<p>@Findmoreinfo Don’t you think there are 100 other things that you should worry about as a mom besides there being an earthquake at a potential school your daughter is looking into? Earthquakes harm very little people compared to other natural disasters and there are other outside factors like crime that pose a much greater threat in most parts of the country. I would say that Stanford is a perfect fit for your daughter if your biggest concerns about the school involve earthquakes. Your daughter is embarking on the biggest journey of her life, and I think you could be helping her out in ways other than posting about the possibility of earthquakes at one of the school’s she’s looking at online.</p>
<p>Sad Stanford kid procrastinating on studying right now. </p>
<p>The fact that there are a significant amount of actual geniuses and majority of ridiculously smart people can be very frustrating. Everyone thinks it’s a great thing to be able to know a lot of smart people, but the adjustment to realizing that there is ALWAYS someone smarter than you no matter how hard you study and work is hard. If you’re not self conscious about how you compare in intelligence to other students, then this isn’t a problem for you. Since you’re on CC though, I doubt that I’m describing you. There’s not much to be done about it and I’m sure this is a problem at every college, but it’s just a lot more intense here. Just be prepared for what you’re getting yourself into. </p>
<p>On the other side, obviously there are people who aren’t doing well and struggling, but there’s so much pressure not to look like you are. The last time I talked to anyone, outside of close friends, who was in fact struggling in classes, they told me that they couldn’t fit enough time in for studying and developing their company all at once… Everyone is very A-type here and I hate it because it makes me feel pressured to be the same. </p>
<p>Yeah just a brief rant, back to studying for 107 now :’) </p>
<p>The campus is gorgeous. Everything a campus should be. It’s a self-sustained college environment. But therein lies a a couple problems:
- It takes some effort to get off campus. Around a 15 minute bike ride and willing friends just to reach the edge. Some people go a whole quarter without ever leaving.
- People are apathetic. They have no idea what is going on in the outside world. One time I was looking for the election station for the 2014 midterm elections. There were a couple girls sitting right next door who said “What? There are elections? We don’t know where it is sorry…”. It really is a bubble and the outside world, bigger picture feels irrelevant. But maybe that’s just a college thing in general. </p>
<p>And yea like above poster said, get used to being average but also wowed by brilliant students. I like it because it’s inspirational, you get to know these brilliant minds and exchange ideas with them. </p>
<p>@Gallory I don’t if you’ve been on campus lately but during the winter there’s quite a bit of cold, rainy, and overcast. Not anywhere near Seattle level but still. I also love this weather but in moderation. </p>
<p>@bleach340 Ahhhh, yes! The overcast to me is a beautiful thing, especially around Christmas. I’m a high school senior with parents who don’t like spending money, so I’ve only ever had virtual tours of Stanford, but, that’s great news to me!</p>
<p>The worst part about Stanford is leaving it for winter break.
There are a couple things that might throw you off at first, but I’ve quickly gotten used to them and no longer notice them. Here are some examples:
-There’s an absurd amount of tourists visiting the campus with no regard for bike traffic
-While the students are all friendly and there isn’t a fierce sense of competition, everyone is insanely smart.Just Google some names from your dorm.
-The curve’s are sometimes generous, sometimes.
-The fountains are dry
-The social scene revolves around frats your freshman year
-More rain than SoCal
-Getting off campus takes some work, the shortest way off campus (which also has stores such as trader joes, and cvs) is almost a mile and a half from my dorm.</p>
<p>But again, these are petty things that you quickly get over because the rest of the school’s great, the on campus food, the people, the resources, the events, the traditions, everything.</p>
<p>if you’re not from california, you might be freaked out by the diversity. its a really really REALLLY diverse place. were really accepting of everything in the bay area which may seem like a good thing (to us it is) but to someone from a very “bland” place, it could be culture shock</p>
<p>A lot of humble bragging on this thread. LOL.</p>
<p>The fact that you have to test into certain majors is a significant con</p>
<p>^StanMan - you don’t have to test into majors. Anyone can major in anything without testing - which is actually a big plus of the university. </p>
<p>That’s simply not true. There is an entrance exam for the MCS major.</p>
<p>StanMan - I’m not sure what entrance exam you are talking about for MCS. You need to pass core classes with certain grades, and if you score high enough on AP calc exams you place out of Math 41,42. But there is no entrance exam. </p>
I was at Stanford during the late 80s quake. In fact, I was in Los Angeles during the 1970s quake as well. Hiding is not how you protect yourself from quakes. Growing up in L.A., elementary school children receive training at an early age. As I recall, none of the buildings at Stanford sustained any damage (or significant enough for me to remember). The biggest issue was the lack of electricity all over. The scariest part was the destruction of the bay bridge.
@frodosdojo I agree that earthquakes are no reason to stay away from Stanford . . . there’s no place that’s free of natural hazards of some kind, and big earthquakes aren’t common.
There was some real earthquake damage at Stanford in 1989 though. The upper floors of the business school were closed for about a year while the building was repaired. Some of the old buildings on the main quad had to be retrofitted and had external bracing and closed off areas for several years. The part of Green Library by the education school was also closed for years for repairs. There were some buildings around campus that the university decided to knock down rather than repair. It was several hundred million dollars worth of repairs overall.
So while I don’t believe any students had significant injuries, it was pretty significant financially for the university.
@bluewater2015 Indeed, I didn’t remember any of that - it could be just due to old age - lol. I was working a shift at the Faculty Club and all I recall was a few glasses breaking in my room and a lot of jars and glasses breaking in the bar area.
@frodosdojo Yeah, that quake had little to no effect on some buildings but there were some with a lot of shaking and damage, especially the old sandstone ones. Hopefully the campus won’t see anything like that for many years to come.
The Bay Area is overdue for two major quakes, one along the San Andreas Fault and the other along the Hayward Fault. Either would certainly affect Stanford.
^^Wow. Are we starting to use scare tactics to dissuade future applicants and THEIR competition from applying to Stanford? I don’t think it will work. People…many of the smartest workers/talents domestic and internationals want to live and settle in the Bay Area or Los Angeles area (another earthquake sensitive area) if they can afford to…the Pacific coast is part of the ring of fire…nothing more, nothing less. The applicant numbers will continue to rise because the Bay area and California is where so many talented students and families want to be. Good try anyways! 
I wasn’t trying to scare anyone—and I have no stake in where anyone decides to go. I was simply responding to previous posts in an effort to make readers aware of the very real earthquake hazards in the Bay Area.
Me either. I just know what it was like on campus during and after the 1989 quake and responded factually to a post on the topic.
The good news is, Stanford is much better prepared financially than it was in 1989, with a big earthquake reserve (which it did not have then) and a stronger financial position generally.
The bathroooooooooooooms.