A 4-part lecture series sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad and the U.S. Educational Foundation in Pakistan (USEFP)

2. Hobbies Fears
Sports Unique Favorite Food
Favorite Book Dreams
Talents
College admissions wants to know “what makes you YOU.” In other words, what
makes you unique? It’s not just one thing. It’s the sum of a variety of aspects.
Avoid the trap of writing about one thing you like. Instead, think about how all
these things interact to make you, you.

3. I am Pakistani.
I am a foreigner.
I want to be an engineer/doctor/lawyer.
What college admissions do NOT want to see is you define yourself with just one
aspect. National origin. Being a foreigner. Career goals. These are all well and
good, but they want to know beyond that. Tell them a story!

4. Pakistani
Engineer
Hobbies
Fears
YOU
It’s very easy to think of an essay in terms of just different aspects of yourself
that you want to convey to whoever is reading it. Again, though, you have to
consider “how do these connect to make you, you?”

5. For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved Legos, building blocks,
anything that would allow me to take two pieces of two separate
things and make something greater. Growing up in Rawalpindi, I
dreamt of one day seeing towering skyscrapers in my city,
something so that the world could know that Pakistanis dream
the same as them. Sometimes I worry that I will go my whole life
without seeing that skyscraper in my city…
Pakistani + Engineer + Hobbies + Fears  YOU
Compare the paragraph above with the elements listed below. None of them are
explicitly mentioned in the paragraph, but you can infer all of them from
reading it. This is the type of story colleges want to read.

6. Come up with answers to the following questions. This will help
you think outside the box on what it is that makes you, you.
What would you do if there was an elephant in front of your house?
Would you rather be a waterfall, a river, a lake, or an ocean?
What color would you use to describe Pakistan? India? The United States? Germany? South Africa?
If I had $1,000 dollars in my pocket RIGHT NOW, I would buy…
You have to create a new currency with faces of 5 different people that you know. Who do you choose to be on
the money?
Which one would you rather be? Rock? Paper? Or Scissors? WHY?
Your assignment is to come up with a name for a flower. Name it and describe it.
If you could build your dream house either in space or under the water, where would you choose? Why?
You are making soup. What books would you use as ingredients?

7. Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk
you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and
its impact on you.
A range of academic interests, personal perspectives,
and life experiences adds much to the educational mix.
Given your personal background, describe an
experience that illustrates what you would bring to the
diversity in a college community or an encounter that
demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.
Assignment: Draft responses for these two Stanford admissions essay questions
based on the lessons learned today.