Who’s coming??
My daughter is on her way now from the east coast. I can’t wait to hear about her experience!
Unfortunately I can’t go to the Admit Weekend, so could people who go possibly write up their thoughts? Thank you so much xx
Everyone has been beyond helpful. My daughter’s room host is such a sweet heart… she went over her pre-med schedule with my daughter, who has been fretting about whether she can balance SLE with pre-med and possibly explore a minor during freshmen year. Her room host sketched out the chem and math tracks that my daughter could do and answered questions about many different things.
As a parent, I felt assured that Stanford will provide a safe, collaborative and supportive environment for my daughter. Of course, taking personal responsibility is a given. The dorm rooms are nicer than most of the ones we’ve visited on other campuses. They do allow lofting so more space can be created and it seems fairly easy to do. Bicycle traffic safety came up a couple of times during Q&A as almost all students ride bikes to get anywhere on campus and there are certain accident hot spots. A few parents brought up the issue of not being able to mandate students to wear helmets but problem is if students don’t want to because nobody on campus does (image problem) it’s a tough culture to change.
I really like the “Home Sweet Home” and student activities fairs. The booth setup against the backdrop of gorgeous weather makes it easy to linger, chat and ask questions. There are students and staff on hand to answer questions, get your student’s contact information if they’re interested in joining a club’s mailing list and useful tips on how to get more resources to address issues specific to you.
I’m local so I have been popping in and out of the events the last two days as my schedule allows. Wish I have been able to attend some of the academic expos… they added even more as of yesterday with fascinating topics such as “Is Your Laptop Racist? The Politics of Technological Objects,” “Economic Case for Caring about Climate Change,” and “Do Books and Reading Matter?” etc. I also liked the overview of the freshmen living options given by the three program directors in charge of SLE, ITALIC, and FroSoCo. It seems these are increasing in popularity (about 25% of freshmen are in these residential programs) and while they don’t like to use the word “apply,” if one of these is your first or second choice, you have to state why you’re interested and they do pick and choose who they accept into the program, with some consideration also given to your SAT and AP scores.
Thank you - that’s so useful to hear! xx
Finally, the last day of admit weekend. It has been a whirlwind of activities filled days. I have walked a minimum of 7 miles per day.
They throw in so many overlapping activities making it impossible to see it all. Even with many of them being offered each day.
I never made it to the residence hall tours. A friend who did visit said they were like any other dorm we’ve seen in any other campus.
The dining hall tour was very impressive. From serving food grown on campus to bringing in beef from Australia cause it’s “better than anything grown in the Midwest”.
A huge emphasis was made about collaboration and support of one another. I also sat through several panels of students speaking about their experience changing from one area of study to another. It seemed to me that though many kids did not end up where they began they all were extremely happy and prepared to face the working world.
I spent most of the days with other parents I knew previously and met the first day here. We all felt that there was very little discussion about safety, even when brought up in a parent Q&A with the director of undergrad.
BIKES, BIKES, BIKES!! So many bikes. But most necessary. It’s amazing how, with so many added people on campus, we did not hear of any accidents. Most of us, including myself, were oblivious to the students on bikes whizzing towards us.
I saw my D once each day. However, she was so busy we did not get to go into details about her experience.
I find it incredible that with so many avenues to explore these students find any time for actual class time.
If I could only go back 25 years.
I know my D will have an unforgettable college experience. I only wish it wasn’t 3000 miles away.
Something like 60-75% change what they want to do at S. Since they don’t declare their major until end of sophomore year, they never see an issue. I think picking some ABET accredited engineering majors at the end of 2 years will be hard without preparation but most other majors work.
During the Parents Breakfast on the last morning (Saturday) of Admit Weekend, the admissions officers were also at the social. Talking with the officers who read our daughter’s application was a highlight for us parents!
Yea!! That was wonderful. It’s incredible that they can recall exactly what your child wrote.
I love our admit officer!