Stanford claims #2 with crummiest application ever - a bunch of two-liners that you can't possibly express yourself effectively with, three small essay-things that weren't very expressive, etc
#1 was definitely Caltech - a few small-answer things, you must describe yourself in THREE words and the big essay was "How do you express yourself in math, science and engineering?" Basically, you get to talk about math and science. Again. How are you supposed to write a great and creative essay on expressing interest in math and science? Bleh - rehash of the rest of the application in prose
Frankly, with the generic-sounding essay I wrote, it was a miracle I was waitlisted.
Maybe better essays will make the difference between the waitlist and being accepted for Stanford
