Stanford University

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Rankings & Lists

Students Say - Academics
Students insist that Stanford is "the most amazing school in the country, with a great mix of academics, athletics, and weather," and it's hard to argue with them. The school really does offer it all to the laid-back-but-ambitious crowd lucky enough to receive an invite to attend; as one student puts it, "Stanford essentially disproves the theorem that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." Undergrads here "can and are able to do so much." Take, for example, the anthropology major who reported "great opportunities such as researching over the summer in the Peruvian Amazon and working with the Center for Ecotourism and Sustainable Development to create a network of indigenous leaders interested in ecotourism." Or the myriad of super-curious here who extol "the many interdisciplinary majors: human biology; history, literature, and the arts; materials science and engineering; symbolic systems; science technology and society; public policy; modern thought and literature; urban studies....It's amazing how many different fields you can combine." And perhaps best of all, "there is not any counter productive cut-throat competition. Staff and students are all very supportive of each other, and it's really an environment where you can explore and succeed."

Students Say - Campus Life
Everyone studies all the time, and a lot of people work and are involved with extracurriculars at Stanford. They also "work out and volunteer. Basically, people try to be perfect." The school "offers so many extracurriculars that it's impossible for students to not be involved and feel welcome," helping to "off-set academic stresses" that can be considerable, especially for engineers and premeds. Indeed, "It would be easy to be at Stanford, not take classes, and still be busy. There is always something going on: theater performances, a cappella concerts, small-scale concerts every Thursday, major concerts at least once a year, row house parties every weekend....It's possible to go out Wednesday through Saturday night." Day to day life here "revolves around the amazing sense of dorm community and the great athletic teams." Stanford prides itself on its robust intercollegiate athletic programs, and "everyone at Stanford lives and breathes Cardinal red." Residential choices "vary. You can live in a great row house with a huge room and a private chef, or a one-room double in a dorm with awful food. There are a lot of options: dorms, houses, co-ops, apartments, and suites." Students generally avoid Palo Alto ("It's soooo expensive!"), but do find the cash to visit equally pricey San Francisco when their schedules permit.

Students Say - Student Body
Stanford undergrads describe each other in terms so rapturous it makes one wonder whether there isn't something a little funny about the campus water supply. These "ambitions, driven, and incredibly intelligent" people include every form of high achiever; writes one, "I have been fortunate enough to meet a professional cartoonist, several Olympic athletes, an international math Olympiad participant, a professional rapper, a concert violinist, an equestrian champion, a national rugby champion, and so many other talented people just in my 89-person dorm. There are people who have run with the bulls in Pamplona, ski race every weekend, have written published books, and that ever-elusive person who actually won the national science fair in eighth grade." The vibe is "definitely chill....There isn't any of the East Coast snobbery/aristocracy here that I picture at the Ivies." Is there anything negative one can say about these people? "There are barely any fat people," one student offers. Ah ha, but there are some. That will likely have to do.

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