<p>It has been a long soul-searching journey for my son in his decision to attend Stanford over Harvard. He has completed his due-diligence in looking at the pros and cons of both institutions. Our job as parents was to give him as much time and space to make the "right" choice for him. After the Admit Weekend, he knew where he wanted to spend the next four years of his life. Besides all the recent articles showing the powerful metrics where Stanford stands in today's academic hierarchy and its continued future prowess ...the clinchers for my son was much more personal. The students' enthusiasm for what they were studying, the interdisciplinary philosophy of the institution as a whole, the forward thinking of its students and professors, the "I can accomplish or create anything that I put my mind to" attitude, the leading edge research going on in the labs that students can easily get involved in, the genuine cooperative and collaborative student body, the unbelievable extracurricular activities available, the general "chill" attitude of the student body, the overall happiness and satisfaction shown by the students who chose to attend Stanford, and most importantly, the feeling of I "belong" here. </p>
<p>As parents, we celebrate in his great joy in making this all important decision! We are now proud Stanford parents. For those many parents we met at Admit Weekend whose children are facing similar dilemma...allow your s/d to make the "gut" decision... your s/d will "know" where they will be happy and want to attend.</p>