College Essay系列（三）：2016爆文 Costco Essay

顶级文书 の 启蒙2016

2008年金融危机中，美国经济崩了，社会意识醒了。除了一场历史性的大选之外，美本招生的价值观也在悄悄发生变化。

三年后，哈佛大学招生页面上，撤下了旧时代标志性的价值导向，换上来结构更复杂，细节更丰富价值描述。这些描述几经修改，成为现在的版本。R，这个曾经被最高法院禁止使用的大学招生条件，在藤校招生中变得越来越清楚和重要。

Gallagher之后，25年过去，College Essay无爆文。直到2016年。一个非裔孩子用一篇旧时代的文书拿下八藤。一个南亚裔孩子用复制一百次的BlackLivesMatter拿下斯坦福。但更值得我们仔细读说的，是这一篇Costco Essay。正是这篇妙文的爆红，开启了我们今天的新启蒙时代。

 

谁是Brittany Stinson

Stanford, CA，美本人的四大梦想地之一。2020疫情中的斯坦福。Human Biology专业的Brittany Stinson毕业了。她并不离校，而是继续升入斯坦福研究生院，深造Anthropology专业的一年硕士学位。

五年前的2016年，Brittany以全校第一名从Wilmington, DE的公立Concord High School毕业，并凭这篇全网著名的Costco Essay拿下了耶鲁、达特茅斯、哥伦比亚、宾大、康奈尔和斯坦福等顶尖美本的录取。

Brittany是一个典型的"东北妞"（美国的东北），习惯了山舞银蛇和哥特庭宇。所以，在她的Common App的购物车里，斯坦福其实是个异类。她选它属于偶然。

2016年3月25日，斯坦福的offer到来，Brittany还在急切地等待来自美本届"宇宙中心"的三个大瓜。我指的是H、Y和P。

那年的斯坦福是幸运的。在美国，"东北"不是宇宙的中心。H和P也都错过了Miss Essay of 2016。其实不能叫错过，是H和P的AO，临时地一个看走眼，一个挑花眼。所以不要迷信AO。他们也是人。是人，就会看走眼和挑花眼的。

后来Brittany说，她选择斯坦福，是这里被"the farm"的名气给"腌"了思想。让我这么翻译真是糟践了原词，对不起。Brittany的原话是"I was waiting to hear back from the Ivies, but the thoughts of 'the farm' marinated my mind。这个"marinated"，其实是真的秀色可餐哦。

四年30万成本，对于美国中产孩子来说是昂贵的。斯坦福能给Brittany的奖学金也是有限的。但这难不倒聪明的Brittany。大家可以看看她在学校的履历，就知道斯坦福的Financial Aid，真不是浪得虚名的。

 

斯坦福必录の文书三要素

Brittany为啥没录哈佛，却抓住了史大？回答这个问题，你当然要仔细阅读这篇Costco Essay在文字中表现出的特色。

1. Trend S values

与美本的“宇宙中心“相比，斯坦福最大的不同，是它要寻找的Intellectual Vitality。如果说H要你去lead，那么S就是想要你去find。这篇Costco Essay，从美国生活常见场景象出发，把作者与生俱来的求知欲写得既真实又生动。AO们不用费力，就能想象出这个坐着Costco shopping cart长大的女孩，是怎样survey那个标志中产生活方式购物空间的。

2. Chose your diction

善于并风趣使用的metaphor，这是史大必录文书的一大特点。建议你多读几篇史大文书，体验一下这群西部AO的价值取向。在如今的美本招生中，如果还有一些浪漫主义的话，那必然要有斯坦福的AO。用suit and tie常常打动不了他们，你得牵出一只荷兰猪或东北虎。

3. Find comparison

Compare是更高层次的contrast。求异是人的认知天性，但求同却能让人在忽略差异的基础上产生更高的愉悦感。求异是智能，求同则属智慧。斯坦福所欣赏的幽默精髓，尽在于这无处不在的求同能力。我们都经历过无数次Costco shopping，也都熟记过Newton‘s Law的精髓，但谁曾在这两者之间找到求同点呢？创作性的亮眼之处，并不是发明一个全新的概念，而是在为人熟知的概念之间发现新的关联。

 

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.