<p>I have heard so many good things about stanford from my friends, books, etc. i want to know if there are any negatives or cons about the school, or is it (as one of my friends coined) "heavan on earth"?</p>
<p>I encourage you to look over the archives. there are a lot of threads from each year's april discussing pros and cons. Also, ignore byerly</p>
<p>cons? hmm...the quarter system is a con in that it doesn't match up with other friends holiday schedule...so your breaks aren't the same as semester schools. hmm...it rains during the winter sometimes. hmm...it's far from anywhere outside of california. hmm...it...uh...is in the state governed by the terminator...</p>
<p>i can't really think of significant con's, or at least con's that aren't found at other schools of its caliber.</p>
<p>Cons: it isn't Princeton :)</p>
<p>Astrofan, Someone's bitter! You should see the number of people here who turned P down. Anecdotally: I ran in to lots of ppl at both P's And S's admit weekends. Most are Here.
Statistically: i think the cross admit data favors S.</p>
<p>yeah, at first I thought that quarter system being off of my friends would suck, but it turns out 2 out of 3 of my bestest best friends are also on quarter! and the friend who's on semester is relatively near by. YAY</p>
<p>Haha, not bitter, I got into both! But I was just kidding, Stanford is an amazing school...I heard many students are more laidback than on the East Coast. Keep up the reputation Iki!</p>
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I have heard so many good things about stanford from my friends, books, etc. i want to know if there are any negatives or cons about the school, or is it (as one of my friends coined) "heavan on earth"?
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<p>First off, let me lead off by saying that I think Stanford is a great school - arguably the most balanced school in the country, and perhaps the world.</p>
<p>But if you want cons, I can give you some</p>
<p>*Palo Alto and Silicon Valley in general is BORING. Especially for somebody who is young. This is something that has been noted time and time again by many authors. The truth is, there really isn't that much to do, and whatever there is almost always requires a car. </p>
<p>For example, here's what software developer and essayist Paul Graham had to say about it:</p>
<p>"For all its power, Silicon Valley has a great weakness: the paradise Shockley found in 1956 is now one giant parking lot. San Francisco and Berkeley are great, but they're forty miles away. Silicon Valley proper is soul-crushing suburban sprawl. It has fabulous weather, which makes it significantly better than the soul-crushing sprawl of most other American cities. But a competitor that managed to avoid sprawl would have real leverage. " </p>
<p>If Stanford could somehow magically relocate itself to downtown San Francisco, that would be perfect. Or if BART were to simply extend the line down to the Stanford campus, that would be a major improvement. It's already down to Millbrae, which is about 20 miles away, so it's getting closer. But it's not getting closer quickly enough. </p>
<p>*Stanford also doesn't (yet) have the pop-culture brand name that Harvard, MIT, or Yale do (especially Harvard, which has the indisputably strongest brand-name). Those who know colleges obviously know Stanford. But regular folks sometimes don't know. This is more important than it may seem, as some of you will end up working with or working for regular people. For example, I heard a story about one girl whose grandmother got injured in an accident and wanted to hire a lawyer to sue the perpetrator. When the girl said that she got a lawyer who graduated from Stanford, her grandmother objected, saying that she wanted a lawyer from "a good school". Apparently, to her grandmother, the only good law schools were Harvard and Yale. Obviously she was wrong to think that Stanford was not a good law school, but it doesn't matter that she was wrong. All that matters is that she didn't think Stanford was good. That just shows that, fair or not fair, Stanford still does not yet have the brand name that its competitor schools do. </p>
<p>*I suspect that Stanford doesn't do as good of a job in offering undergraduate research opportunities as MIT and Caltech do. MIT has UROP. Caltech has similar opportunities. Stanford's opportunities are not nearly as developed. So if research is your thing, particularly technical research, you may be better served going to one of the Institutes. </p>
<p>Now again, let me reiterate that I think that Stanford is a fantastic school. But you asked for cons, so I gave you some. If Stanford could be transplanted into San Francisco, if Stanford had the brand-name of Harvard, and if Stanford could offer the undergrad research opportunities of MIT, then I think it really would be perfect.</p>
<p>Sakky, you basically made the case for Stanford. When you are comparing it to Harvard, Yale, MIT, & Cal Tech - that is the top echelon of schools in the US and the world. The data already shows Stanford to be 3rd most desireable school in the US. I hardly see how this could be seen as a detractor.</p>
<p>Although I do agree that Silicon Valley leaves much to be desired...</p>
<p>When I visited Stanford and asked students to note some cons of the school, the only thing they really cited was the campus' immensity. It's just so huge it's really hard to meet up with people, apparently. I actually kind of experienced this myself: since I stayed in a dorm on the very far edge of campus, I couldn't meet up with a friend of mine because he was busy and our dorms were too far apart for him to make the trip to see me.</p>
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*I suspect that Stanford doesn't do as good of a job in offering undergraduate research opportunities as MIT and Caltech do. MIT has UROP. Caltech has similar opportunities. Stanford's opportunities are not nearly as developed. So if research is your thing, particularly technical research, you may be better served going to one of the Institutes.
Are the research oportunities at Stanford that bad?? I'm really interested in doing some research at Stanford. I'm specifically asking about Chemical Engineering.</p>
<p>There are TONS of research opportunities. I've never heard of someone wanting to do research and not being able to do so. I don't know much about research at MIT or Caltech but I wouldn't be surprised if Stanford's research opportunities are just as good or even better.</p>
<p>"*Stanford also doesn't (yet) have the pop-culture brand name that Harvard, MIT, or Yale do (especially Harvard, which has the indisputably strongest brand-name).
This is one item I contest. First, we can look at movies like "Orange County" which featured Stanford. Second, in the most recent Gallup poll, Stanford tied for second with Yale when the general populace was asked which was the best college in the country.</p>
<p>"*I suspect that Stanford doesn't do as good of a job in offering undergraduate research opportunities as MIT and Caltech do. MIT has UROP. Caltech has similar opportunities. Stanford's opportunities are not nearly as developed. So if research is your thing, particularly technical research, you may be better served going to one of the Institutes."
Stanford DOES have vast research opportunities, including Summer Research College, which operates under the URP, and there's also instutitions like SURJ, which publishes student research. And Stanford, unlike MIT and Caltech, has the world's dominant psychology program and there are many research opportunities in that department.</p>
<p>As someone who is doing research at stanford this summer, i must agree with zephyr. Professors are generally quite accessible and looking for undergrads to do research (though this does, of course, depend on the field).
In addition, there's lots of grant money out there once you develop your own project. Though they by no means give this money to everyone who applies, my impression has been that just about every worthwhile project gets funding.</p>
<p>yeah, i can tell you for sure that there are many research oppurtunities for students, even freshman, as many of my friends did research as freshmen.</p>
<p>also, the school's immensity really isn't that bad at all. i mean, to meet up with friends it's just and extra 500 feet or something. OH NO...haha. and everyone has bikes which makes everything seem less far away. seriously...it's not that bad.</p>
<p>i DO AGREE with palo alto being boring as hell. but san fran makes up for it. you do have to pay 8 bucks to take the caltrain to San fran, but whatever. and i think at HARVARD or other such schools that are next to bigger cities, do those students have THAT much time to take advantage of it. </p>
<p>maybe on breaks and stuff, but realistically how often does the big city atmosphere make a difference at such academically rigorous colleges? i mean, i def woud've have visited san fran 84392 more times if it were 5 min away, but that's just me, and i consider myself to be a lot more chill than most ivy league/stanford/mit students. but i'm actually asking anyone who knows about how often harvard students go to boston. sorry for my lack of knowledge as to how far or "in" the city harvard is...but someone enlighten me.</p>
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Are the research oportunities at Stanford that bad?? I'm really interested in doing some research at Stanford. I'm specifically asking about Chemical Engineering.
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There are TONS of research opportunities. I've never heard of someone wanting to do research and not being able to do so. I don't know much about research at MIT or Caltech but I wouldn't be surprised if Stanford's research opportunities are just as good or even better
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Stanford DOES have vast research opportunities, including Summer Research College, which operates under the URP, and there's also instutitions like SURJ, which publishes student research. And Stanford, unlike MIT and Caltech, has the world's dominant psychology program and there are many research opportunities in that department.
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<p>Nobody is saying that Stanford's research opportunities are "bad" by any stretch of the imagination. Clearly Stanford's opportunities are better than that of the vast vast majority of schools out there. The question is whether they are as good as those at MIT or Caltech. Given the fact that these 2 institutes place their opportunities front and center as key reasons to go, I would suspect that Stanford is probably not as good, particularly on the technical side. That's not to say that it's bad, just probably not as good. {Obviously Stanford will have better opportunities in the humanities, but that's not what I'm talking about.} </p>
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Sakky, you basically made the case for Stanford. When you are comparing it to Harvard, Yale, MIT, & Cal Tech - that is the top echelon of schools in the US and the world. The data already shows Stanford to be 3rd most desireable school in the US. I hardly see how this could be seen as a detractor.
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<p>Well, you may be able to tell just how much I respect Stanford, to the point that, for undergrad, if I had my choice, there would have been only one school that I might turn down Stanford for (and that is Harvard), and even that is not certain. </p>
<p>But like I said, the OP asked for cons, so I gave some. Every school has some cons. </p>
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i DO AGREE with palo alto being boring as hell. but san fran makes up for it. you do have to pay 8 bucks to take the caltrain to San fran, but whatever. and i think at HARVARD or other such schools that are next to bigger cities, do those students have THAT much time to take advantage of it. </p>
<p>maybe on breaks and stuff, but realistically how often does the big city atmosphere make a difference at such academically rigorous colleges? i mean, i def woud've have visited san fran 84392 more times if it were 5 min away, but that's just me, and i consider myself to be a lot more chill than most ivy league/stanford/mit students. but i'm actually asking anyone who knows about how often harvard students go to boston. sorry for my lack of knowledge as to how far or "in" the city harvard is...but someone enlighten me.
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<p>It's not just about Boston vs. SF. You said it yourself - Palo Alto is boring as hell. I agree. In contrast, Harvard Square is one of the most interesting areas in the Boston region, and Cambridge itself is clearly one of the most interesting college towns in the world. Cambridge is very much akin to the city of Berkeley in that there are a LOT of things to do, especially right next to Harvard Square (although it should be said that there is NOTHING to do near Harvard Business School). The point is, I think even most Stanford students would agree that Cambridge is more interesting than Palo Alto, for the simple fact is, it's not that hard to beat Palo Alto in terms of excitement. </p>
<p>Furthermore, the question is not about visiting just Boston, but in visiting all of the highlights of the Boston area. Let's face it. Without a car, it's extremely difficult for a Stanford student to see any professional sports events. Even the Sharks are not exactly close. The Warriors, the Giants, the A's, the Raiders, the 49ers, they are almost a world away if you don't have a car. In contrast, it's trivially easy for a Harvard student to see the Celtics, the Bruins, the Red Sox. The Patriots are farther away (in Foxboro) but the public transit system does run a special line to Gillette Stadium on gameday. Keep in mind that the subway stop is RIGHT in the middle of Harvard Square. In fact, it's actually CALLED the Harvard Square stop. Furthermore, Harvard also sits within a large network of bus lines that can basically take you anywhere in the greater Boston metro area. It's a pretty darn good location. </p>
<p>What that also means is that you don't have to live at Harvard to study at Harvard. This is especially important if you're a graduate student. You can reasonably live RIGHT in the middle of Boston, where all the action is, and just take public transit to school. I know many grad students (at both Harvard and MIT) who did just that - basically lived in the cool parts of Boston (Back Bay, Beacon Hill, North End, etc.), and just commuted to Harvard. Having an extensive public transportation system gives you that option. </p>
<p>But don't get me wrong. Stanford has many charms of its own. I think Stanford is a wonderful school. But my point is, Palo Alto aint' exactly the most happenin' place in the world, and the lack of public transportation (relative to Boston) can be a real bummer.</p>
<p>agreed...</p>
<p>but i will say i'm glad that the major con found with stanford is not even with the school itself, it's with the city outside of it...</p>
<p>that says something</p>
<p>Stanford's own surveys consistently show that "location" is one of the principal negatives - the weather notwithstanding - explaining the cross-admit losses to other schools.</p>
<p>On the other hand, "location" is probably the main reason why Harvard enjoys a huge cross admit edge over all its rivals.</p>
<p>Yale has recognized the negatives associated with the New Haven setting, and has taken steps to deal with the problem - including massive investment in commercial properties abbutting the campus in an effort to attract a better mix of campus-friendly businesses, even where a subsidy is necessary in order to do so.</p>
<p>Stanford, of course, built a modest up-scale mall on the corner of its parcel in order to serve students and faculty, but it needs to do far more than this in order to make Palo Alto an attractice college town.</p>
<p>If I may digress, speaking of upscale malls such as the Stanford Shopping Center, I wouldn't mind if there was an upscale mall near the Harvard Allston campus, where Harvard Business School is. Put it at, say, on the corner of N Harvard Street and Western. Heck, it doesn't even have to be upscale. Just put ANYTHING there besides a ratty 7-11 and a Dunkin Donuts. I guess I never really appreciated it before, but there truly is NOTHING to do around HBS. It's a bit ironic, actually, because HBS is supposed to be one of the richest, if not the richest school that comprises Harvard, and HBS is located in arguably the most boring part of the Harvard campus. Even the Kennedy School is far closer to where the real action is. </p>
<p>Granted, Harvard Square is within walking distance. But still, if Harvard really intends to expand the Allston campus, Harvard has to make that part of town more interesting. Walking across the Larz Anderson over the Charles from Cambridge to Allston is like walking from Greenwich Village to Mayberry.</p>
<p>I don't think it really matters if MIT and Caltech have "better" research opportunities if Stanford offers research opportunities for anyone who is interested and has at least a decent idea for research. If you can do research on whatever you want to study does the ranking really matter? Also, just fyi, at the admissions presentation I went to in LA they really pushed research opportunities as one reason to go to Stanford.</p>
<p>I agree that Palo Alto isn't that exciting of a city. I really like that though. Rather, I like the effect of having Stanford an hour or so from San Francisco. It means that people tend to stay on campus on the weekends and allows for a strong sense of community which I really love. I would hate to have a school in the middle of the city. For me, the fact that Harvard is in Boston would actually be a con. And honestly with the activites and classes everyone takes, no one really has <em>that</em> much time to go into the city. I guess if you would die if you couldn't go clubbing and were forced to go to frat parties instead that could potentially be an issue... but really, Stanford has had everything on campus that I've wanted and needed for entertainment. And you CAN still go to San Francisco is you want to. It's only an hour each way. You could go with some friends. Most students don't because we are lazy but if that's important to you by all means get away for the weekend. Go and see your sporting event. Or you could just stay on campus and watch a Stanford sporting event (which might be more fun anyway since it's likely that you know someone on the team and many of our teams are very good). I love Stanford and part of the reason that I love it so much is, oddly enough, BECAUSE Palo Alto isn't that exciting of a town.</p>