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<p>I do not know about “magically special,” except to note the whiff of sarcasm. My point is that, just as a number of other schools in the country, it has its own characteristics that define the school. Some of those characteristics are not unique to Stanford, but I would have a real hard time to point to a school that is very similar to Stanford in terms of atmosphere. This does not mean that Stanford is better or worse. And this represents MY opinion. Others might disagree.</p>