<p>I'm in love with Stanford, academically, athletically, geographically, and reputationally. (Don't know if that last one was a word or not) My only fear is to the quality of life I would partake in during my 4 years. How intense is the course load? What do people do for fun? </p>
<p>I'm looking for any piece of advice really.</p>
<p>My Stanford friends are fitness fiends-they bike, hike, rock climb(Yosemite), snowboard(Tahoe), run, kayak, surf, golf, yoga, pilates- all things healthy.</p>
<p>Work hard, play harder.</p>
<p>I feel like the answer you just gave me was from God. Ha. Those things are real big to me. Sounds like I could connect real quick. I just have to get in… :/</p>
<p>Not trying to thread hijack here, but I was wondering if someone could please tell me how many hours on average do CS students have of free time? (Playing outside, hanging out, swimming etc…)</p>
<p>People also get involved in lots of activities for fun–everything from guerrilla theater groups to a cappella to activist groups. Of course, there are parties all the time (Wednesday nights like wine & cheese, or happy hour, or big/small parties throughout the weekend). Princeton Review puts Stanford at #17 for quality of life, and #2 for happiest students (sometimes #1). The course load is intense, but as Batllo said, it’s work hard, play harder.</p>
<p>@ StanfordCS, it depends on how many CS classes you take.</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://cs.stanford.edu/degrees/undergrad/Courseload.shtml]Courseload[/url”>Stanford University Undergraduate Major in Computer Science]Courseload[/url</a>]</p>
<p>^ How many CS classes do incoming freshman generally take?</p>
<p>Again, it really varies depending on the person. Some take 2, crazy ones will take 3, some take 1, some take none. If I had to say, probably 1-2.</p>
<p>^ How many did you take your Freshman year? What are popular CS classes chosen among incoming Freshman?</p>
<p>I took 5. The most common ones for freshmen are 103, 106A, 106B/X, and 107, maybe also 109 (wasn’t offered when I was a freshman, but I imagine a lot do take it). Those are the intro classes - the ‘core’ of the major.</p>
<p>^ Did you take 5 all at the same time?</p>
<p>No, of course not. I spread them out over freshman year…</p>
<p>Just worry about getting in</p>
<p>Life at Stanford is entirely dependent upon you. I am probably oversimplifying, but I think it helps if you’re either intelligent/academically successful relative to your peers (can handle courses better and also have fun) or apathetic enough about grades to throw more efforts into partying.</p>
<p>Phantasmagoric, which 5 did you take?</p>
<p>What’s the average GPA for a CS major? How difficult is it to maintain a 4.0?</p>
<p>Ok focusing on getting in, what more can I do? I’ll do anything. I am 2nd in my class (out of 90) at a private school. I made a 33 on my ACT. I’ve taken the maximum amount of honors and AP and made all As. I’m a 4 year letterman, and 2 year all state in both football and track. What could tip the scale in my favor, or what would you say my chances are?</p>
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<p>I took 106A, 106B, 107, 103, and a graduate-level CS class.</p>
<p>I don’t know what the average GPA is (I don’t think the department’s ever released that info). Maintaining a 4.0 would be extremely difficult; don’t expect to be able to do that.</p>
<p>@TRDobbs</p>
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<p>Without knowing much about your situation, I think the best thing for you would be to demonstrate a devotion to something you love to do. This becomes important for the “intellectual vitality” essay, but it’s something they look for in the whole application. So find something you like to do and do it well. The rest of what you listed doesn’t really make you stand out, unless you’re being recruited for athletics.</p>
<p>Thanks, I appreciate it. I have great leadership qualities, and I’m also very into my church, and doing mission work. Even if I plan to go into a secular field, would my passion for Christianity be any help?</p>
<p>Only if you have done something significant with it, are going to pursue similar endeavors while at Stanford, etc. Think of it like this: they’re looking for someone who can contribute to campus life. Not someone who just has high scores and a high GPA. So they’ll look for those who have a strong record of contributing, and more, who have a passion for what they do. Those are the ones who will thrive at Stanford. So if you have significant accomplishments with it (either through extracurricular activities - say organizing significant church events, etc. - or through awards that recognize your contributions), it will help.</p>
<p>At the same time, whether church work can help depends on how narrowly the admissions office defines “intellectual vitality” - some say that it’s more of a focus on academic topics, others that it’s flexible and meant to assess general achievement that requires great facility of mind.</p>
<p>If you want more certainty than that, then what do you think your major will be? That’s definitely a way to go about demonstrating passion, drive, intellectual curiosity, etc. Of course the admissions office assumes that students will likely change their majors, but it’s undeniable that displaying a strong commitment (achievements, awards, activities, independent work) to some academic endeavor goes a long way in college applications.</p>
<p>politics and religion are generally things that people should stay away from, but if it means a lot to you, you can take the risk</p>
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What? Why?</p>