Stanford University Undergraduate College Application Essays

Running and I have a complex relationship. Despite the exquisite torture of sprinting two miles around and around in a circle, feeling as if both lungs have collapsed and death by dehydration is imminent, it is unlikely we’ll ever break up: I had...

I sat down on the bench, apprehensive. I hadn’t touched the ivory keys in almost eight years. Instead, I had actively avoided them, treasuring instead the strings of my violin. In debates I claimed that it was harder to play my instrument,...

Dear Future Roommate,

I have never told my sister that I love her.

Growing up, it was not part of our culture -- in our traditional Chinese family, my mother still believes that women belong in the home. There are no hugs or kisses. We respect each...

I often think of my home country, Vietnam, as a coin factory. At this factory, day in and day out, coins march in assembly lines out of metal strips in perfect conformity. I am just such a coin, minted in 1993, rimmed, polished, annealed, and...

As a young boy I was always shy. I didn’t have very many friends aside from my one best friend, Christophe. Though most kids considered me quiet, with my best friend, I was silly, fun loving, and even charismatic. Growing up in a community that is...

What is the world without music? Is it silent? Is it still? It is empty. As a child, I desired to have a musical outlet but struggled in finding an instrument that suited me. Throughout my four years of piano lessons, I enjoyed the playing, yet I...

Unlike most children, I loved the doctor. As I bubbled after hearing the news of a doctor's appointment, I'd begin preparing a list of questions. At the clinic, the nurses laughed at me, but I was determined to get to the bottom of my quest of how...

My next target is the mailman.

I wait patiently as he draws near—I am prepared. A few minutes later, he hands me a dollar in exchange for a cup of lemonade.

Mission accomplished.

I have always been fascinated by the business world. To me, nothing...

TAKE THE ONE QUESTION ROOMMATE QUIZ TO SEE IF WE’RE COMPATIBLE!

Your ideal roommate is similar to you because she:

a) is an athlete who loves waking up for early morning runs and lives for her next adrenaline rush.

b) likes drinking hot chocolate and...

On Sunday nights, I take out my favorite fountain pen and write letters. The letters vary by week. Sometimes I use store bought stationery; other times my words are casually scrawled on index cards. The recipients vary, too. Many have received...

Among the candid celebrity shots and photogenic pets, one aspect of Instagram has always intrigued me: the Popular page—a continuously changing mosaic of current top posts. After checking the page, I often wondered what made those photos so...

Wedding bells were ringing in the background, and my fingers were deftly picking their way through the Rubik's Cube concealed under my blazer. The last wedding I had attended was in fourth grade -- a bubble boy in a lavender suit. Today, my only...

Most kids obtain the same eye color or a few facial features from their parents, yet I've acquired substantially more: an unquenchable enthusiasm for technology. My dad, an electrical designer, taught me to investigate the world with curious eyes,...

I clutched my binder and walked to the front of the room. This defense would be tough. A bill legalizing same‐sex marriage had never been passed at conference. With a nod, the chair silently granted me permission to speak. My lips parted, the...

The smell of clear hair gel, shoe polish, and satisfaction trails down the hall quickly on the heels of the prosecutor as he exits the room. He is followed a moment later by the scent of off-brand detergent, weak coffee, and defeat shuffling...

Brrring! In a flash my hand grabs the phone from its receiver: “Assemblyman Ortiz’s office, how can I help you?” I say, clasping the phone against my shoulder, so both hands can aid me as I struggle to open a drawer that has now become an adamant...

The stage lights burst open, blinding and white. I trembled. I was at the citywide poetry slam, Verselandia, about to perform in front of hundreds.

Earlier in the month, I had qualified through my high school’s contest, which I had signed up for...

When I was ten months old, I grabbed onto the coffee table and hauled myself up, arms shaking, fists clenched, knees wobbling; ten minutes later, much to my parents’ dismay, I was sprinting around the house, choppy bangs flapping in the wind like...

For decades, the classic dispute of “nature vs. nurture” in regards to our maturation has dominated the debate about how children develop. Does a specific gene passed on from your parents predispose you to a life of crime? Are children more likely...

I want to change the cynical, bitter stigma attached to politics. Many only see corruption and greedy lobbying, but politics is my outlet to solve the growing problems of our modern world. Nothing else has the potential to affect the lives of...

As my tongue swelled, I realized — hold on, this might be a peanut butter cookie. Immediately, I began to panic — “I’m too young to die! I haven’t even gone to college yet!” Then I reminded myself. “Stay calm. Getting worried won’t help.” Instead,...

In the first grade, I told my classmates that one of my favorite foods was rice. One of my friends asked me why, and I responded, “Why not? Doesn’t everyone eat rice daily?”

It took me a while to realize that not everyone has Vietnamese cuisine...

As I sat there, a wave of apprehension rolled over me. I don't have to do this. Nobody is forcing me to. In fact, there would be a score of people happy to see me give up. I drew a heavy sigh as I crumpled the paper in front of me and tossed it,...

On any given dusky afternoon, I find myself asking the pressing question: Will I make it a third time in a row? I raise my arms, examine a dulled orange orb clinging to my aching, sweaty palms, and squint at the near-invisible net. Far from...