<p>^i agree
i offered no explanation and i don’t think they expect one</p>
<p>Are we only supposed to put our favorite book/movie/author (i.e. just one)? Because I was putting three of each.</p>
<p>It’s fine to list several of each so long as it fits in the space alloted.</p>
<p>^you have more space this year so put as much as fits.
last year, i could only fit one of each in the 2 lines that we had</p>
<p>I might be butting into an old thread, excuse me. ^^</p>
<p>The word limits are confusing me. In the directions, Stanford says “Respond in four lines or less, and do not feel compelled to answer using complete sentences.” But below each answer box, the character limited is stated to be 300, which allows me to fill more than 4 lines. Same thing with the 3 short answers. The max is 250 words/1800 characters. Which are we supposed to abide by? The word limit or character limit?</p>
<p>short answer: (my interpretation of their instructions because it’s different from last year)
write up to 4 lines in the online common app (which would be less than 2 lines on the printed version of the supplement)</p>
<p>3 essays:
i think you should email them to find out. personally, i think there is a mistake in the instructions. last year, it was at least 250 words and up to the character limit (which allowed about 330 words). i think that’s what they meant to have this year…</p>
<p>No, it is UP TO 250 words. That’s what it says on the website and on the common application. </p>
<p>I’m assuming it’s because the admissions committee knows that they will have an overwhelming amount of applicants, thus shortening the essay lengths so they don’t have to read as much?</p>
<p>ignore the second half of my above post then. </p>
<p>that really sucks for all of you. it was really hard fitting it into like 320 words, let alone 250.</p>
<p>I’m also scared of the word limit =/ Don’t know how much I can say… or how well I can say it… in 250 words or less.</p>
<p>Also, thank you NJDS, you’ve helped a lot on all the threads I’ve read!</p>
<p>Actually NJDs is right. This years supplement reads : Please respond to the following essay topics. Your responses must be at least 250 words but should not exceed the space provided.</p>
<p>The space provided=1800char</p>
<p>Yeah…I just e-mailed my regional admission officer and she said it’s a minimum of 250 words.</p>
<p>thats what i thought. common app must have made a mistake cuz it doesnt match the paper application.</p>
<p>The Stanford website says:</p>
<p>The Stanford Supplement Short Essays
Candidates must respond to all three questions/topics. Please respond to the following essay topics with <em>up to 250 words.</em></p>
<ol>
<li>Stanford students are widely known to possess a sense of intellectual vitality. Tell us about an idea or an experience you have had that you find intellectually engaging.</li>
<li>Virtually all of Stanfords undergraduates live on campus. Write a note to your roommate that reveals something about you or that will help your roommateand usknow you better.</li>
<li>Tell us what makes Stanford a good place for you.</li>
</ol>
<p>It’s up to 250 words. Better to be safe than sorry.</p>
<p>For the question “How did you spend the last two summers” I’m assuming they don’t care about academic stuff, right? Like that would just be a restatement of your resume…I tutored and taught at the local blah blah. Do they want to know where you went, what you did with your friends, what you did at home, that stuff?</p>
<p>ripemango, the questions are really pretty straightforward; there’s no need to try to read between the lines. E.g., for the question “How did you spend the last two summers”, just write about what you did. If you did academic things like take a course or attend an academic summer program, that would certainly be responsive. If you spent most of your time in a hammock reading or pondering life’s mysteries, that would also be responsive. Tell them how you spent the time.</p>
<p>my 2 lines were literally:
Governor’s School of ______-2009
EPGY Bioscience-2010</p>
<p>will they care if we hit the character limit? Or does 4 lines mean 4 lines</p>
<p>you physically cannot exceed the character limit. but i would recommend following the line limit. they said they prefer even shorter answers than are usually provided within their limit</p>
<p>What is the point of these questions? All they show is that I don’t read any books and watch a lot more movies, and that I didn’t do anything productive in my summers…</p>
<p>You don’t read any books…?</p>