My daughter graduated from Stanford last weekend so our time celebrating her attendance at this wonderful school has come to an end. The Commencement Weekend was something that we’ll never forgot. Stanford truly is an awesome university. It was tough for us to fly home on Monday knowing that it would be the last time that we will probably be on campus. I was slightly surprised when my daughter selected Stanford over Yale four years ago. But four years later I can’t imagine her attending school anywhere else. She enjoyed the two quarters abroad as well as the two fully funded research projects over the last two summers to South America and the central US. Her friends are some of the most thoughtful and amazing people that I’ve met in my life. It is going to be fun to watch them over the next few years and see what they accomplish. Her professors were truly world class. For anyone considering applying to Stanford, I recommend that you GO FOR IT! It it easy to get in? No! But the rewards will be worth it if you are admitted. Best of luck to you all.
Congratulations to you and your daughter, @MidwestPop, and thanks for posting this! My son chose Stanford over Yale too, and I’ve had mixed feelings about that, so hearing that things worked out so well for your daughter at Stanford is really encouraging. My son is very excited about starting up there in a few months, and since we live in California, the location is perfect for us as parents!
Congratulations @MidwestPop to you and your daughter! Stanford is a fantastic school. Hoping your daughter enjoys the next part of her journey wherever she goes.
Congratulations! My son did and felt the same, though Yale is a great school. Now he is facing to give up Google for Stanford’s MBA/MS-CS, a difficult decision once again.
Our son also graduated last week from Stanford, and I was very impressed with the send off that the university gave to its newest graduates. When our son chose Stanford, I was concerned that, being such a large place, he would not receive the personalized attention that I received when I attended a small liberal arts college. Thankfully I was wrong. At his department ceremony, each professor gave a short speech about each graduate, and it was clear that each professor truly cherished their time with my son and made it an experience that he will remember for the rest of his life. To me, that is the essence of a Stanford education, and while I am sad to leave our visits to the campus behind (though I won’t miss the long cross country plane rides), I know that he is truly prepared to begin the next phase of his journey through life. Again, congratulations to MidwestPop and his daughter. It was indeed a very special weekend.
Thanks for the nice thoughts. Planner, I’m sure that your son will have a wonderful experience at Stanford. No worries. It will be an awesome experience for him. Rubberfall, thanks for the congratulations. Ewho, it looks like you have a wonderful son with lots of excellent continuing choices. That’s a great “problem” to have!! Laf1980, I concur with your thoughts. The small class sizes really are an important component of the Stanford experience. Congratulations to you and your son also for a “job well done”! Go Cardinal!
Good to hear. I am exactly in same boat as @Planner
Thanks, @MidwestPop! And congratulations to you too, @ewho—Google vs. Stanford MBA/MS-CS is indeed a tough decision, though a nice one to have!—and to you, @Laf1980! @Laf1980, that’s really good to hear about the personalized attention your son got at Stanford—I must say that despite being already somewhat familiar with the campus, I found the size a bit daunting during Admit Weekend and the wealth of opportunities, even for those few days, a bit overwhelming. So it’s reassuring to hear that students not only learn to navigate all that but also to find smaller, supportive departmental communities within the larger academic setting—thanks!
@myyalieboy I think there are a few of us in that boat this year—things will probably work out just fine!
Tidbits for new Cardinal: Super Shuttle - We used it a bunch over the last four years to get back and forth from the airport. It is very dependable. There is a Stanford discount code. Collegeboxes.com - if you need to store student items over the summer or between quarters when you do a quarter abroad. It’s not inexpensive but they come right to campus and pick up your boxes and then deliver right to campus. The bike shop on campus also has limited summer bike storage if that is all you need to store. We purchased my daughters bike from the on campus bike shop and she’s used the bike for four years without any problems. You’ll definitely want a bike. We took a car to campus for daughters senior year. She’s used it MUCH more than we anticipated but she’s certainly learned city driving!!!
Thanks for these tips, @MidwestPop—very helpful!