Prompt: In addition to your Common Application essay, please respond to the following three questions. Your responses must be at least 250 words but should not exceed the space provided.
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. (1800 Characters)
I am an Internet entrepreneur. Since age 12, I have coded and designed websites -- for my school, the local community, and as a personal hobby and pastime. In fact, I started my own Internet business in 2004 and was hired as a webmaster by Intel Corporation this past summer. I also volunteer my free time to run the website of the largest community service club at my high school, Key Club. My interest in Internet technology started out as a mere curiosity and casual pursuit, but has steadily evolved into an intellectual passion that defines who I am today.
When I first signed onto the Net at age 10, I felt a curiosity and zeal unlike anything I had felt before. The Net was my new toy and I wanted to know what made it tick. Thus began my quest for answers. I learned HTML, the basic building blocks of every website. Next, I taught myself JavaScript, Cascading Style Sheets, PHP, MySQL, XML . . . and the list goes on.
At age 14, I started an Internet business called FreeTheFlash Entertainment. The website, (www.FreeTheFlash.com), is a multimedia entertainment portal that collects user-submitted videos, flash animations, and games from all over the Net. In the process of starting and maintaining this website I’ve learned leadership, communication, and business skills that literally define who I am today. I’ve learned that innovation and new ideas are crucial in creating anything successful and worthwhile in today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape.
In the last year alone, my website reached over 620,000 visitors who viewed over 3 million webpages. I’m proud of my web development talent because it allows me to share my creativity with the world, while providing others a vehicle to share their creativity as well.
Virtually all of Stanford's undergraduates live on campus. Write a note to your future roommate that reveals something about you or that will help your roommate--and us--know you better. (1800 Characters)
Upon first sight of my room, you might get the impression that I am an unorganized, pack-rat slob. There are piles of clothes lying in heaps around the room and the only way to determine if they are clean or dirty is to sniff each article of clothing individually. Empty videogame boxes are arranged inventively on my dresser and floor. The bed is a mess and the pillows are nowhere to be seen. You may say to yourself, "I can't room with someone like this." But, remember the familiar adage "you can't judge a book by its cover?" That is as true as can be when it comes to me.
Don't get me wrong. It's not like I couldn't straighten up my room if I wanted to -- but I'd much rather be reading the latest issue of Fortune Small Business magazine, studying, or rolling out new improvements to my half-dozen websites. I'm always scheming something new; I've been known to spend many hours dreaming up fresh business ideas. Fortunately, this "messiness" is only limited to my room, and no other parts of my life. I'm consistently ahead of the game with my homework and I meet every extracurricular commitment without a hitch. Perhaps it's because I never skip a beat in my school, social, and business lives, that I'm forced to skip several beats when it comes to cleaning my room. With only 24 hours in a day, I must prioritize the order in which I tackle projects. For this reason, cleaning my room often takes a back seat to that upcoming Calculus II test or the launch of that new website I've been working on for the last 3 months...
I understand the importance of a clean living environment and I've been working on straightening my room more regularly. I'm confident that by the time we meet, I'll be able to keep the cover of the book looking as first-rate as the pages inside.
Tell us what makes Stanford a good place for you. (1800 Characters)
For six years I've been designing websites and Internet applications -- doing what I enjoy, what I excel at. I've pursued my ambitions and developed a fervor for Internet technology as a medium for expressing ideas and communicating knowledge. I've learned first-hand the power of this technology to reach out and make connections with people, to effect change, to make a difference in the world.
There is no better place to study Internet technology than Stanford, the foundation for many of Silicon Valley's most innovative companies -- Google, Yahoo!, Hewlett-Packard, and Sun Microsystems. I want to be immersed in a learning environment that encourages innovation, teaches creativity, and fosters an entrepreneurial spirit. I want to go to a school where I can live among students who have the same appreciation for learning and drive towards excellence that I have.
My dream is to push the envelope of Internet technology past its existing boundaries and limitations, to bring new innovations and new ideas to the global marketplace. What better place to strive for this dream than at Stanford? With esteemed programs like Stanford Technology Ventures and the Mayfield Fellows Program, a world-class faculty, and state-of-the art research facilities, Stanford is the ideal university for the budding Internet entrepreneur like me to excel both academically and socially.
There is still a lot to be learned about software and the Internet, and I hope to be on the forefront of new developments. I'm not afraid to break tradition; to do things better than they’ve been done before. At Stanford, the leading institute in Internet development, I can make my dreams of leading the Internet to a new generation a reality.