College Essay係列（三）：2016爆文 Costco Essay

頂級文書 の 啟蒙2016

2008年金融危機中，美國經濟崩了，社會意識醒了。除了一場曆史性的大選之外，美本招生的價值觀也在悄悄發生變化。

三年後，哈佛大學招生頁麵上，撤下了舊時代標誌性的價值導向，換上來結構更複雜，細節更豐富價值描述。這些描述幾經修改，成為現在的版本。R，這個曾經被最高法院禁止使用的大學招生條件，在藤校招生中變得越來越清楚和重要。

Gallagher之後，25年過去，College Essay無爆文。直到2016年。一個非裔孩子用一篇舊時代的文書拿下八藤。一個南亞裔孩子用複製一百次的BlackLivesMatter拿下斯坦福。但更值得我們仔細讀說的，是這一篇Costco Essay。正是這篇妙文的爆紅，開啟了我們今天的新啟蒙時代。

 

誰是Brittany Stinson

Stanford, CA，美本人的四大夢想地之一。2020疫情中的斯坦福。Human Biology專業的Brittany Stinson畢業了。她並不離校，而是繼續升入斯坦福研究生院，深造Anthropology專業的一年碩士學位。

五年前的2016年，Brittany以全校第一名從Wilmington, DE的公立Concord High School畢業，並憑這篇全網著名的Costco Essay拿下了耶魯、達特茅斯、哥倫比亞、賓大、康奈爾和斯坦福等頂尖美本的錄取。

Brittany是一個典型的"東北妞"（美國的東北），習慣了山舞銀蛇和哥特庭宇。所以，在她的Common App的購物車裏，斯坦福其實是個異類。她選它屬於偶然。

2016年3月25日，斯坦福的offer到來，Brittany還在急切地等待來自美本屆"宇宙中心"的三個大瓜。我指的是H、Y和P。

那年的斯坦福是幸運的。在美國，"東北"不是宇宙的中心。H和P也都錯過了Miss Essay of 2016。其實不能叫錯過，是H和P的AO，臨時地一個看走眼，一個挑花眼。所以不要迷信AO。他們也是人。是人，就會看走眼和挑花眼的。

後來Brittany說，她選擇斯坦福，是這裏被"the farm"的名氣給"醃"了思想。讓我這麽翻譯真是糟踐了原詞，對不起。Brittany的原話是"I was waiting to hear back from the Ivies, but the thoughts of 'the farm' marinated my mind。這個"marinated"，其實是真的秀色可餐哦。

四年30萬成本，對於美國中產孩子來說是昂貴的。斯坦福能給Brittany的獎學金也是有限的。但這難不倒聰明的Brittany。大家可以看看她在學校的履曆，就知道斯坦福的Financial Aid，真不是浪得虛名的。

 

斯坦福必錄の文書三要素

Brittany為啥沒錄哈佛，卻抓住了史大？回答這個問題，你當然要仔細閱讀這篇Costco Essay在文字中表現出的特色。

1. Trend S values

與美本的“宇宙中心“相比，斯坦福最大的不同，是它要尋找的Intellectual Vitality。如果說H要你去lead，那麽S就是想要你去find。這篇Costco Essay，從美國生活常見場景象出發，把作者與生俱來的求知欲寫得既真實又生動。AO們不用費力，就能想象出這個坐著Costco shopping cart長大的女孩，是怎樣survey那個標誌中產生活方式購物空間的。

2. Chose your diction

善於並風趣使用的metaphor，這是史大必錄文書的一大特點。建議你多讀幾篇史大文書，體驗一下這群西部AO的價值取向。在如今的美本招生中，如果還有一些浪漫主義的話，那必然要有斯坦福的AO。用suit and tie常常打動不了他們，你得牽出一隻荷蘭豬或東北虎。

3. Find comparison

Compare是更高層次的contrast。求異是人的認知天性，但求同卻能讓人在忽略差異的基礎上產生更高的愉悅感。求異是智能，求同則屬智慧。斯坦福所欣賞的幽默精髓，盡在於這無處不在的求同能力。我們都經曆過無數次Costco shopping，也都熟記過Newton‘s Law的精髓，但誰曾在這兩者之間找到求同點呢？創作性的亮眼之處，並不是發明一個全新的概念，而是在為人熟知的概念之間發現新的關聯。

 

2016年：The Costco Essay

Brittany Stinson

Yale/Stanford

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 “how’s”. In essence, I subsist on discovery.