<p>Yeah, but I’d rather not show up to class covered in sweat! Ah well, I’m sure I’ll adjust. Extra bike riding = extra cardio.</p>
<p>“Apple laptops, organic food, and Barack Obama.”</p>
<p>And this is bad because…overly processed foods are better for you? or because we are a liberal university and we believe in evolution?..or is it that PCs don’t crash and get spam?</p>
<p>Your post makes no sense</p>
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<p>Ditto. (10 char)</p>
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<p>I love it when ■■■■■■ cancel each other out.</p>
<p>Average annual rainfall…</p>
<p>Palo Alto, CA: 15.71"
Pasadena, CA: 21.09"
Cambridge, MA: 42.53"
Princeton, NJ: 48.25"
New Haven, CT: 52.73"</p>
<p>data > ■■■■■■.</p>
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But OP provided anecdotal evidence that it rains every day in Palo Alto, so it must be true!</p>
<p>Lol, these threads are always funny</p>
<p>Anyway, a couple things current students said to me back when I was deciding last year (I only post on this thread because I wish that someone could have posted negatives when I was a deciding senior without being flamed): </p>
<p>-The “everybody is always happy all the time” thing is so ingrained into the culture that it at times becomes oppressive. People feel obligated to be happy and to act like there is nothing wrong with the school, even when they may have legitimate qualms. Because the culture is as if “Stanford is heaven on earth and if you don’t like this you won’t like anything else”, people can feel bad about complaining. This is probably both preceded by the attitude of the future students you’ve observed on this thread and perpetuated by the attitude of SOME of the current posters of this thread; it is almost taboo to admit that Stanford lacks in any area relative to another school. For some people, the sense of complacency on campus that results can get annoying.
-Stanford can be lacking at times in the intellectual atmosphere. By this I don’t mean that Stanford students aren’t smart, because they are. But the laid-back culture pushes a lot of learning into the background. Stanford students are also very independent and entrepreneurial, which can be good for a lot of students the school attracts but disappointing for students who enthralled by learning for learning’s sake. Once again, there are definitely a lot of students who do fall into the latter category, but the general culture as per the students I talked to doesn’t actively promote it. It’s more of a pre-professional campus.
-The “laid-back” california atmosphere that a lot of students adopt when the get to campus can feel artificial. This is why a lot of students tire of the bubble quickly.
-And then obvious things like the lack of a college town, spread out campus, lacking sports scene compared to other major programs, other things that if you chose Stanford you probably don’t care much about. </p>
<p>Once again, these are the feelings of some people at the university and I’m sure there are people with opposing emotions. I have lots of positive things to say about Stanford as it is my second favorite school in the country, after Michigan of course ;). I could say a lot on both sides for both schools. </p>
<p>However this thread asked for negatives, a request which I’ve noticed many posters refuse to allow, which I would have found helpful on this site.</p>
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<p>No “taboo.” Some of us just didn’t take too kindly to the OP’s ■■■■■■■■. I, however, found his or her failed attempts mildly amusing. Of course, the complete annihilation of his or her “arguments” was much more entertaining for all involved.</p>
<p>Although this was started by a ■■■■■, since some legitimate complaints came up I’ll get serious now.</p>
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<p>I’ll second that this is an issue. Although I have yet to run into an issue with it I know a good number of people who have. I probably have never had an issue with it because I don’t have any issues making it known that I am not happy. There are definatly some people here who act like this is Disney land. It is college. It will be stressful at times.</p>
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<p>Watch your rhetoric bud. First off, your “a lot” is defiantly hyperbole. Second, I don’t know why you call it the bubble at the end because calling it the bubble invokes the isolated nature of the campus, it does not invoke the laid back attitude which is the topic of this point. Complaints about Stanford being a bubble is a whole other legitimate issue. However, it is only loosely related to the laid back attitude. Finally, I really don’t get that much of a fake vibe.</p>
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<p>I agree again. Im really not all that intellectual, I really only care about learning things that interest me, although, I do realize the value in other things and suck up my contempt and learn. In all fairness though this seems to be a complaint about every school besides Chicago.</p>
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haha definitely not the people I hang around </p>
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yeah, like me. </p>
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yeah, but at least we don’t pretend to be intellectual.</p>
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Because Michigan gave you full ride, not because Stanford is not good.</p>
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You are never there, how do you know? Once again, sometimes it is difficult to tell copper from gold by their appearances.</p>
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If you go to a hospital, you will see a lot of sick people. </p>
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Like your second choice?</p>
<p>BTW, had you put the money you by then into citigroup stock, instead of worrying about graduate school, you could have had full-ride for undergrad and graduate schools.</p>
<p>Please explain how Stanford has a “lacking sports scene”–Tyler? Anyone else? This is not the first complaint like that I’ve seen on CC about Stanford’s athletics, or I would have thought it was just a ■■■■■’s comment. Are people talking about the success of the football program or what exactly? Stanford’s reputation is that it’s the quintissential sports school!</p>
<p>Re: the OP’s original list of complaints, I agree that some of those are a problem for some students. From the prospective of my S, a Stanford grad student:</p>
<ol>
<li> Rain: That was his biggest complaint his first year and the biggest surprise. As he often says, “All the pictures of Stanford are taken when it’s sunny.” Kids from Cali may understand the quirky Bay Area weather, but I doubt others really do. The monsoon season lasts from Oct./Nov. through Mar./Apr. That’s most of the school year for undergrads. 30 days in a row of cold, rainy, grey, overcast skies can get to anyone after a while. He’s there year-round, and the weather during the rest of the year more than compensates for the rainy months–for him. As someone who has visited during monsoon season, I can attest to the misery of spending all day with soaking wet feet. But he does love it there and plans to stay in the Bay area forever. And likes it much better than SoCal where he spent 4 years as an UG. :)</li>
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<p>Corollary 1: He’s an engineer and complains that the campus drainage system for the rain runoff is vastly inadequate. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Unremarkable undergrads? You need to get out more…</p></li>
<li><p>“Apple laptops, organic food, and Barack Obama.” This one made me laugh. My S does get short-tempered about the Mac fanatics who load their softward on the dept. computers. (He hates Macs.) Organic food? Well, it is California… Obama? I haven’t seen any old McCain bumper stickers on campus…</p></li>
<li><p>Classes. S, in general, has not been overly enthusiastic about his classes. Not in love with the quarter system. He has complained about the quality of instruction (and many of his classes have had upper-level undergrads in them). He says he’s glad he attended a teaching-focused LAC rather than Stanford as an undergrad.</p></li>
<li><p>Face time with profs. See #4. (Stanford is a major research uni. That’s what they do. That’s what brings in the money. Research.)</p></li>
<li><p>Bike racks. 'Nuff said.</p></li>
<li><p>Bike riders and traffic laws. Yeah. This is a problem. Have seen it myself. S says Stanford does try to get students to abide by traffic laws; I think they even issue citations. But it’s a large, spread-out campus and bikes are necessary for a lot of students. Personally, I don’t know how they can stand biking soaking wet in the cold; but S says “you get used to it.” Okay.</p></li>
<li><p>Other, alluded to on this thread. Let’s call it “expectation to perform.” Stanford didn’t get–and doesn’t keep–its reputation by admitting a bunch of accomplished slackers who want to rest on their laurels. In that, it is like any other tippy-top school. I really believe this is something prospective UGs should honestly assess about themselves when deciding how they might fit into the cultures of different schools. Whether it’s openly stated or not, if Stanford admits you, Stanford does expect you to leave its reputation in even better shape than you found it. That stressor is there, though it may be lurking below the surface and may not always be apparent in the demeanor of your fellow students. It’s perfectly okay if you decide that environment is not for you; it’s not for everybody. But if it IS for you, you will no doubt find plenty of things about Stanford to love in spite of the (relatively minor) annoyances.</p></li>
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<p>I know lots of current Stanford students, as well as alums, who are intensely intellectual–they are fascinated with ideas and love discussing them, and they prize learning for learning’s sake. Some are science and math majors, others were attracted to the SLE program as freshmen, others are grad students. Interestingly, most of them also have pretty upbeat, optimistic temperaments. (Not all cerebral people are despondent by nature or posture, fortunately.) Some of the deeper thinkers will tend to be the more reflective/reserved people, at least initially, but they will gravitate toward one another over time.</p>
<p>Yikes. This makes me worried. First, I’m really surprised by the rain situation. That’s a major bummer for D, who just enrolled at S. She took weather into consideration since she’s an athlete and wanted to train in a better climate than back east. And yes, we checked into rainfall statistics and pollen counts. Well, it can’t be worse than Cambridge, MA, can it? (Harvard was her second choice.)</p>
<p>I’m also surprised by the comments on the quality of undergrad teaching, since S is highly rated in the rankings for that criterion. Again, I wonder if maybe S is not as good as small LAC’s, but better than other large universities?</p>
<p>Coming down with a case of buyer’s remorse…</p>
<p>Cardfan, I would just like to question the maturity of your response. If you’re old enough to have a son at Stanford, you’re old enough to know that it is inappropriate to call a person a “■■■■■” no matter where he or she went to undergraduate. I’m just surprised at the immaturity. Sorry.</p>
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<p>Average annual rainfall</p>
<p>Palo Alto, CA: 15.71"
Cambridge, MA: 42.53"</p>
<p>(Courtesy of namaskar)</p>
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<p>[Best</a> Colleges - Education - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-ut-rank]Best”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-ut-rank) </p>
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<p>Very natural. I didn’t feel this because Stanford is my dream school, but I can empathize. For example, I am having second doubts about my academic and career goals. My fear of commitment does not help either. So if there is anything else you need to alleviate your concerns, let us know. We’ll try to help if we can.</p>
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<p>This is my take. Unlike some other top universities such as (Tyler09’s school) Michigan, Notre Dame, Duke, USC, UCLA, etc., Stanford’s identity is not tied to its (signature) sports. For example, Michigan, ND and USC are known as football schools; Duke and UCLA are known as basketball schools. Stanford, despite having the most successful athletics program in the country (15 consecutive Sears Directors’ Cup in 16 years), is known first and foremost for its academics. Stanford’s identity is not and will never be derivative of its athletics. This is why Stanford will not ever compromise its academic standards for athletics. (According to your posts, your daughter’s experience as a recruited athlete should confirm this.) Off the field, Stanford’s scholar-athletes can hold their own against their counterparts at the ivies. The difference is that Stanford decisively beats the ivies on the field. As a result, some of the ivies have Stanford envy:</p>
<p>[Meritocracy</a> 1, Harvard 0 | The Harvard Crimson](<a href=“http://www.thecrimson.harvard.edu/article/2002/2/26/meritocracy-1-harvard-0-as-reported/]Meritocracy”>http://www.thecrimson.harvard.edu/article/2002/2/26/meritocracy-1-harvard-0-as-reported/)</p>
<p>[Yale</a> Daily News - Either go big, Bulldogs, or just go home](<a href=“http://www.yaledailynews.com/opinion/guest-columns/2008/04/15/either-go-big-bulldogs-or-just-go-home/]Yale”>http://www.yaledailynews.com/opinion/guest-columns/2008/04/15/either-go-big-bulldogs-or-just-go-home/)</p>