하버드와 스탠퍼드에 동시에 합격하고 하버드를 선택한 학생인데, 오히려 특이하게 스탠퍼드를 위한 조언을 남겼네요!! 핵심은 스탠퍼드에 합격하기 위해선 뛰어날 뿐만 아니라 뛰어나게 사려깊어야 하며 행운은 용기 있는 자를 편애하므로 똑 같은 원서 더미 중에서 눈에 띄게 하는 건데, 예를 들어 스탠퍼드의 의미있는 활동에 대해 자신은 나무 심은 이야기를 세 줄로 썼다고 하네요!! (수년 전 스탠퍼드 에세이에 "Black lives matter(흑인의 생명도 중요하다)"란 문장을 백번 쓴 학생을 연상케 하네요 ㅎㅎ) 참고로 나무는 스탠퍼드 대학의 상징이기도 한데, 예전에 레주메 내용을 나무 모양으로 보이도록 구성하자고 컨설팅해 준 학생을 생각나게 하네요^^
How do I get into Stanford as an undergraduate?
I was accepted to both Harvard and Stanford and I would eventually choose to attend Harvard.
However, I feel that I can share my unique experience with Stanford’s application.
It seems that getting in requires you to be more than just exceptional – but exceptionally thoughtful.
Here’s an example:
When Stanford asked me to answer their usual question “Talk about an activity that is meaningful to you” I had a lot of options.
Academics? Boring. Theater? Already mentioned it. Potato Farming? Might be cool, but I’m not a potato farmer.
I decided that I would talk about a time that I planted a tree.
After a year of taking care of a small twig, I would plant it in a patch of grass in my front yard. I dug the hole myself, brought over 25-pound bags of soil, and buried it.
I knew that I needed to tell this story in a unique way, so I only wrote 3 lines:
“I planted a tree.
I watched it grow.
My happiness grew with the tree.”
That was it. I knew anyone going through my application would actually look at this particular question.
For Stanford applications, remember: Fortune Favors The Bold. Find a way to stand out among a pile of sameness.
Don’t let any question be a throw-away question. Use every part of the application to your advantage.
Who knows, maybe instead of planting trees – you’ll become one (it’s Stanford’s Mascot).
