中国这些年，经济发展迅速，国民生活水平提高，越来越有钱了，中国的国际地位和国际影响力也是越来越重，于是许多人出国旅游或是留学。美国的社会福利好，生活环境优，是世界上教育质量最高的国家之一，有很多世界著名大学。在这里你可以开阔眼界，了解最前沿知识，培养领导力，增强竞争力。
刚刚高中毕业的Brittany Stinson凭借她的一篇essay斩获了斯坦福大学以及常青藤的五所大学：耶鲁、哥大、宾夕法尼亚大学、达特茅斯和康奈尔大学，要知道斯坦福的录取率要比常青藤的这五所大学的都要低，只有4.69%，能够凭借一篇短短几百字的短文就那些这些学校，这样的能力也是没谁了。而她所申请到的学校不止以上的这些，还有约翰·霍普金斯大学、西北大学、纽约大学一波士顿大学。最近刚出消息，说她最终选择了斯坦福!你一定跟我一样，对这篇牛到没朋友的essay很好奇，那么下面就来看看，小编给你找到了。
Prompt 1: Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
Managing to break free from my mother’s grasp, I charged. With arms flailing and chubby legs fluttering beneath me, I was the ferocious two- year old rampaging through Costco on a Saturday morning. My mother’s eyes widened in horror as I jettisoned my churro; the cinnamon-sugar rocket gracefully sliced its way through the air while I continued my spree. I sprinted through the aisles, looking up in awe at the massive bulk products that towered over me. Overcome with wonder, I wanted to touch and taste, to stick my head into industrial-sized freezers, to explore every crevice. I was a conquistador, but rather than searching the land for El Dorado, I scoured aisles for free samples. Before inevitably being whisked away into a shopping cart, I scaled a mountain of plush toys and surveyed the expanse that lay before me: the kingdom of Costco.
Notorious for its oversized portions and dollar-fifty hot dog combo, Costco is the apex of consumerism. From the days spent being toted around in a shopping cart to when I was finally tall enough to reach lofty sample trays, Costco has endured a steady presence throughout my life. As a veteran Costco shopper, I navigate the aisles of foodstuffs, thrusting the majority of my weight upon a generously filled shopping cart whose enormity juxtaposes my small frame. Over time, I’ve developed a habit of observing fellow patrons tote their carts piled with frozen burritos, cheese puffs, tubs of ice cream, and weight-loss supplements. Perusing the aisles gave me time to ponder. Who needs three pounds of sour cream? Was cultured yogurt any more well-mannered than its uncultured counterpart? Costco gave birth to my unfettered curiosity.
While enjoying an obligatory hot dog, I did not find myself thinking about the ‘all beef’ goodness that Costco boasted. I instead considered finitudes and infinitudes, unimagined uses for tubs of sour cream, the projectile motion of said tub when launched from an eighty foot shelf or maybe when pushed from a speedy cart by a scrawny seventeen year old. I contemplated the philosophical: If there exists a thirty-three ounce jar of Nutella, do we really have free will? I experienced a harsh physics lesson while observing a shopper who had no evident familiarity of inertia's workings. With a cart filled to overflowing, she made her way towards the sloped exit, continuing to push and push while steadily losing control until the cart escaped her and went crashing into a concrete column, 52” plasma screen TV and all. Purchasing the yuletide hickory smoked ham inevitably led to a conversation between my father and me about Andrew Jackson’s controversiality. There was no questioning Old Hickory’s dedication; he was steadfast in his beliefs and pursuits – qualities I am compelled to admire, yet his morals were crooked. We both found the ham to be more likeable–and tender.
I adopted my exploratory skills, fine tuned by Costco, towards my intellectual endeavors. Just as I sampled buffalo-chicken dip or chocolate truffles, I probed the realms of history, dance and biology, all in pursuit of the ideal cart–one overflowing with theoretical situations and notions both silly and serious. I sampled calculus, cross-country running, scientific research, all of which are now household favorites. With cart in hand, I do what scares me; I absorb the warehouse that is the world. Whether it be through attempting aerial yoga, learning how to chart blackbody radiation using astronomical software, or dancing in front of hundreds of people, I am compelled to try any activity that interests me in the slightest.
My intense desire to know, to explore beyond the bounds of rational thought; this is what defines me. Costco fuels my insatiability and cultivates curiosity within me at a cellular level. Encoded to immerse myself in the unknown, I find it difficult to complacently accept the “what”; I want to hunt for the “whys” and dissect the “hows”. In essence, I subsist on discovery.
这些美国名校录取Brittany Stinson，essay虽然起了很大的作用，但是她别的方面也非常优秀。她在高中就读期间，每年都是班里的第一名，她的加权GPA高达4.9，未加权的GPA是4.0。上个暑假，她还参加了麻省理工学院的一些关于天体物理以及科学写作等等方面的课程。她的葡萄牙语和西班牙语都非常流利。高中，除了学校的课程之外，她还修了八门进阶先修课程。她说她有些羞涩，但是坚持做真实的自己，也能够很好地展示自己。想要申请牛校的同学们，可以参考借鉴一下。
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