undergrad @ stanford

(note: i can only tell you about what i personally think for each of these, who’s to say that someone else’s method didn’t also work?):

Name your favorite books, authors, films, and/or artists. & What newspapers, magazines, and/or websites do you enjoy?  i personally used a bullet list format here, but instead of using all my characters up to list everything, i also put a couple words describing why i liked what i wrote. also, i maybe would not list everything in the same “genre” as in don’t make everything in your list books, or all of it films... (see why in this answered question here). for newspapers & websites, again just use the method of listing out as much as you can, and get rid of redunancies to save space. for ex i would’t include both the slate and vox on my list (unless i had the room for it) simply bc they don’t reveal anything new. also, be honest - i totally put tumblr on my list just so y’all know 

What is the most significant challenge that society faces today? ahh, the miss america question. in my honest opinion this isn’t the best question to ask bc just what do they expect us to write in such a tiny amount of space? but the most i can tell you here is to be specific, even if it’s what you think is a “cliche.” don’t be afraid to talk about world hunger, but make sure you address it in specific terms or from a new perspective. also idk if this helped my app, but i made sure my answer somewhat related to my majors of interest 

How did you spend your last two summers? pretty self-explanatory question. i will say don’t be afraid if you didn’t do anything ~productive. just talk about experiences you had - to me, hiking your favorite mountain with your dog is just as cool as some summer program

What were your favorite events (e.g., performances, exhibits, competitions, conferences, etc.) in recent years? i really ran the whole spectrum with this answer. i talked about book panels i had been to as well as a food festival... but like i said, short takes should (imo) supplement your application as well as introduce something you maybe didn’t get a chance to talk about in your app. i’m really into prison reform, but didn’t get a chance elsewhere to talk about it, so i mentioned a panel where i met a prison reform activist

What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed? this was the hardest one for me, i don’t know why. i think it’s a combination of trying to find something original but also meaningful and the literally endless possibilities. i finally settled on something that somewhat reflected my passions and political beliefs (i think it’s dumb when people tell you you shouldn’t be political on your app. obviously don’t be offensive, but since my whole “thing” was wanting to work in politics and volunteering for campaigns, it would have been misleading to erase all that from my app). what helped me was avoiding the “reflex answer” - for example, if you consider yourself a civil rights activist, the reflex answer is mlk, jr. and while ofc he is incredibly important, it might be better to go with something that not everyone would think of

What five words best describe you? look up “best way to describe yourself” on google, and then try not to use those words lol. while you may be conscientious, passionate, determined...so are most people who apply. think outside the box, maybe don’t even use five separate words but go for a five-worded sentence

that’s all i can think of for now hopefully this will help one or two of you.