<p>My mother is concerned about the political culture at Stanford. I'm not too worried its not Berkley but she doesn't want me to apply. how liberal is it?</p>
<p>Like most college campuses, Stanford tends to lean left.</p>
<p>But it’s certainly not as liberal (perhaps activist would be a better word) as peer institutions like Berkeley, Brown, or Wesleyan. </p>
<p>There are certainly conservative students in the student body. The admission office does a great job of creating diversity of all kinds, including diversity of political views. </p>
<p>Additionally, Stanford is home to America’s largest conservative think tank: The Hoover Institute (at which Condoleezza Rice is a fellow). </p>
<p>If I were your conservative mother, I wouldn’t be concerned about Stanford’s politics.</p>
<p>agree with alea…most Stanford students I have met over the years living here in the Bay-area…tend to be apolitical/independent…you will always have the occasional vociferous ultra-liberal and ultra-conservative students…but, they are few and far between…and you will meet a good number of libertarians (some became very famous company founders) on campus as well…</p>
<p>…Stanford and its students provide a campus environment that is respectful to all political or apolitical views…that is respectful of all religious views (conservative, liberal, orthodox, non-orthodox) or non-religious views (atheists, agnostics…)…</p>
<p>…by the way our K2 is devoutly apolitical!</p>
<p>My impression is it is moderate overall, especially compared to California and other colleges in general.</p>
<p>You can find both liberal and conservative persons on campus. The latter is in the minority, but there are still related groups and organizations. For example, the two very conservative persons in my freshman dorm both became writers for the Stanford Review. Overall I got the impression that most on campus are tolerant to whatever your viewpoint is. I’m indifferent to most political issues, with views closest to libertarian, and never felt out of place.</p>
<p>I’d disagree with the being more moderate than California comment. Stanford is definitely more moderate than the Bay Area though. Some things to consider:</p>
<ol>
<li>College towns will usually be more left leaning than a town without one, because colleges just tend to breed these kind of people, so you can’t really escape it much.</li>
<li>Stanford has a bubble, which as people have mentioned before creates less activism. So, even if people have different political views from you, you are less likely to feel its influence than in a place like Berkeley</li>
<li>People are very open to your political views and no one will judge you for being a republican, independent, democrat etc… (though I might judge a bit if you’re actually a strong supporter of the Peace and Freedom party 
) so I wouldn’t worry much about feeling excluded.</li>
</ol>
<p>Thus, really, it’s not a big thing to worry about.</p>
<p>My son has made both liberal and conservative friends. It’s your college experience, not your mother’s. Diversity is a good thing!</p>
<p>Much more conservative than I thought it’d be, although the majority are definitely liberal.</p>