Every year, tens of thousands of students apply to Stanford, and most of them have strong grades and scores. The supplemental essays are where Stanford gets to know the person behind the numbers. Our tutors answered Stanford’s questions themselves not long ago, and this is the advice they give the students they work with.
What Stanford asks for
Along with the Common App personal essay, Stanford asks every first-year applicant to answer its own questions, which you’ll find in the Common App once you add Stanford to your list. There are five short questions, each answered in 50 words or fewer, and three short essays of 100 to 250 words each. Stanford publishes the current prompts each August on its application and essays page, so check there for the exact wording.
What parents say
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Stanford says the questions help its readers get to know you as a friend, a future roommate and a classmate. That’s a useful test for every answer: would someone who read it feel like they had met you?
The five short questions
The short questions cover things like a challenge facing society, how you spent your last two summers, a moment in history you wish you’d seen, an activity or responsibility that matters to you, and a list of five things that are important to you. With only 50 words, there’s no room for throat-clearing. The best answers are specific and a little surprising, and together they show range. If all five answers are about the same activity, you’ve missed a chance to show other sides of yourself.
The list of five things is easy to overthink. Resist the urge to list values like “family” and “hard work.” Specific, concrete items, with a word or two of explanation, say much more.
The intellectual vitality essay
One short essay asks about an idea or experience that makes you genuinely excited about learning. This isn’t the place to list achievements or restate your intended major. Pick one idea you actually think about when nobody is grading you, and show your mind at work: what you wondered, what you did to find out more, and where it led. A small, specific idea explored well is far stronger than a big one described in general terms.
The roommate essay
Another short essay asks you to write a note to your future roommate. Nearly all Stanford undergraduates live on campus, so this is a real question, and it’s the one where your personality should come through most clearly. Write it like an actual note to a real person, about your habits and quirks, the music you’ll be playing, what you’ll want to do at midnight or what you’re hoping they’ll teach you. Humor is welcome if it’s natural to you. Don’t use it to repeat your resume.
The “what you’ll bring” essay
The third short essay asks how your experiences, interests and character would help you contribute to Stanford. The trap here is writing about Stanford’s resources instead of yourself. The readers already know about their own campus. Focus on who you are and how you engage with the people around you, and let the connection to Stanford be implied.
Reading it all as one story
Read your whole application, including the Common App essay and your activities list, as one story before you finalize anything. Each answer should add something new. Repeating the same story in three places wastes space, while touching on different parts of your life makes the application feel like a whole person.
Deadlines, testing and interviews
Stanford offers Restrictive Early Action, due November 1, and Regular Decision, due January 5. Restrictive Early Action limits where else you can apply early, so read Stanford’s rules before choosing it. Stanford once again requires the SAT or ACT, and our tutors also help with SAT and ACT prep. Depending on where you live, you may be offered an optional interview with a Stanford alumni volunteer, and an application is considered complete without one.
Working with a tutor
Our tutors help students brainstorm, find the right stories, and revise until each answer sounds like them. We never write essays for students. The ideas and the voice stay theirs, which is exactly what Stanford is looking for. Many students also work with us on the Common App essay, other schools’ supplements and the UC Personal Insight Questions. Learn more about our college application help.
Cardinal Tutors is an independent tutoring company and is not affiliated with Stanford University.
Essay sessions work well online, so we help applicants anywhere in the country, and families near Stanford can also meet in person. Click below to tell us where your student is in the process.