Current Stanford students: Is Stanford different than how you perceived it in high school? If so, how? Please be specific in both the positives and negatives. Overall, would you go there again or choose somewhere else—and why?
I’m not sure you’ll get many responses to this right now. This is dead week, next week is finals and then spring break. Stanford students are always pretty busy, but this is an especially busy time!
Thanks, @pacnwmomof2—hopefully some responses will come in now.
I originally chose Stanford for a few reasons. One, the weather and the campus and the sports and everything. Two, the tech prowess. Three, the great people who were genuinely nice and not stuck up or pretentious, which sort of contributes to the general culture of campus. And to a large exent I was right to choose Stanford for those reasons.
But there are a lot of things I thought about more before I came. For one, I realized I wasn’t into tech/engineering as I thougth I would be. For example, I think Princeton might have been a better fit for me academically. Secondly, it’s really easy to feel inferior, because everyone around you seems so calm and knows what they’re doing. There are a few other small things.
TLDR; I still think I would’ve chosen Stanford. The people I’ve met here are so interesting and unique and the vitality of campus is still something I enjoy over those of other schools. But back in April I wish I knew Stanford as I do today before choosing. (But at the same time, I don’t think any non-college student can really.)
Thanks, @guccigirl! It sounds like overall you’re happy with Stanford. I’m wondering, though, how discovering that you weren’t as into tech/engineering as you thought you would be affected your experience. Did you find the nontech/nonengineering courses less impressive, and is that why you think Princeton might have been a better fit academically?
As for it being easy to feel inferior, this sounds like the Stanford duck syndrome, and I’m wondering if that isn’t similar at other top schools. Maybe at Stanford people seem more laid back on the surface, though—in part because of the weather but maybe also because that “easy living” environment tends to make people less dependent on, and less connected to, other people? What do you think—if you’d gone to Princeton or some other East Coast school with abysmal weather, would your relationships with other students have been closer, and would those students have been more likely to confide that they really weren’t all that calm and weren’t sure of what they were doing either?
@Planner
quite the opposite actually. I found the tech/engineering courses to be most impressive, but possibly just not what I’m personally interested in. My favorite class so far has been a political science/law class. I realized that Stanford’s tech/engineering reputation overshadows its reputation in the humanities, even though Stanford’s humanities departments are ranked consistently in the top 5. People SHOULD go to Stanford to pursue humanities, and I’m sure they are actively recruiting many students to fill those departments!
I don’t think duck syndrome is as polarizing as you make it out to be. I wouldn’t say I don’t have close relationships with people because of duck syndrome. Stanford students connect with each other a lot! Me and my close friends frequently talk about how we’re struggling in classes and our other problems. But where duck syndrome comes into play is the everyday life of stanford. When you’re biking through campus with so much work to do and struggling, but everyone around you is smiling and laughing, because well hey: The weather is great and everyone is awesome. Also, there are SO many smart people at Stanford, it’s really easy to feel mediocre, because it seems like people do well without trying!
If I went to an HYP school I imagine I would face the same struggles, but the difference would be that collectively the student body doesn’t feel that same pressure to seem happy all the time.
Again TLDR; Duck syndrome exists, but it doesn’t kill you. Compared to HYP, the cultures are different, but I don’t think it’s fair to say one is better than the other.
@guccigirl Thanks—this is really helpful! I think for many people Stanford’s reputation in tech/engineering overshadows all the other departments and can lead to the perception that the latter aren’t as stellar. It’s good to hear that in your experience this isn’t true.
And your take on duck syndrome was also extremely helpful. Again, the perception outside of Stanford seems different from the reality. It’s really good to hear that duck syndrome doesn’t interfere with students’ friendships or ability to share their stresses with each other. This pressure to seem happy all the time is an interesting phenomenon—it reminds me of an article I read years ago about a well-known cartoonist who had moved somewhere in California (I think it was Santa Barbara, but I’m not sure) because it seemed so idyllic. But she soon realized that it was “too happy” and that this pervasive happiness, paradoxically, made her depressed, so she moved to L.A., where she felt there was much more variability in people’s happiness levels.
I’ve seen articles about Stanford making efforts to foster students’ “wellness” and offer courses that explore such subjects as happiness, living “the good life,” etc., and this seems like a step in the right direction. Perhaps if more students there took these sorts of courses and realized that everyone, no matter how smart they are or how well some of them do without trying, has doubts, worries, etc., duck syndrome would dissipate.
I’m curious: Just briefly, how would you summarize and contrast the cultures of Stanford, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton? Here’s what I’ve gleaned so far (and I know these are all just simplistic and stereotypical impressions):
Stanford: Very tough environment academically, in part because of the quarter system. Fairly happy students, but many unhappy beneath the surface. Very open to change, different ways of doing things, etc., with an administration that doesn’t just talk but acts. Very success-oriented. Good social life overall.
Harvard: Challenging academically, but perhaps not as much as its reputation would suggest. Less happy students. Bound in tradition and by being Harvard. Social life more difficult than at the other three, for a variety of reasons.
Yale: Tough academically, but very happy students. An administration that moves at a glacial pace—very slow to do anything or adapt to changing circumstances. Great social life, with students who are passionate about their experience there and Yale itself years later.
Princeton: Very tough academically. Very well thought-out programs, with an administration that recognizes when change is needed and responds to it in a timely fashion. Mixed social life—some seem to love it, while others are quite a bit less satisfied.
I’m not sure you can say that “many are unhappy beneath the surface” at Stanford. My d’s impression is that, while most people are indeed, working very hard, they are, actually, pretty happy. I don’t think that a challenging, strenuous environment equals unhappy. Is the place perfect? Of course not! But you shouldn’t think that many people are secretly unhappy.
I agree with @pacnwmomof2
The duck syndrome I described doesn’t necessarily mean that I or other students are overall unhappy. I characterize myself as overall happy at stanford, but I recognize that it can sometimes be difficult.
You seem to have the general characterizations right… Again, I don’t go to all those schools so I can’t really say much. I will agree that I have heard Harvard’s social life to be pretty “difficult” for some, and I hear that in many ways Harvard is the easiest academically out of all the ivies. I also concur that Yale’s social life seems really great. Of course, Princeton’s grade deflation makes Princeton acaemically the most rigorous. I think Princeton’s social life can defintely be characterized as “elitist”(exemplified by some eating clubs) which some people like, some people don’t.
If I had to rank each by increasing academic difficulty:
Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Princeton
and social life quality:
Harvard, Princeton, Yale/Stanford
Those are just my basic impressions.
And I think it should be said that at any of these schools, the workload will be tough, and you’ll still meet great people have a lot of fun!!!
Thanks, @pacnwmomof2 and @guccigirl—that’s an important distinction to make. Many people are happy even though they’re working very hard, and it’s reassuring to hear, @guccigirl, that you’d characterize yourself as overall happy at Stanford!
Thanks, too, for your take on my admittedly simplistic characterizations of these schools. Yale and Stanford seem pretty close to ideal, and my son will have a very tough decision to make if he gets into Stanford too (unless, of course, the financial aid offer makes it for him). Time will tell….
One thing I can add is that unless you are certain that you want to major in STEM area, it’s better to go to a college which has top programs in all areas. I went to Cornell long time ago, thinking I would major in Physics. It turned out not only did I sck big time in STEM area but I HATED having to sit long hours doing research or lab work which was required in many STEM fields. To make a long story short, I changed my major several times and was forced to ask myself a question “Now that I know I sck in most fields of higher learning, what the h*ll do I want to study in college, which will allow me to graduate without getting failing grades?” Lol I finally changed my major to English Literature because I wanted to improve my writing and I generally liked reading books. I did really well in English Literature without trying too hard, simply by reading books and writing papers while lying in bed. [To my defense, it was too often too cold there to make me want to get out of my bed.] My proudest achievement is graduating from Cornell in 4 years after having changed my major 5 times. I can also say I sat on the very desk & chair that the Superman (Christopher Reeves) had sat when he majored in English Lit at Cornell.
Basically, I was pretty good in math in high school and got 790 in SAT math, so I thought I would enjoy STEM and be pretty good at it. Turned out to be wrong, very wrong. But since Cornell had very good departments in Humanities, it was very easy for me to switch to Humanities area. I really believe college is the place to find out what area you enjoy learning and encourage college students to take some courses they normally would not take in high schools.
Anyway, from my perusal of Stanford website and visits there, it seems like Stanford is Cornell on steroid: Stanford is good to excellent in almost all areas of STEM and Humanities. And I can tell you Palo Alto weather is even better than Southern CA weather; the closest weather I found to Palo Alto weather is Santa Barbara weather, very temperate and not uncomfortably hot or cold. I enjoy wearing shorts and T-shirts all the time, so I would choose Stanford over Yale, Princeton & Harvard JUST for this reason, even though Stanford is located in what I consider to be more “stale” (although business wise very exciting) geographic area. Different people have different strokes, but for me, I have to protect my b*tt from freezing cold or icy winds.
By the way, I am one of few people alive who went to Cornell, not knowing it was an Ivy League college. I found out after first semester that Cornell was an Ivy, which made me feel better because at least I was getting failing grades at an Ivy League school. I was very diverse in my academic endeavors at Cornell because I managed to get F, D, C, B and As.
And I was the only Asian-American (relative recent immigrant) student who took the African-American Literature course that year, and was one of few Asian-American students who joined demonstration against Cornell investing in South Africa, the then apartheid country.
Why do you think Princeton would have been a better fit academically? Sorry if you said it already and I missed it. Thanks.
@websensation just an FYI, Stanford was modeled after Cornell:)
and as far as humanities Stanford is currently ranked number 1 in the world for arts and humanities
Stanford’s breadth of excellence is unmatched by any school in the world IMO… and Stanford is at the forefront of interdisciplinary studies to capitalize on these strengths. so if you’re undecided, wind up changing your major, interested in interdisciplinary studies Stanford is a great place to be.
Stanford has great arts and humanities departments, probably among the best in the world, but I found that the intellectual culture of campus veers heavily towards engineering, tech startups and business. Politics, literature and art won’t play as prominent a role as they do at Harvard or Yale. If you’re a social sciences/humanities/arts major this may or may not be a good thing depending on your interests.
I agree. Good and bad. They got money and space to make their school better. I mean, look at the acres they have. Over 8,000 acres. Their reputation around the world will be even better in future.
@reuynshard depends on your perspective… for someone looking for a classical approach I would say you’re right… for someone looking for a more forward innovative approach I would say Stanford. Stanford is really pushing interdisciplinary studies melding humanities with tech and frankly I think this is the future for humanities. so yes you’re right… humanities with tech:)
Rains a LOT more than I thought