"Favorite Events" In Last Year?

UnsureOnLife · August 6, 2011, 5:05pm

This "what were your favorite events in the last year" question on the Stanford supplements concerns me. I've had a job for the past year, along with too many classes and other ECs. I haven't exactly had free time to go out and see productions at the local theater or go to museum exhibits. Am I the applicant they're weeding out with this question?

Should I straight up tell them that I haven't had time? I can come up with a few things that I've done/seen, but they're very lackluster compared to, say, a NYC applicant seeing Broadway Shows or a D.C. applicant going to the Smithsonian.

Any advice is appreciated.

ngirly · August 6, 2011, 6:45pm

Be honest. If you went to the museum, tell them. I am a full IB student and to be honest, I do not get time to go to fabulous places lol. I will just be honest and put the little dry events i have. Besides, they also do not want all-paaartaay students in their school either lol

opus10 · August 6, 2011, 7:46pm

I was thinking of incorporating happenings on tv like sporting events, awards shows, the royal wedding... haha.

phantasmagoric · August 6, 2011, 9:53pm

IIRC, that's one of the small 2-line questions, so that's not going to be what they use to weed students out. ;)

You might be over-thinking this. It isn't necessarily some cultural event, like a play or anything. It could be any event. Did you go to a talk by someone at your school? Did you go to any fundraisers? Or events for clubs you're involved in? What are your ECs - are there any competitions? These all count as events.

It's not about the events being "impressive" or "lackluster." It's about what you liked about them. If the event is small and commonplace, but you managed to find significant value in it, then all the better: that says something positive about you. They're just trying to get a handle on who you are, so any answer to this question will clue them in. Unless you say something like "a meeting of the local chapter of the Aryan Brotherhood," it will likely have a positive effect on the admissions readers, even if it's a supposed "lackluster event."

brownboy87 · August 7, 2011, 12:15pm

Hey guys, I was just admitted to Stanny (Class of 2015). If it helps, here's what I wrote for the events I attended. I promise you, it's a chill question. It doesn't have to be a big event at all. It could be a friend's birthday party if you want. Whatever. These questions are just to see a bit more of your personality and color on an otherwise black and white transcript.

Anyway, here's my response:
"My school's production of Grease, a Muse concert, an Adam Lambert concert, and my friend's dance show (which was strange, because I am not usually an avid dance enthusiast, but it was a really entertaining show)."

That's it.

UnsureOnLife · August 7, 2011, 12:26pm

Thanks guys.

brownboy, that's startlingly similar to what I already have written on my app. Perhaps that's a good sign seeing as you were admitted...haha.

brownboy87 · August 7, 2011, 12:59pm

W00P! Haha glad to be of service. If you have any other essay questions or whatever, feel free to PM me.

applicannot · August 7, 2011, 1:54pm

I mean, I worked almost full time in high school and was dead broke and lived in the middle of nowhere, so it's totally fine if you don't have anything. Honestly, they are trying to weed out the people who think they know what Stanford will want to hear. Just be honest. What did you like most about the last year? I wrote about a bonfire I had with my friends. Nothing academic or intellectual at all, just a couple of friends hanging out.