I posted my 2 cents before sbballer’s. See, that’s what I mean. An embarrassment.
Jeez, why does a thread like this pop up every few days. If everyone is truly so confident that Stanford is the best school on earth without peer, then there wouldn’t be so many overzealous posters trying to convince everyone else that this is indeed the case.
Comparing universities isn’t like comparing top speeds on cars. There are lots of factors like campus, resources, research reputation, student culture, undergrad focus, special programs, recruiting, cost, etc. and different people weigh different factors differently.
This may be what stanford thinks:
http://news.stanford.edu/2017/04/10/board-trustees-visits-harvard-mit/
They visited yale in 2010. They probably will have no place to visit in another 10 years. 
lols… lots of triggered parents on this thread getting all worked up. Princeton is a good safety school though:)
@reuynshard I dont think anyone is saying that Stanford has no peers, that would be an absurd claim to make.
@ewho Not surprised, as overall universities Harvard, Stanford, MIT are a cut above the rest, they are mainly looking at each other for what to do moving forward and exchanging ideas etc.
Allow me to indulge in a bit of confession… ta da… 
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In the 80’s, I was at Cal Berkeley for one of my three grad degrees (don’t ask, it’s a long story). While I was there, most of my classmates were from HYP, Berkeley, and Stanford. While they all had the finest minds, one of the biggest impressions that I had at the time was how humble those students from HYP were. One student, in particular, stood out from the crowd. While I was busy playing ping pong after dinner at the International House at Berkeley, I’d see him walking across from us with his violin case and going into the sound-proof, music practice room that was adjacent to the recreation room. I think he was younger than me, but I was his secret admirer. He comported himself with class, with humility, with a self-defacing air about him. He just went about his business; I didn’t see him mixing with the crowd, but he always looked content and happy. I learned from the I-House booklet that he graduated from Princeton. I told myself, at the time, that when I eventually get married, I’d like to have a son like him. At the time, ironically, I had NO IDEA that my son is now headed to Princeton.
I then went on to a grad school at Harvard. There, too, I didn’t come across anyone who I’d label as arrogant or a braggart. All the students I met either at my grad school or at the undergrad events, never did I ever feel a sense of shame like I do with certain folks on this forum. They all comported themselves with a sense of quiet confidence yet without the inferiority complex mixed with a tint of the Icarus Complex. People who possess true confidence with themselves and comfortable with who they’re don’t go around trying to prove everywhere that they’re better than others.
A few decades later, when my son was applying to colleges, knowing that he was within the range of any top schools in the nation with the quantitative scores with the talent and EC’s to go with, we had the decision to make as to which colleges to apply to. He was easily considered the top violinist in the state as he took all competitions that were available in the state. He secured the concertmaster position at the major city orchestra in the state, all-state, as well as the national level orchestra. He was accepted to all music camps in the nation that he applied to, including the prestigious Heifetz International Music Camp at the age of 14 and the Aspen Music Festival at the age of 16. Even though he had a very realistic shot at Juilliard or the New England Conservatory of Music, he didn’t want to pursue music as a career, so we passed auditioning at any of them. I was happy, as I saved a bunch of money.
Perhaps because of the fact that I did earn a grad degree from Harvard, when time came to his college applications, his order of priorities was: Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and Stanford, in that order, among the “national” universities and Williams, Pomona, and Amherst among LACs. He applied to 16 colleges in all, and this period was his most stressful time of his life applying to all these colleges while taking 8 most rigorous IB courses while, at the same time, preparing himself for the next concerto competitions, recitals, concerts, and auditions. He averaged about 4-5 hours of sleep a day during this time period. He slept when I was driving him to violin private lessons an hour away and he slept on the way back. When he began writing college application essays, he started with the ones that he desired the most, namely, Harvard, Princeton, UPenn, Dartmouth, Williams, and down the list. He specifically targeted those colleges with a great music degree program or a great music performance opportunities with subsidized private instructions. Harvard (with NEC nearby), Princeton (with the Royal Conservatory of Music in London opportunity) and UPenn (with the Curtis Institute nearby) and Dartmouth (the only college with the “Music Study Abroad Program”), easily rose to my son’s top target. In retrospect, I think my son got so exhausted with everything going on that he turned in lousy essays to all the rest of colleges that he considered a “backup.”
Interestingly, he got either waitlisted or rejected by those colleges he paid the least attention to with essays (including WashU of SL and Vanderbilt, both which he didn’t even bother sending his music supplement) but accepted to those that he spent the most time carefully composing his essays. Essays, it turned out, are really important! Out of his top choices with the great music programs, he was accepted to all but Harvard, namely, Princeton, UPenn, Dartmouth, Williams, Amherst and Pomona. Although he was accepted to Duke, as well, it really didn’t have the kind of music program that my son desired, so it didn’t really have any significant role in the final decision making. While both my son and I respected Stanford, given my son’s undergrad needs, it also didn’t have much of a significance. In fact, my son only applied to Stanford because one of his best friends in high school practically begged him to. He wrote half-hearted lousy essays to Stanford, and that was that. Ultimately, what came down to was Princeton and Williams. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I was all for Willams simply because of my opinion that it offered the best undergrad education of any top colleges out there, including HYP and Stanford. Sure, it, unfortunately, lacked the recognition that it truly deserves, but I do know how to detect quality as opposed to hype. My son, on the other hand, chose Princeton. Knowing that I’m not the one who’s going to college and also knowing that Princeton had the best reputation for undergrad education and focus among national universities, we reached a happy compromise. Both offered a great music program with pre-med on the side. When Princeton subsequently sent us a mail that indicated their willingness to readjust their original FA aid package from generous to even more generous, that was it for us.
I helped my son choose his college based on his best fit, quantitative and qualitative wise, NOT based on prestige alone. Now, if my son was strongly interested in CS or something similar, he’d have spent greater attention and energy in applying to Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, MIT, CalTech, and Berkeley, but given his music + pre-med interest, Stanford was his backup choice. In the end, everything worked out. I hope that parents help their kids choose the right college based on the best fit as opposed to all these silly frat-level mentalities displayed more than amply enough already as is. Funny how I chose “TiggerDad” as my CC moniker way before my son has ever even thought about applying to Princeton. He’s now heading to Princeton with a violin case in his hand, just like that boy from my Berkeley days. Funny how things turn out, like destiny.
So what you are saying is that in your opinion, even back in the 80’s Stanford students were not humble but the same loudmouth embarrassing braggarts you complain about above? Hmmm.
You talk about humility and how gauche it is for the nouveau riche to brag about their wealth and then we get a long diatribe extolling the virtues of your son and how incredibly talented he is. Again, hmmm.
Speaking as someone who has spent time doing research at top schools like H,C, and P and was accepted to the top acronym schools, I think you find humility at all of them, including and especially, Stanford. One of the reasons I chose to come here was the extremely laid back student body almost completely devoid of all the social stratification that comes with Final clubs, Skull & Bones and certain eating clubs. Since I’ve been here, I haven’t come across anything resembling the behavior you describe in post #39.
Sure there are some posters who are very enthusiastic about Stanford on this thread. It’s in the Stanford forum so what do you expect? Do the gentleman posters of the Princeton forum not extol the virtues of their school or would that embarrass you too much?
Glad your son will be a Princeton man. Congrats to him and I wish him well.
Btw, the only thing I don’t disagree with you about is Williams. I think the teaching there coupled with the tutorial system is almost unmatched and graduates have unbridled access to top jobs and graduate schools. Here though, location and weather play a major role in the decision process beyond the prestige factor.
Totally agree with @Multiverse7. One of the main reasons why I chose Stanford was because of the people. I didn’t apply to Princeton, but my brother did and he got in. Princeton, among Stanford and MIT, was in his top 3, but he’s gotten a snobby vibe from some students (along with the Harvard and Yale undergrads), something he has not perceived from Stanford/MIT.
Agree with @Multiverse7 and @potterfan - the driving reason I chose Stanford was the atmosphere of a laid back, humble and collaborative student body. Of the Ivies, I found Brown to be most similar in vibe to Stanford. Princeton and Stanford were IMO the most different. Princeton came right off the list after a visit without any hesitation.
Of Princeton v Stanford, one school definitely has more of a reputation for elitism and snobbish attitudes, and it’s not Stanford. Regardless, you’ll find snobs and humble students at both schools.
Prospective students should visit and they can see the snobbery/elitism (or lack thereof) themselves. I’m not concerned with how they’ll find Stanford
Chiming in now. I am very grateful to have DC at both Princeton and Stanford. Both schools are amazing with some of the brightest and most humble students and professors that my DC have encountered. I won’t repeat what others have written, but some things to considered about Princeton vs. Stanford are: semester system vs. quarter system (depth of study vs. taking 1/3 more classes w/the quarter system - lends itself to more interdisciplinary studies); undergraduate focus with 2/3 undergrad & 1/3 grad students vs. 1/3 undergrad & 2/3 grad students which provides more grad courses available for undergrads; 4 seasons climate vs. basically 2 season climate; smaller suburban campus w/gentle hills and walkable vs. expansive campus (bikes everywhere); traditional, studious, and quiet campus vs. contemporary, active, and busy campus (Stanford has LOTS of events and conferences happening every day); grades focus in a post-grade deflation class environment vs. less grades focus (though still important) - leans more towards grade inflation; quite scholarly & theoretical (adding to knowledge) with more traditional opportunities for application vs. scholarly & theoretical with lots of opportunities to apply knowledge in Silicon Valley, industry, NGO’s (it is not uncommon for Stanford students to take a quarter or more off to travel or work/intern,); required Junior Paper and Senior thesis vs. optional Senior thesis. IMO, Princeton seems to be more serious and purposeful in tone (east coast culture?) versus Stanford has a fun and even wacky tone at times (notice Stanford’s band) that has fueled the entrepreneurial and innovation school spirit. The campus vibes and culture are different at each school but the caliber of the people are similar. Both schools have an extensive and active alumni network but Princeton is famous for its annual reunions where alumni can return every year instead of every five years. Besides these comparisons and your area of academic interest, do check out the extracurricular activities that each school offers. I hope you plan on attending Princeton’s Preview Days and Stanford’s Admit Weekend. My DC chose the schools most suitable for them and never looked back. Many congrats on your acceptance to both Princeton and Stanford!
Slushy poster hit the nail about Stanford culture. My kid and I feel that Stanford is a better fit for him than Princeton. I have to say that I met the Stanford people who reviewed my kid’s essays and they were not only pretty young (below 30), but very nice, personable and humble people. I thanked them for being sensitive enough to appreciate my kid’s essays.
@multiverse - “Sure there are some posters who are very enthusiastic about Stanford on this thread. It’s in the Stanford forum so what do you expect? Do the gentleman posters of the Princeton forum not extol the virtues of their school or would that embarrass you too much?”
First, I want to thank you for having read everything I wrote. It was rather long, and I didn’t think anything I said was entertaining enough to be read word for word. I’m not going to defend myself and will take your criticism squarely.
The Princeton forum is pretty boring, nothing like here. Here, I get the strongest vibes that Stanford’s supremacy needs to be affirmed and reaffirmed as if, if you don’t, the sense of supremacy is going to erode away. THAT’s embarrassing to witness. I’ve been visiting P’s forum for a long while and so far not a single post that I can even remotely characterize as embarrassing. They seem collectively nonchalant about P vs… type of nonsense as if it’s all self-explanatory unlike a couple of posters here with the constant need to prove that Stanford is (always) better, which indicates to me an underlying deep self-esteem issues. I have a very healthy dosage of respect for Stanford and that’s why, if you’re a good reader, you’d have noticed that I never said a bad thing about Stanford itself. Who knows, my son might end up doing his grad work there someday? To me, Stanford doesn’t need to always measure itself against its peers nor does it need a couple of cheerleaders who seem to embarrass the name of Stanford than helping it.
@slushy - Nice, quick synopsis of both schools. Wish we have more of such informational comparisons. Very helpful.
@TiggerDad i dont think that is a fair thing to say…people have posted in both the Princeton and the Stanford forum about this same topic and people have expressed their opinions…there are people who like one school more than the other and are just expressing their opinion…and i see people on both sides doing it…
@Penn95 - “…just expressing their opinion.” Yes, sure, but don’t forget that I’m also “just expressing my opinion,” too. I can see from you point of view why my opinions are unfair whereas you’d totally approve of “their opinions” even if based on outrageous bias and sweeping generalizations. You have a tremendous need to promote Stanford, so I understand.
@TiggerDad Yes and you are free to express your opinion, but you seem to dismiss any opinion not aligned with your beliefs and call people expressing opposite beliefs embarrassing and overzealous. What are the sweeping and outrageous generalizations? Also what i can’t help but notice is that the Stanford forum is full of people with a great need to put Stanford down or assert the standing of Princeton or Yale. I don’t see people in favor of Stanford posting continuously on the Princeton or Yale forum, being outraged at the sweeping generalizations against Stanford…
In any case i don’t understand what you are so annoyed about. This is the Stanford forum so there are bound to be people that really like Stanford. You can state you opinion and people will respond and hopefully there will be a discussion. There is no need to take it to the next level and call people embarrassing and overzealous when in fact you are at Stanford’s forum trying to convince people of Princeton’s standing relative to Stanford or sth.
TiggerDad = Triggered Dad:)
@Penn95 - “What are the sweeping and outrageous generalizations?”
These are just some that I was able to quickly grab off not just from the Stanford forum but Princeton forum, as well. If I want to spend a bit more time, I’m sure I can find a lot more by visiting Yale and other forums. I can see why you’re sensitive to my earlier comments since you authored about half of the following:
“I feel the debate is mainly Stanford vs Harvard, not Stanford vs HYP. I don’t think there is much competition between Stanford and Princeton,Yale, since Stanford comes on top vs these two in virtually all aspects.” – Penn95
“Yes I think Stanford is more prestigious than Princeton (and Yale).” – Penn95
“I would put Stanford neck and neck with Harvard for the top spot, ahead of Princeton and Yale. But I will not be surprised if in the next few decades Stanford even surpasses Harvard in terms of prestige.” – Penn95
“Stanford has surpassed Yale and Princeton in practically every metric…” – sbballer
“Overall Stanford is the stronger school across the board… and if you do change your major… which often happens Stanford will be equally strong… and yes this includes all the humanities and all the “soft” majors.” – sbballer
“there is no question Stanford is the stronger school across the board…and if you decide to change your major Stanford is going to be a plus. however I do agree go check out the schools and talk to the students.” – sbballer
See how inane such sweeping generalized statements sound like? You don’t do Stanford any useful service; quite the opposite, you and sbballer are a huge disservice to the great institution that is Stanford. This is what I mean by embarrassing.
btw… all the above statements are True. times have changed:)
“TiggerDad = Triggered Dad:)”
See what I mean? sbballer REPRESENTS Stanford. Think about what you guys are doing to Stanford. You don’t raise it up; you tear it down by such a display of embarrassing behavior.