@Era991 What percentage of Stanford undergrads just walk?
@websensation Next to none only walk. Again probably <1%. Campus is simply too large to make that very practical. Passing periods are 10 minutes, and walking from East Campus dorms to SEQ, row houses to the med school, or GovCo to the GSB, can all take 20-30 minutes. There are always a few who holdouts in the beginning of frosh year, but almost all cave. None of the frosh in my own frosh dorm only walked by the end of the year, and only one of the frosh in the dorm I staffed still only walked by the end of his year.
Not to say that we never walk, given enough time. But having some form of wheeled transport to class is all but a requirement for most schedules. If you’ve ever set foot on campus and tried to do a walking tour, you’ll get a sense for why that is.
Like I said, college students are lazy 
Stanford students are always looking for ways to be more efficient with their time. Investing in a bike that allows you to traverse campus in 5 minutes will literally save you weeks worth of transit time by graduation.
@Era991 I agree with you if that’s all there was to it, but seems like wearing, carrying and locking up bike after you ride one would take time. What do students do with the bike helmet? Carry it around all day? Or don’t wear one? Is it mandatory to wear a helmet? Lots of bike racks available?
@websensation If you’ve ever been to our campus you’ll have seen how many racks there are (thousands). Parking is almost never an issue, except for a few of the popular racks during class time at a few of the Main Quad/SEQ buildings. Locking and unlocking a bike takes about 10 seconds. Helmets are not mandatory (there is no such law), and students who have them can either leave it on their bike (no one steals helmets) or bring it to class and leave it on their bag.
I’ve never heard anyone during my four years complain about having bikes be a hassle, and it’s not a coincidence that practically everyone–even many of the profs–has a bike. In fact, we complained bitterly when bikes broke and we were left “stranded” while they were in the shop for repairs.
If you feel strongly for some reason, I won’t tell you that your son has to bring a bike. But I can tell you there is a good 95%+ chance any given student will buy one by the end of frosh year.
@websensation I once read there are more bikes than students on Stanford’s campus - some (few) do have more than one bike: a “campus” bike and another for rec/mountain/road riding (Not many, but certainly some do). My S roommate last year never did buy a bike - he is the only student I know who didn’t have one. He simply preferred the walk, took the bus when going off campus, and occasionally borrowed a friend’s. Unlike some campuses where bikers must navigate roads heavy with cars and other traffic, many pathways are pedestrian or bike only. There is a campus bike shop, handy for maintenance and repairs. I believe varsity athletes are required to wear a helmet when biking, and this past fall every freshman was given a helmet, and encouraged to wear it. Biking is a lifestyle. When visiting my S, we have rented bikes ourselves. It’s a beautiful campus to bike around, and easy to get to town, where parking cars is a hassle.
http://transportation-forms.stanford.edu/bike-platinum/platinum-award-2015.php
“The League of American Bicyclists (LAB) recognized Stanford University with a second Platinum Bicycle Friendly University (BFUSM) award. Stanford is the only university to receive a renewal of its Platinum designation and was the first university to be recognized at the highest level when the program launched in 2011. This year’s award extends Stanford’s original Platinum designation (2011–2015) for another four years (2015–2019).”
We bought our ds his bike as his high school graduation gift. We bought a “used” one from the Stanford Bike Shop. It was barely used. I think they have many turned in from folks who are on campus just for the summer. We purchased it on-line before freshman move in and picked it up that day. We bought a maintenance package along with it. I believe buying from the on campus bike shop gives one first dibs on storing with them over the summer. NB - you still have to pay for the storage. My ds has stored his bike elsewhere over summers.
do transfer students ever get chosen to interview or is it just for freshman?
what was your intellectual vitality essay about? do you think it’s better to state examples of an experience or to talk critically about your own growth or something? (anecdote/narrative vs critical self-analysis)
okay - this is off topic, but hoping a student who has studied abroad one quarter can advise; where does a student store his “stuff” while studying abroad? Suggested storage options in the area?
@Momoftwo2
If it is fall or spring quarter, then it is just an extended summer, so at home or where ever you store things over the summer. Winter quarter would be a challenge with two move-ins/outs in one year.
My ds is currently abroad for winter quarter. He just rented at the same off-site storage place he used last summer. I think it’s ABC Self-Storage in Mountain View. They have small units designed to hold a dorm room-sized amount of stuff. He has a car on campus this year (a friend is taking care of it while he is abroad) which makes the off-site storage easier. For last summer’s storage (when he didn’t have a car), he rented a zip car (a van) to move it in.
My kid doesn’t drink alcoholic drinks or ever want to, which I myself find a little bit strange (lol) so I am asking this question: Is there peer pressure to drink alcohol or non-alcoholic drinks at students parties?
@nw2this last summer items were able to be stored at a friend’s house who has since left the area, so we’ve never dealt with storage, but thanks. @Hoggirl Thank You! I hope your son is having a fantastic quarter! I’ll suggest he check out that option!
@websensation I am a parent, not a student, so I do not have first hand knowledge, but we talk about alcohol and drugs, and my student is very clear that there is never peer pressure to drink. Opportunity, absolutely. Culture, I believe so. But not at all like the state flagship school in our state, for sure! Stanford campus is a work hard/play hard environment, which I appreciate for balance. What I like about the housing environment is that dorm staff (RAs, etc) are NOT an extension of the campus police, and there is - or at least was last year before the alcohol policy change (which became more restrictive) - an OPEN door rule: if there is drinking in the room, the dorm door must be open. This assists with moderation. There are also mandated quiet hours so at a certain point - even on weekends - parties must end.
I don’t drink. I never felt any pressure to drink. That may have been partly because none of my friends drank. I suppose if you went to an off campus party where alcohol was served someone might ask if you want a drink.
@websensation Absolutely agree with the two posters above. In all four years, I personally never felt any pressure once to drink. In fact, at the smaller parties in dorms, not drinking is usually appreciated since the host doesn’t have to spend as much money on buying drinks for guests. For those who may feel weird not holding a red cup, it’s always an option to fill it with an EANAB or water instead–no one will know, and no one will care. But there’s definitely not a culture of pressuring others to drink. Anecdotally, I remember two stories from friends who were rolled out* and encouraged to drink a beer/margarita in the morning to celebrate; both declined, one because she didn’t drink and the other because it was far too early in the day for alcohol. In both cases, both roll out groups were a little surprised, but immediately dropped the issue and moved on.
*Roll outs are my personal least favorite Stanford tradition of celebrating being accepted into some student org/staff role/athletic team by unexpectedly and loudly waking up the acceptees in the early hours of the morning, and thereby sleep depriving all parties involved. Alcohol being involved is not the norm for the vast majority of roll outs. The sleep deprivation is unnecessarily unhealthy, simply from a medical perspective, but that’s another story.
I have my interview in the coming week. My interviewer is the VP of a decently big company here. He graduated from the Farm in 2011 I believe. My interview is going to be conducted at his office. Would it be advisable for me to dress up formally with a blazer and/or tie or will business casuals be sufficient?
@MudbloodPrince They understand you are a high school student. Business Casual will be more than fine.
Do you care how many total credits a student takes? Is there a minimum or recommended or depend on school?
Do I care as an interviewer? Nope. Does Montag Hall have a minimum? Couldn’t tell you.