<p>I guess my number one question to all of the Stanford students out there is: Do you like it? If not, why? Also, are the students nice or competitive. How are the dorms?! And are there people to help in the dorms to help with things? Please answer. I'm curious about this university as it is my dream school. Just tell me about the atmosphere there, the people, and how the alumni helps.</p>
<p>Class of 2018 here, I’ll try to provide some general answers.</p>
<p>I absolutely love Stanford. Part of it is that I generally love the freedoms of college but Stanford has given me way more than I could have asked for in so many ways. As for academic environment, the general trend is that people want you to succeed. It’s not so much a competition as a desire to do well for yourself. And we all cheer each other on to reach our own goals. The dorms vary in terms of quality of life, but all provide more than creature comforts and it’s really the people that make them. There’s always someone in the dorm that can help you if you’re struggling with a class or need help on a pset or just generally want to talk about something. In particular 4 year dorms have plenty of non-freshmen who can give you advice and help ease you into the community.</p>
<p>It’s generally a very fun, lively, energetic place. The work can get tiring and there are stressful moments but the experiences more than make up for any of its negative sides.</p>
<p>Also class of 2018. To answer your questions in order:</p>
<p>Dorms: Excellent. The freshman dorms are particularly fun, and there is a great sense of community. There are definitely people in a wide variety of courses who love to help others. It’s particularly easy to find people in your dorm to work with on CS106, Chem31, Phys41/61, Math19/41/51, CME100, Econ, etc. These are most of the common freshman academic classes.</p>
<p>The atmosphere is amazing, literally: it almost never rains, and it seems like it’s nearly always 70 degrees. The people are nice, the food is great, the professors are the best in their disciplines, the classes are interesting and many are exotic, and Stanford is generally an awesome place. I have yet to find anything I don’t like about this place. Also: duck syndrome is a myth. It’s nowhere as bad as I expected.</p>
<p>Another 2018er. I also very much love Stanford. I almost went somewhere else, but I’m so glad that I chose here. I think Stanford is a place that has really pushed me out of my comfort zone in a way that the other schools I was juggling couldn’t. Although it can be difficult and stressful, I think the Stanford environment is helping me grow into the person I want to be. I’ve met some really amazing people here and had a lot of fun so far. </p>
<p>Dorms: Are great. I’m actually in an ethnic theme dorm, which is atypical to the normal all freshman dorm. I thought I would hate it, but I absolutely love it. I have never learned so much from being in such a cultural environment and having deep discussions about social issues late into the night. Unlike other schools, I find that Stanford students generally want each other to do well. I feel like there is absolutely no cut-throat environment whatsoever. </p>
<p>The atmosphere is something else. Everything is so lively, there are moments when I just stop myself when I’m biking through the main quad and be like. Hold on. I go here. I go to Stanford. Not everyone had a perfect score on the SAT or was valedictorian, but you realize soon that they are amazing in other ways, whether it be athletics or rapping or speed cubing. That being said, there are of course problems with Stanford, that include duck syndrome (it does exist) and somewhat mediocre undergrad advising. However, overall, Stanford definitely lives up to it’s hype. </p>