanford requirements include three Stanford supplemental essays. Each of the Stanford essays must be between 100 and 250 words.
Applying to Stanford: Students must complete the Common Application and the Stanford requirements before the Stanford application deadline. Make sure you submit your Stanford supplemental essays along with all other application materials when applying .
Restrictive Early Action Deadline: November 1
Standard Application Deadline: January 5
Top Stanford Essays Tip: Because you have to complete three Stanford essays, make sure you give yourself enough time to work on each of them. Even though each of the essays is only at most 250 words, shorter essays can take longer to revise and perfect.

Please note that essay requirements are subject to change each admissions cycle, and portions of this article may have been written before the final publication of the most recent guidelines. For the most up-to-date information on essay requirements, check the university’s admissions website.

Does Stanford have supplemental essays?

Yes, students must complete three Stanford supplemental essays. Students must submit their Stanford supplemental essays in addition to the Common App essay and the other Stanford requirements. These Stanford essays help the admissions team get to know their applicants better and evaluate whether they will be a good fit for the school.

How many essays does Stanford require?

Students must submit responses to three Stanford essay prompts as part of their application. In addition to these Stanford supplemental essays, there are also several additional short answer prompts that students must complete.

These responses are limited to 50 words maximum, so they are not quite long enough to be considered full Stanford essays. However, they are still an important part of your application, so plan to spend as much time on those responses as your responses to the Stanford essay prompts. You can find a list of these additional prompts along with tips and Stanford essays examples in our guide here .

Do Stanford essays change?

The Stanford essay prompts do sometimes change from year to year. One of their more well-known prompts, the Stanford roommate essay, has been part of the application for a while and likely won’t change. However, in the 2021-2022 school year , one of the Stanford essay prompts asked students to talk about a topic that was meaningful to them. Now, that question has been changed to ask students: what aspects of your life experiences, interests, and character would help you make a distinctive contribution as an undergraduate to Stanford University?

Even though the Stanford supplemental essays may change, the purpose behind the Stanford essays remains the same. The admissions team uses the Stanford supplemental essays to get to know students on a deeper and more personal level. While grades and extracurricular activities are also important, the Stanford essays allow students to share parts of their life and experiences that the admissions office would not otherwise know. So, in each of your Stanford essays, highlight why you would be a perfect fit for Stanford!

What are the Stanford essay prompts?

The Stanford supplemental essays consist of three different Stanford essay prompts. Each prompt must be answered with an essay of between 100 and 250 words. The Stanford essay prompts for 2024-2025 are as follows and can also be found on the Stanford admissions website:

Stanford University Essay Prompts

1. the stanford community is deeply curious and driven to learn in and out of the classroom. reflect on an idea or experience that makes you genuinely excited about learning., 2. 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—get to know you better., 3. please describe what aspects of your life experiences, interests, and character would help you make a distinctive contribution as an undergraduate to stanford university..

Before you start writing your Stanford essays, we recommend taking the time to read each of the Stanford essay prompts carefully. This will help you know exactly what each prompt asks so you can craft a strong response.

Below, we’ll break down each prompt individually and show you how you can write standout Stanford essays for each prompt. For additional tips and Stanford essay examples, check out our Stanford essays guide .

Stanford Essays #1

The first of the Stanford essay prompts is fairly straightforward. This prompt asks you to describe a time or experience that sparked a passion for learning. The possibilities for answering this prompt vary widely. However, the key to any great essay is specificity and focus. Remember that you only have a maximum of 250 words to write your Stanford supplemental essays, so you need to choose which of your passions to focus on.

Start by identifying a formative moment when you developed a love for learning about your chosen subject. Then, build from that to show your intellectual curiosity. For instance, this could be a school field trip to a planetarium that inspired an ongoing love of space. The best essays begin by immediately pulling their readers into a story rather than restating the prompt or giving a general introduction.

Keep it authentic

Some students make the mistake of trying to look perfect and writing Stanford essay examples that they believe readers want to see. Being authentic and showing off your unique personality is much more important. In fact, your readers will appreciate getting to know the real you.

This prompt asks about more than just a single defining moment. It is about why this moment was meaningful and how that moment inspired you to keep learning and growing. So, don’t be afraid to show off how much you love your topic.

Stanford Essays #2

Prompt #2 is the famous Stanford roommate essay. While the other Stanford essays share common elements with other essay prompts, the Stanford roommate essay is in a category of its own. In the Stanford roommate essay, students write a letter introducing themselves to their future roommate. This essay can take many forms, from a standard letter beginning with “Dear Roomie,” to a list of important characteristics, and even a “day in the life” snapshot where the writer describes what a typical Stanford day might look like for them.

Whichever format you choose for your Stanford roommate essay, remember that your audience for this essay is not just your hypothetical future roommate, but also the Stanford admissions team. So, like your other Stanford essays, your Stanford roommate essay should highlight what makes you unique.

Approaching the Stanford roommate essay

Think about what quirks, characteristics, or personality traits you want to reveal about yourself. Then, come up with anecdotes or stories that showcase those characteristics. Instead of simply saying to your reader, “I am an avid crossword puzzle solver,” you can convey the same information in a more interesting way by saying “You’ll probably wake up most mornings and hear me mumbling random words to myself while hunched over a newspaper. Don’t worry, I promise I’ll be more social once I finish my daily crossword!”

The Stanford roommate essay can seem intimidating at first, but it can also be a fun way to show off who you are. If you have trouble coming up with ideas, don’t be afraid to ask family members or friends for help. They may be able to identify parts of your personality that would make great subjects for your Stanford roommate essay.

Stanford Essays #3

After the Stanford roommate essay, the final prompt for the Stanford supplemental essays asks you to describe why you would make a “distinctive contribution as an undergraduate to Stanford University.” In other words, this essay asks you to tell the admissions team how you would contribute to life at Stanford. Although this question is more straightforward than the Stanford roommate essay, you should still think carefully about your response.

As with the other Stanford essays, there is no single right answer for how you would contribute to the Stanford community. Like other top colleges, Stanford hopes to create a diverse community of students. So, write about what excites you and let your passion for those subjects shine through. Just remember that you only have 250 words to answer the Stanford essays. So, it helps to pick out two or three key ways you would get involved at Stanford.

Getting specific

The Stanford supplemental essays are also a great place to show off the research you have done about Stanford. Your Stanford supplemental essays should indicate both why you are a good fit for Stanford and why Stanford would be the perfect fit for your interests. The more specific details you include from either an in-person or virtual visit , the stronger your essay will be. Including the names of specific professors, internships, clubs, or study abroad programs is great, but make sure to provide context and specificity. Talk about why that aspect of life at Stanford stood out to you and how it connects back to your academic and career goals.

As with your other Stanford supplemental essays, make sure not to simply repeat your extracurriculars list from earlier in your application. If you do mention these activities, talk about how you would continue to pursue that interest at Stanford. Check out lists of student organizations and/or programs and see what lines up with your passions. For example, if you have an interest in journalism, you might talk about writing articles for the Stanford Daily or contributing to the many other student-run publications on campus. The more detailed you can get about what kind of Stanford student you would be, the better.

What is Stanford looking for in essays?

The Stanford supplemental essays serve several purposes. First and foremost, the Stanford supplemental essays help your application readers learn who you are in a more holistic way. The Stanford essays let you introduce yourself to the admissions team and give them a complete picture of who you are. So, your Stanford essays should highlight your life and experiences.

The second purpose of the Stanford supplemental essays is to assess your writing abilities. No matter your major, you will write papers of some kind while at Stanford. So, Stanford wants to see that you have strong written communication skills. This does not mean that you need to fill your Stanford essays with impressive vocabulary words. Rather, Stanford simply wants to see clear, well-written prose that shows evidence of revision and thoughtfulness. So, make sure you check your Stanford supplemental essays for spelling and grammar before you submit them.

To learn more about Stanford check out this video from Stanford Admissions below:

Where can I find Stanford essays that worked?

One of the most effective things you can do to write better Stanford essays is to look at Stanford essays examples from admitted students. These essays can teach you what kinds of essays get students accepted to the most competitive schools in the country. It is important to note, however, that you should never copy someone else’s essay. Instead, think of these Stanford essays examples as a source of inspiration for your own writing.

While there are books of Stanford supplemental essays available for you to purchase, there are plenty of free resources out there to help you with the Stanford supplemental essays. At CollegeAdvisor.com, we have a series of essay guides with tips for many different kinds of essays, including the Stanford supplemental essays. You can find the tips for the Stanford essays including full examples here and additional guidance for the Stanford supplemental essays here . You can also check out our full series about how to get into Stanford through the college page , which has all the info you need to ace your application.

Stanford Essays Examples

What is the application deadline for Stanford?

Like at other schools, students can choose between multiple Stanford application deadlines. If you know that Stanford is your first choice school, you can apply through the Restrictive Early Action pool. This pathway allows you to apply to other colleges as well as Stanford as long as those other applications are through a Regular Decision pathway (not Early Action or Decision).

If admitted through REA, you are not required to attend Stanford and you have until May 1st to accept or decline your offer of admission. The Stanford application deadline for Restrictive Early Action is November 1st.

Students who do not wish to apply to Stanford through the Restrictive Early Action pathway can instead apply to Stanford through the Regular Decision pathway. Students who choose this route may apply to other schools with no restrictions from Stanford. The Regular Decision application deadline is January 5th, and students receive decisions from Stanford in early April. There are separate timelines and application deadlines for financial aid, which you can find on the school’s website .

Five tips for writing outstanding Stanford essays!

1. start early.

Because there are so many Stanford supplemental essays and short answer questions, it helps to get started on them as early as possible. Especially if you apply through the Restrictive Early Action pathway, you should give yourself enough time to write each of the Stanford essays. You likely won’t submit your first draft of the Stanford essays, so leave plenty of time to redraft and edit. This will also give you time to put the other Stanford essays tips we’ve discussed into practice!

2. Brainstorm ideas before writing

The Stanford supplemental essays, in particular the Stanford roommate essay, require a lot of personal reflection. Because of this, we recommend that you think critically about your passions, interests, and most important personal traits. That way, you can outline what you want your Stanford essays to say about you and choose subjects that highlight those aspects of your personality. The Stanford essays are not long enough to capture every one of your unique life experiences and qualities. So, choosing a few key details will help streamline your essays.

3. Show, don’t tell

This guideline can help you strengthen not only your Stanford essays, but also your writing in general. Try to use examples from your life to highlight your key traits rather than stating them outright. For example, if you want to show that you have exceptional leadership skills and a passion for gardening, you could describe how you created a horticulture club at your school and transformed an old courtyard into a plant sanctuary. These stories help your reader see the kind of person you are. Moreover, they provide perspective into the kind of student you would be at Stanford.

4. It’s all in the details

Make sure your Stanford essays include vivid, specific details. The more descriptive and specific your language, the better your message will come across. So, keep your Stanford essays focused. Don’t try to include too much information—instead, center each essay on a single, compelling narrative. Then, use as much descriptive language as possible!

5. Ask for help

The Stanford essays, and particularly the Stanford roommate essay, are not easy to complete. Moreover, writing any college essay is very different from writing a paper for class. So, find someone you trust to help you revise and edit your essays. Additionally, for prompts like the Stanford roommate essay, a second reader can provide useful insights. They also may catch mistakes or see improvements that you would not have otherwise considered. Just make sure that no one writes the Stanford essays for you! Admissions officers are trained to look for essays written by parents or siblings. Additionally, the strongest Stanford essays will capture your authentic voice.

If you’re looking for help writing your Stanford supplemental essays, our advisors can help. We’ll provide one-on-one guidance to help you make the most of your Stanford essays. Click here to schedule a meeting with our team and learn more about how to make your Stanford essays count.

This essay guide was written by senior advisor, Alex Baggott-Rowe . Looking for more admissions support? Click here to schedule a free meeting with one of our Admissions Specialists. During your meeting, our team will discuss your profile and help you find targeted ways to increase your admissions odds at top schools. We’ll also answer any questions and discuss how CollegeAdvisor.com can support you in the college application process.

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How to Write The Stanford Supplemental Essays (With Examples) - Part II

Stanford University is one of the most prestigious institutions in the country, if not the world. With an acceptance rate of under 5 percent, the competition for admission is fierce. You’ll need to have stellar grades, test scores, activities, and, of course, college admissions essays to separate yourself from the many other qualified candidates.

In Part I of this series , we broke down Stanford’s short answers and essay topic #1. Here, we’ll give you insight into how to tackle essays #2 and 3. (Note that your responses to each must be between 100-250 words.)

Topic #2:

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—get to know you better.

Stanford is famous for this unique essay. You’re not addressing a specific topic meant to shed light on your academic interests or extracurricular contributions. Instead, you’re delving deep into who you really are and showing the admissions committee your authentic self.

You should approach this by thinking about what you really would want to say to your future roommate. Are there any personality quirks you want to reveal? What hobbies and activities do you enjoy? Are you a night owl or a morning person?

This is an essay, so you do need to follow the rules of grammar, but you can have a little fun with it. That doesn’t mean you should discuss how hard you party — this is still part of your Stanford application, after all — but you can and should describe aspects of yourself aside from academics and your future career.

One way to accomplish the goal of showing your true personality is to pepper the letter with anecdotes. Humor is a nice way to keep the tone light, too, as is self-deprecation. For instance, here’s an example of how to open your letter:

Dear Future Roommate,

Right off the bat, you should know one of the most humiliating things that has ever happened to me: I failed my driving test. I drove about two feet before I hit the curb and BAM! Automatic failure. All of which to say: I hope you have a license!

Another approach to this is to discuss how you might spend time together by sharing your likes and dislikes:

I love to bake, so you can expect a killer cake on your birthday. I’m also a big fan of late-night dance parties and early-morning runs (maybe not on successive days). I’d love to have a buddy join in!

Don’t try too hard to sound accomplished or impressive. Instead, write this letter as though your future roommate will actually see it. You want to paint a clear picture of yourself that gives an honest representation of who you are. You could even show it to your actual roommate someday.

Read Part I of the Stanford Essays Series

Tell us about something that is meaningful to you, and why?

You have an infinite number of options to use as the subject of this essay, and that can be overwhelming. There are probably plenty of things that are meaningful to you, so how do you know what to choose?

As with prompt #2, this question is about getting to the heart of who you are — not what you’ve accomplished academically. It can be related to a future career or a subject you really love, but your enthusiasm needs to come through, and you must delve into the meaning beyond the surface and avoid cliches. “My future medical career is important to me because I want to help people” is something admissions committees have heard a thousand times. However, if you have a compelling story or motivation, you can still make the sentiment work as an essay topic if you emphasize the WHY.

When I was 10 years old, my father was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. I was faced with the reality of losing the person who had always been my champion and my idol. I thought about all the things he might miss: my sister’s graduation, me starting high school, and even family dinners and birthdays. But there was a silver lining: it gave me insight into the medical field and showed me how important science and medicine are to the community — and myself. His oncologist was a caring person who explained each step of the treatment plan and broke it down into laymen’s terms so we could all understand it, and she even answered my questions about the science behind chemotherapy. Now, I’m happy to say my dad has been cancer-free for six years — and I’ve found my future career.

You can also write about something that’s unrelated to your goals: a relationship with a family member, an activity that brings you joy, a piece of advice someone once gave you, or even a book that changed your life. You could also choose an abstract idea or a seemingly insignificant concept that feels very significant to you. For instance, you might find the changing colors of the leaves in Fall meaningful. Or, perhaps you especially value the evolution of modern language.

Again, this is about showing the admissions committee who you really are — not what you think they want to hear. Topics like world peace and equality are cliche and can sound insincere — unless you can discuss them in a way that truly presents the real you and take a unique approach or angle.

Ultimately, these essays should collectively show Stanford the person you are beyond your accomplishments on paper. Keep these final tips in mind as you start brainstorming and writing:

Use plenty of specific examples and anecdotes to bring your stories to life.
Avoid cliches or overused topics unless you have a unique insight
Be economic with your language because you only have 250 words.
Write your essays in your own voice instead of a formal, English-class tone — but still follow language and grammatical rules and conventions.
Be enthusiastic.

Good luck and have fun!

PS: If you need help completing your compelling essays for Stanford (or another college!) contact us today!

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Stanford Essays Examples | Stanford Essays that Worked
Looking for Stanford Essays Examples? Our expert guide features dozens of Stanford Supplemental Essay Examples to help you on your way!
12 Best Stanford Supplemental Essays That Worked 2024
12 Best Stanford Supplemental Essays That Worked 2024. Your essays are one of the best ways you can stand out in Stanford's competitive admissions process. In this article, I'm going to share with you 12 answers to Stanford's notorious writing supplement from an admitted student.
6 Stellar Stanford Essay Examples | CollegeVine Blog
Read our Stanford essay breakdown to get a comprehensive overview of this year’s supplemental prompts. Essay Example #1 – Letter to Your Future Roommate, One-Second Videos Prompt: Virtually all of Stanford’s undergraduates live on campus.
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In this step-by-step guide, learn how to write the eleven Stanford supplemental essay prompts with exercises and examples to help you along the way.
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Stanford’s freshman application asks students to respond to 4 different short questions and 3 relatively longer essay questions as part of their admissions process. CollegeVine is here to provide detailed tips and examples to help you approach Stanford’s supplemental essays.
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In this guide, I’ll explore the best practices and common pitfalls when answering Stanford’s essay prompts—from the famous roommate essay to the community essay. Let’s go over everything you need to know.
Stanford Essays | Stanford Supplemental Essays - CollegeAdvisor
In this article, we’ll discuss each of the Stanford supplemental essays in detail, including the Stanford roommate essay and other Stanford essays. Additionally, we’ll review the requirements for each of the Stanford essay prompts.
Application and Essays : Stanford University
Stanford Questions. We ask applicants to answer several short questions (limit 50 words each) and to write a short essay on each of the three topics below. Short Essay Questions. There is a 100-word minimum and a 250-word maximum for each essay. The Stanford community is deeply curious and driven to learn in and out of the classroom.
How to Write The Stanford Supplemental Essays (With Examples ...
Supplemental essays are an important part of your Stanford application. Display your best writing and personality with these tips and examples.
How to Write The Stanford Supplemental Essays (With Examples ...
In Part I of this series, we broke down Stanford’s short answers and essay topic #1. Here, we’ll give you insight into how to tackle essays #2 and 3. (Note that your responses to each must be between 100-250 words.) Topic #2: Virtually all of Stanford's undergraduates live on campus.

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Stanford Essays #1

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Five tips for writing outstanding Stanford essays!

2. Brainstorm ideas before writing

3. Show, don’t tell

4. It’s all in the details

5. Ask for help