So I just found out...

that my stanford application is due tonight. /images/graemlins/crazy.gif How do you like my chances of finishing it by 3 am eastern? (all I have left to do is write a 5000 character essay, which is about 1 page single-spaced i think)

[samjjones]

If you cannot handle submitting an application by a posted deadline, perhaps you should seriously reconsider applying to college in the first place. The world needs ditch diggers, too.

http://www.dcasali.com/images/filmntv/caddyshack_smales_frown.jpg

[xorbie]

[ QUOTE ]

If you cannot handle writing 5000 characters in one night, perhaps you should seriously reconsider applying to college in the first place.

[/ QUOTE ]

fyp, cuz seriously its one [censored] page so how about you sit the [censored] down and write it?

[ QUOTE ]
(all I have left to do is write a 5000 character essay, which is about 1 page single-spaced i think)

[/ QUOTE ]

Does it sound like I don't think I can do it? Its gonna be a piece of cake, but my parents are freaking out.

Fixed your avatar:

http://img470.imageshack.us/img470/1742/handsomemillionarie4tp.jpg

80x80:

http://img470.imageshack.us/img470/8862/handsomemillionarieavatar3zs.jpg

[Larimani]

Time for another *

[man]

I'm gonna assume that you're all set with recommendations, because obviously you can't pull those off in time. otherwise, your chances are good. you have nothing to be stressing about. chill out and get to work.

[Eurotrash]

[ QUOTE ]
Does it sound like I don't think I can do it? Its gonna be a piece of cake, but my parents are freaking out.

[/ QUOTE ]


you can probably finish it, but you may be overlooking the fact that your finished product will just be a 5000 character essay that you turned out in a few hours. there is a difference between this and an essay that you put a lot of thought into, that you proofread/revised numerous times, and that is clever enough to set you apart from the average applicant.



edit: i should probably note here that I was very lazy with many of my applications too though /images/graemlins/cool.gif

[ QUOTE ]
Fixed your avatar:

http://img470.imageshack.us/img470/1742/handsomemillionarie4tp.jpg

80x80:

http://img470.imageshack.us/img470/8862/handsomemillionarieavatar3zs.jpg

[/ QUOTE ]

Very funny, LOL. Gotta get to work now...I'll check back w/ an update later. BTW, does everyone only read half of the first post and then ignore all replies, cuz I'm not stressing out at all.

[eviljeff]

ah good, I was hoping someone would start a thread on this

[Andrew Fletcher]

That shouldn't be that hard.

[Nick-Zack]

[ QUOTE ]
that my stanford application is due tonight. /images/graemlins/crazy.gif How do you like my chances of finishing it by 3 am eastern? (all I have left to do is write a 5000 character essay, which is about 1 page single-spaced i think)

[/ QUOTE ]

Life only gets worse from here. You need to get organized and start managing your time.

Well, I’ll just add that the character essay is quite possibly worth next to nothing. A while back I saw a layout of how the UC’s review their applicants and the essay was often worth less than 1% of your overall score. It’s a different school obviously, but I doubt the process is vastly different.

[istewart]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Does it sound like I don't think I can do it? Its gonna be a piece of cake, but my parents are freaking out.

[/ QUOTE ]


you can probably finish it, but you may be overlooking the fact that your finished product will just be a 5000 character essay that you turned out in a few hours. there is a difference between this and an essay that you put a lot of thought into, that you proofread/revised numerous times, and that is clever enough to set you apart from the average applicant.



edit: i should probably note here that I was very lazy with many of my applications too though /images/graemlins/cool.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks, Doc.

[mmbt0ne]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Does it sound like I don't think I can do it? Its gonna be a piece of cake, but my parents are freaking out.

[/ QUOTE ]


you can probably finish it, but you may be overlooking the fact that your finished product will just be a 5000 character essay that you turned out in a few hours. there is a difference between this and an essay that you put a lot of thought into, that you proofread/revised numerous times, and that is clever enough to set you apart from the average applicant.



edit: i should probably note here that I was very lazy with many of my applications too though /images/graemlins/cool.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Do you have a job yet?

[eviljeff]

[ QUOTE ]
essay is quite possibly worth next to nothing

[/ QUOTE ]

I think this is probably wrong. Stanford has (1) a [censored] load of money, (2) a (relatively) small student body, (3) a large admissions staff. From their standpoint they think "we can have anybody we want, why should we take you?". they can comb out the losers pretty quickly. Perfect grades and 1500+ SAT (old grading scale) are par for the course. You still have to set yourself apart from the other geniuses. They look for that in the personal statement.

[mostsmooth]

*

[Eurotrash]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Does it sound like I don't think I can do it? Its gonna be a piece of cake, but my parents are freaking out.

[/ QUOTE ]


you can probably finish it, but you may be overlooking the fact that your finished product will just be a 5000 character essay that you turned out in a few hours. there is a difference between this and an essay that you put a lot of thought into, that you proofread/revised numerous times, and that is clever enough to set you apart from the average applicant.



edit: i should probably note here that I was very lazy with many of my applications too though /images/graemlins/cool.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Do you have a job yet?

[/ QUOTE ]



next question, [censored]. /images/graemlins/smirk.gif

[PoBoy321]

Just send in the actual application right now, but try to work on the essay. As long as the actual application is in but is missing some pieces, they'll just ask for them later.

[MarkL444]

why did you post this [censored] if youre not stressed. i only want to read this dumb crap if youre about to kill yourself from stress.

[man]

[ QUOTE ]
why did you post this [censored] if youre not stressed. i only want to read this dumb crap if youre about to kill yourself from stress.

[/ QUOTE ]
these are my thoughts as well. in fact I don't even understand what your question is if you're not stressed about it. because if you're not stressed you clearly already know the answer. le sigh!

Here's the Rough Draft, Feedback Welcome:

sorry about the formatting if you actually try to read this

“My life is going to change today.” When waking up in the morning, this type of thought does not generally wander into someone’s mind very often. I can say for myself that I have never woken up with this type of thought in my mind. Nevertheless, our lives do often change dramatically over the span of just one day. Life-changing experiences always have a way of finding us, and they often seem to find us in the most unusual places and at the most unexpected times. Most people assume, however, that they will only experience these life-changing events in the “expected” places such as churches, mosques, and synagogues.
Of all the places to experience a life-changing event, a sweltering, crowded bus in downtown San Francisco would have to be one of the least expected. It was a bright, sunny day in the middle of July and the heat was absolutely unbearable. As I walked onto the bus, I looked for the nearest open seat and sat down immediately. Directly across the aisle from me, a middle-aged man sat down next to a small, old woman. The man seemed to be exhausted: his shoulders were slouched, his eyes were half closed, and he walked extremely slowly for a man his age. Strangely enough, however, a vibrant, optimistic smile seemed permanently imprinted on the man’s face, which contrasted quite sharply with the irritated, grumpy expressions on most of the other riders’ faces.
While the elderly woman was moving her cane and purse to make room for the man, a quarter fell out of her pocket and onto the floor. The coin rolled around for a few seconds and then came to a stop directly beneath the woman’s seat. After the woman realized that she would not be able to reach the quarter, she shrugged her shoulders as if to say, “Oh well.” The man who had sat down next to her, however, took much more interest in the quarter. When he heard the small clink from the coin hitting the floor, the man’s head immediately jerked toward the sound. He watched intently—leaning forward to get a better view—as the quarter circled back underneath the woman’s seat. When the quarter finally stopped rolling, the man leaned even farther forward in his seat and slowly stretched his right arm under the seat in the direction of the quarter. Even after completely extending his arm, however, the man was still unable to reach the quarter.
The woman, after watching the man’s attempt to grab the coin, offered him her cane so that he could hopefully reach the quarter. Sure enough, the man leaned forward once again and got the quarter immediately. With all of the effort that the man had put into getting the quarter, I assumed that he was planning to pocket the coin right away. After grabbing the quarter, however, the man promptly held it out to the woman while saying, “I believe this is yours, ma’am.” The woman nodded, and then said in reply, “Yes, it’s mine. But it would have been lost if it wasn’t for you. Go ahead. Keep it.” The man, looking slightly shocked, put the quarter into his pocket and then said to the woman, “Thank you. God bless your heart.”
After a few more minutes of quiet conversation with the woman, the man got up to exit the bus. Just before getting off, however, the man turned around and said with an even bigger and brighter smile, “I told myself this morning, ‘My life is going to change today.’” As the man left, I could do nothing but sit there, speechless and motionless. One quarter had made all the difference in the world for that man. But then again, it wasn’t even the quarter that had made the difference. It was his own attitude…(need to work on the conclusion)

[young nut]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
(all I have left to do is write a 5000 character essay, which is about 1 page single-spaced i think)

[/ QUOTE ]

Does it sound like I don't think I can do it? Its gonna be a piece of cake, but my parents are freaking out.

[/ QUOTE ]

So why even post this is you aren't freaked out? Tell your parents to read our responses if they are the ones who care.

[bdmcgraw]

definitely work on the conclusion..your writing is good but as of this point you dont actually discuss how this has changed you, u just describe what happened

[HopeydaFish]

I vomited a little in my mouth.

Print out my post. Put it in a self addressed stamped envelope, and send it it along with your essay.

Rest assured you'll get it back in a few months.

already in at madison and georgetown so i'm not too worried bout not going to college and flipping some burgers

[slickpoppa]

I would plagiarize this:

link (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showthreaded.php?Cat=0&Number=4185122)

[ QUOTE ]
My extended family has enjoyed the good fortune of encountering the Fossilman on more that one occasion (though I have yet to experience it). About 5 month’s back my cousin Ray stopped in to his regular dry cleaners to drop off a load of shirts (light starch only for Ray) and pick up a comparable load, laundered with light starch, pressed of course, and folded.

Ray was quite surprised to see the Fossilman at the counter, ticket in hand, awaiting his shirts or sweaters or what have you. The Fossilman gave a friendly glance at Ray and a little sigh escaped him, as if to say “they’re running a bit slow today, or having trouble locating my things . . . what are you going to do, though?” Ray offered a friendly smile in return, thinking to himself of the story of our uncle’s (for Ray was not the child of the aunt and uncle I described earlier, but the child of another of my Dad’s brothers) glorius pepper steak, that of the night that my aunt enjoyed the finest veal she had ever had. Ray knew, as all of us in the family knew, that had the Fossilman not intervened to set things right regarding our uncle’s pepper steak, our aunt’s loving memory of that veal would have been obscured by the unhappy and unsatisfactory dining experience, and our extended family would be poorer by one less happy memory and one less heart-warming tale.

The young lady working the counter returned with several packages for the Fossilman – they appeared to Ray to consist mostly of sweaters. Ray handed over his ticket and unceremoniously dumped his dirty shirts, saying “6 of them today; light starch as always; folded.” She disappeared for only a moment among the racks of hanging shirts and the cranking din of the conveyer belts, but seemingly after only a few seconds returned with five freshly laundered shirts, pressed neatly, hanging in their little plastic bags. Ray was dismayed. The Fossilman was still verifying the contents of his belongings.

“I asked that my shirts be folded” Ray told the young lady. She punched a few keystrokes into her computer and responded “Yes, I see that someone has made a mistake. If you wait just a moment, I’ll fold these right away.”

But Ray was frustrated and not in a very good mood. “But now these shirts will have hanger marks in the shoulders – they’ll poke up in odd places and not have the fresh, clean look that only fold marks across the midriff provide.”

“I’m sorry, sir. If you can wait a few additional moments I will have the shoulders re-pressed to remove any evidence of their time on the hangers” she replied.

“But I don’t have 10 minutes to stand around waiting for you to re-press my shirts” Ray retorted grumpily.

It was then that the Fossilman intervened. The Fossilman had completed his inventory, determined apparently that all was in order, and donned his famous “Cats Eyes” sunglasses prior to exiting the shop into the warm sun. “Excuse me, but I couldn’t help but overhear. Might I suggest that you allow the young lady to press just one shirt, removing any evidence of the hangers? You may then take that shirt, complete with newly created midriff fold lines, and be assured of having a proper shirt for at least tomorrow, and it will only take a moment. You may return this evening as you pass by again, or perhaps tomorrow at your leisure, to reclaim the additional folded shirts.” Ray was dumbstruck – both at the simple and compelling logic shared by the Fossilman, and by the fact that he had once again troubled himself to help set things right for our extended family. “And,” the Fossilman continued, “perhaps, young lady, you could arrange to have these dirty shirts laundered, light starch, and folded, on a 2-hr or same-day service, but only charge this man for a normal laundry which otherwise might take several days? As a suitable way of rectifying the unfortunate error of one of your colleagues?”

“I would be very happy to do so,” said the young lady behind the counter.

“I think that is a fine solution,” said Ray. And he impetously grasped the Fossilman’s hand and gave it a hearty shake, saying “thank you, Fossilman, for resolving this situation so amicably.”

“It was nothing. Happy to be of help.” And with that he strode confidently into the summer sun, his packages of fresh, clean sweaters tucked carefully under one arm. Ray watched him glide away, seemingly floating off into the shimmer of heat rising from the surrounding blacktop. He knew that once again the Fossilman had put his own interests aside to assist our extended family, and that he had done so only on the basis of his good and true heart.

I’m not sure I can say my opinion of the Fossilman changed based upon these two events, as I had very little to no opinion of him before. But, I am sure you can see why neither I nor my family will hear ill of the Fossilman. In my book, he’s as solid as they come; a prince among men.


[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
I would plagiarize this

[/ QUOTE ]

This is now the best and only answer.

I think I'll take advice from the people who have actually gone to college, tyvm

[RJT]

But then again, it wasn’t the quarter that had made the difference. It was the brief encounter with a stranger. (or something to that affect)

I think of this when I read your essay:

It was what John Lennon spoke of in his song “Beautiful Boy”: Life is what happens to you, while you’re busy making other plans.

But then I am a big John Lennon fan.

Quit writing in passive voice.

Thx, I could only find one, switched it to: "the man immediately jerked his head toward the sound"

were there any others you saw?

plz post a photo of your degree before you attempt to give our child prodigy advice. he can't be getting advice from bums writing from public library computers, now.

Dude, i appreciate it, and they're all right

2nd Draft (Think I'm Getting Close):

“My life is going to change today.” When waking up in the morning, this type of thought does not generally wander into someone’s mind very often. I can say for myself that I have never woken up with this type of thought in my mind. Nevertheless, our lives do often change dramatically over the span of just one day. Life-changing experiences always have a way of finding us, and they often seem to find us in the most unusual places and at the most unexpected times. Most people assume, however, that they will only experience these life-changing events in the “expected” places such as churches, mosques, and synagogues.
Of all the places to experience a life-changing event, a sweltering, crowded bus in downtown San Francisco would have to be one of the least expected. It was a bright, sunny day in the middle of July and the heat was absolutely unbearable. As I walked onto the bus, I looked for the nearest open seat and sat down immediately. Directly across the aisle from me, a middle-aged man sat down next to a small, old woman. The man seemed to be exhausted: his shoulders were slouched, his eyes were half closed, and he walked extremely slowly for a man his age. Strangely enough, however, a vibrant, optimistic smile seemed permanently imprinted on the man’s face, which contrasted quite sharply with the irritated, grumpy expressions on most of the other riders’ faces.
While the elderly woman was moving her cane and purse to make room for the man, a quarter fell out of her pocket and onto the floor. The coin rolled around for a few seconds and then stopped directly beneath the woman’s seat. After the woman realized that she would not be able to reach the quarter, she shrugged her shoulders as if to say, “Oh well.” The man who had sat down next to her, however, took much more interest in the quarter. When he heard the small clink from the coin hitting the floor, the man immediately jerked his head toward the sound. He watched intently—leaning forward to get a better view—as the quarter circled back underneath the woman’s seat. When the quarter finally stopped rolling, the man leaned even farther forward in his seat and slowly stretched his right arm under the seat in the direction of the quarter. Even after completely extending his arm, however, the man was still unable to reach the quarter.
The woman, after watching the man’s attempt to grab the coin, offered him her cane so that he could hopefully reach the quarter. Sure enough, the man leaned forward once again and got the quarter immediately. With all of the effort that the man had put into getting the quarter, I assumed that he was planning to pocket the coin right away. After grabbing the quarter, however, the man promptly held it out to the woman while saying, “I believe this is yours, ma’am.” The woman nodded, and then said in reply, “Yes, it’s mine. But it would have been lost if it wasn’t for you. Go ahead. Keep it.” The man, looking slightly shocked, put the quarter into his pocket and then said to the woman, “Thank you. God bless your heart.”
After a few more minutes of quiet conversation with the woman, the man got up to exit the bus. Just before getting off, however, the man turned around and said with an even bigger and brighter smile, “I told myself this morning, ‘My life is going to change today.’” As the man left, I could do nothing but sit there, speechless and motionless. One quarter had made all the difference in the world for that man. But then again, it wasn’t even the quarter that had made the difference; it was his attitude. I began to understand that attitude is more important than I had ever realized. All throughout high school, students learn that the keys to success—both in school and in life—are a good work ethic, effective time management, and honesty. While I believe that all of these traits are an essential part of achieving success, I also believe that attitude is just important. By maintaining a positive attitude, I am able to enjoy many classes that I would not otherwise find as interesting. Also, my positive attitude allows me to learn from my mistakes while not dwelling on them. Therefore, I feel that my positive attitude is now my greatest asset. Just like the man on the bus, a positive attitude allows me to endure my struggles, while also enjoying my achievements.

[InchoateHand]

What are you doing on a gambling website if you are underage?

18 bro

[BradleyT]

That story is lame. The guy's life didn't change and neither did yours.

3rd sentence

[MonkeeMan]

So, what's it gonna be, Madison or Georgetown?

i cant tell if your a smart ass ripping on my essay or if its a serious question...but if youre serious, i'll prolly choose madison cuz a lot of my friends are goin there

[Aloysius]

Leonard9 - the fact that you can't tell if Born2Loose is being a "smart ass" or not speaks volumes...

This essay needs a good amount of work imo. Or just to be thrown out entirely. The whole essay is framed as a "life changing experience", but how your life, or his life, or anyone's life, is changed is not seen at all. I guess, with your concluding paragraph, you tell the reader you learned that "having a positive attitude is important for many of life's endeavors."

First, that's not "a life changing experience." Second, that's just realizing something really [censored]' obvious to any moran with half a brain, which, as a general rule, is not a great essay topic.

Best of Luck,
-Al

[Taraz]

The essays are probably the most important thing about the Stanford applications. Everybody they consider has awesome grades, SATs, etc. There was a big article about it in the last Stanford alumni magazine.

Anyway, good luck with all your applications, I'm sure you'll be happy wherever you go since college is awesome. (I would say "Go Cardinal", but I hate that our nickname is a color and our mascot is a tree. So fing lame.)