How to answer Stanford Application’s short questions (limit 50 words each)
Are you are applying for Stanford University’s Early-Action? Are wondering what to write within the 50-word limit essay?
Stanford asks applicants to write 5 short questions (limit 50 words each) and write a short essay on the three prompts.
In this post, we will explore different ways to write your short questions ONLY. If you are looking for advice in writing the short essay (250-word limit), please see my profile for the post.
Are you ready?
Let’s review the 5 short questions:
- 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.
- Name one thing you are looking forward to experiencing at Stanford.
It’s vague, let me break it down
What is the most significant challenge that society faces today?
What do you care about society? Is there anything from the society that concerns you or/and the people you care about?
How did you spend your last two summers?
Why are you matter to the significant challenge? Did you do something about it? Did you walk the talk during your free time?
What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed.
History helps us understand change and how the society we live in came to be. Can you address a historical event that connects to the issue you care about today?
Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities, a job you hold, or responsibilities you have for your family.
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives,” How do you decide to spend your daily life, and did you hold yourself accountable and persist for a long period of time? How is that related to the societal challenge?
Name one thing you are looking forward to experiencing at Stanford.
What is your plan to cultivate your interests and talents or developed yourself in the next few years?
Do you see the interconnection among these 5 questions? Your goal is to tell a story of yourself in 5 parts. Each question address one perspective of what do you care about and how do you act on a problem.
Stanford wants to know why you are coming to Stanford and for what cause.
Why do they care about challenges in society so much? Let’s take a look at Stanford’s vision statement.
Fueled by optimism, ingenuity and a sense of responsibility, we seek to accelerate our purposeful impact in the world.
Stanford wants to recruit students who connect to society, have a conviction and commitment get involved, and are doing something about it that Stanford can be part of it.
If you are thinking about:
But, I don't have a conviction and I didn't do anything during high school…
I did not have the opportunity because my school is too small…
Good News! The majority of the students feel that way so you are not alone.
Bad News! You will need more time for soul-searching and some discussion with career people (i.e career counselors) before you write your essay.
If you are still spinning your head and not knowing what to write, here are some takeaways I want you to keep in mind.
- It’s about fit and nothing else. You don’t need to be a world champion but you need to show that you are the right fit for Stanford. In other words, you need to reason why you are way better off to go to Stanford NOT BECAUSE they are…the best…the highest rank…the most selective…IT SHOULD BE BECAUSE — they offer the education and campus experience that complement your goals (big or small, doesn't matter but make it clear). It’s important to do your research on Stanford and learn what do they strive for as an institution and who they are looking for to invite to become part of it.
- It’s about perspective. No one knows who are you going to be in the future (not even you, right?) and Stanford doesn't know you until your first application. It’s merely impossible to learn everything about a person in just a college application. Don’t write a bunch of everything, find a unique theme to illustrate with you are — pick a theme (i.e. “I use biology to explain everything happening around me” or “I want to understand the physics of music” or “I want to create an AI that can analyze and produce videos”) and answer the short questions from different perspectives to show your character in the theme.
👦Michael Cho is an independent college counselor, counseling 8th- through 12th-grade and California Community College students. He assists students to identify strengths and weaknesses, design education paths, teach study skills, plan class selection and extra-curriculum, prepare for SAT/ACT, and college admission. Michael earned a bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience from UC Berkeley and a master’s degree in Psychology from Pepperdine University.
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