<p>I'm looking for a college that is strong in academics, specifically physics and math, but has a lot else to offer. Definitely want a fun campus, interesting/diverse people. I could go for a decent amount of parties, people who take academics pretty seriously but aren't afraid to let lose after hours. I can definitely be a slacker myself. I want a fairly attractive campus, or at least don't want myself saying how ugly the people are or where are all the hot girls. I could go for an interesting surrounding area, preferably a nice city with lots to do. I want opportunities around campus to pursue science and math topics. Involved teachers and classes that aren't too big but don't have to be really small. Friendly/nice people on campus. Applying to top colleges in my field has me a little worried about nerdy/techy campuses, I definitely don't want this and want a campus where there are a lot of people who are pursuing different interests. Also a fairly equal number of boys and girls. Good sports teams would be nice. </p>
<p>Anyways thats probably my ideal college scene. How does Stanford match up with that? What are things one should worry about or definitely look for if you ever went to visit. What are things that only a person that goes there would really know. Common misconceptions.</p>
<p>Any help would be appreciated since I am trying to cut down on my college applications, and please try to keep the bias to a minimum and don't be vague.</p>
<p>I notice that you have made this identical post on the CC pages for about 15 different colleges. Getting other people to do your research for you, eh?</p>
<p>*strong in academics -- YES, stanford is very strong academically across-the-board, so even if you end up majoring in something completely different from what you started with, odds are it'll still be good
*specifically physics and math -- another YES, I'm going in as physics and that helped me pick Stanford. my freshman E&M class will be taught by a Nobel laureate (a recent one, too) who is also incredibly entertaining and personable
*interesting/diverse people -- Stanford is more statistically diverse than a lot of top colleges (being in CA helps), but what really struck me about it was how everyone kinda had a switch... they'd be chatting normally about sports or music or just joking around, but something would come up that would reveal just really interesting thoughts and interests and experiences
*I could go for a decent amount of parties, people who take academics pretty seriously but aren't afraid to let lose after hours. -- definitely got the impression that you can find that in good amounts there
*I can definitely be a slacker myself. -- hopefully not so much of a slacker that you can't get in... Stanford kids seem well-adjusted, though. I went to visit Harvard and my guide was like "okay, I don't ever have time to go shopping, but I hear some people do..." about a place that I swear was 2 minutes from her dorm room. She just spent all her time working or doing extracurriculars, and I got the impression that that was the most common way to live at H... but I don't think S is that way.
*I want a fairly attractive campus, -- I don't think Stanford's that pretty, but almost everyone else on earth gushes over it
*or at least don't want myself saying how ugly the people are or where are all the hot girls. -- sorry, conventional wisdom has the Stanford guys being hotter than Stanford girls. but I wouldn't necessarily trust that...'cause I'm gonna be a Stanford girl next year! Heh.
*I could go for an interesting surrounding area, preferably a nice city with lots to do. -- all there is to do in Palo Alto itself is go to the movies (there's a couple of theatres that cater to independent/old movie lovers) or out to eat (tons of restaurants, cafes, ice cream -- including gelato's, mmm...), but there's a bus that'll take you to SF, which I definitely plan on doing on weekends. plus, I hear Stanford makes up for it with a strong campus life, but I can't verify that for sure for sure.
*I want opportunities around campus to pursue science and math topics. -- tons of undergraduate research opportunities and a real sense of flexibility and interdisciplinary emphasis, which I think provide the best opportunities for learning science.
*Involved teachers and classes that aren't too big but don't have to be really small. -- I didn't want gigantic classes, nor did I feel the need for tiny classes; Stanford seems to provide a good mix.
*Friendly/nice people on campus. -- so far as I've seen? YES.
*nerdy/techy campuses, I definitely don't want this and want a campus where there are a lot of people who are pursuing different interests. -- this was a big deal for me; I used to want to go to MIT and then realized that I wanted to go to a college where there were kids who just loved french literature more than anything else and didn't care for science/technology. so then I started looking into schools with real strengths in science (especially hard sciences) but also a lot of strengths in other areas and Stanford became my first choice instead.
*Also a fairly equal number of boys and girls. -- Stanford's overall m/f ratio is very close to 50/50, but what's even better is that its m/f ratio within the physics major is more normal than I'd seen it anywhere else. (I sorted degree recipients by gender and area of concentration on some gov't database for a bunch of schools a loooong time ago, don't remember the specific numbers, just that S's were higher than the rest though still obviously not perfect)
*Good sports teams would be nice. -- director's cup winner 11 years in a row, or something like that? Stanford definitely isn't a slouch as far as all that's concerned</p>
<p>thanks for being thorough. Yeah the slacker is a bit of an exaggeration compared to the traditional definition. Obviously my stuff gets done or I would'nt even bother applying there.</p>