Stanford Admissions Essays

Stanford Profile Questions

Prompt:

Please respond to the following questions so we can get to know you better. Respond in two lines or less and do not feel compelled to answer using complete sentences.


Name your favorite books, authors, films, and/or musical artists.

Lord of the Rings/The Silmarillion - Tolkien; Gödel, Escher, Bach - Hofstadter; Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman - Feynman; The Code Book - Singh; The Elegant Universe - Greene. Films: Gattaca, Chariots of Fire. Music: Simon & Garfunkel, Basshunter.

What newspapers, magazines, and/or websites do you enjoy?

NYTimes.com, ScientificAmerican.com, XKCD.com, Punditkitchen.com, Wikipedia.org, LifeHacker.com (ways to optimize everyday tasks), Ubuntu.org, McSweeneys.net, The Economist, SURFER Magazine, Speedcubing.com (Rubik's cubes), Infinite Illusions (yoyos)

What is the most significant challenge that society faces today?

The adaptation and optimization of technology, information and other, to both fulfill the needs of the many and satisfy the demands of the individual. Indirectly touches upon resolving my three pet problems: habitat fragmentation, illiteracy, and intolerance of all kinds.

How did you spend your last two summers?

Intel STS project: designing FPGA microchip to rapidly compute solutions to the shortest path problem & self-study of programmable logic design. Int'l Autonomous Robotics Contest. Expanding web business & training/hiring members of programming club. Surfing!

What were your favorite events (E.G., performances, exhibits, sporting events, etc.) this past year?

Arabian Nights play at my school, Oceanic Art Exhibition at SDMA, Internat'l Mathematica User Conference, Body Worlds anatomy exhibit, US Open of Surfing, US Presidential Inauguration, Yo-Yo World Championship

What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed or participated in?

-Teddy Roosevelt's "Man in the Arena" Speech at Sorbonne

-Future: when the first practical quantum computer goes into operation

What five words best describe you?

Exuberant, Innovative, Entrepreneurial, Reflective, Verbivore (i.e. language-eater/lover)


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How to cite this essay (MLA)

Smith, John. "Stanford Profile Questions" StudyNotes.org. Study Notes, LLC., 21 Sep. 2013. Web. 18 Mar. 2024. <https://www.apstudynotes.org/stanford/profile-questions/>.
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