Reaching top colleges can be difficult. On top of stellar grades and SAT scores, college applications require applicants to stand out by writing an essay that gives admissions counselors more insight into who they are as individuals. While students usually compose lengthy pieces about current affairs or world thought to demonstrate their depth of knowledge, this teenager decided on something unconventional - Costco!
Stinson wrote an essay detailing her lifelong fascination with wholesale retailers (especially their amazing smoked turkey and free samples) which earned her admission into five Ivy League schools, such as Yale, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania Dartmouth Cornell. Additionally she received acceptance into Stanford which many consider even harder than Ivy League colleges to get into.
Stinson's essay succeeded due to its ability to reveal an aspect of her personality in an approachable manner. Only an insightful thinker could turn stuffing oneself with Costco samples into an allegory for navigating life with an open mind; yet Stinson managed it, making her essay famous among high schoolers nationwide.