<p>I've seen some interesting threads in CC forums for other colleges raising the question of why the school appeals to its applicants. I didn't see a similar one here, so I'll start the topic - why would you like to attend Stanford? What sets it apart from other great schools? Any dislikes?</p>
<p>Ah, I'll start. I love this.</p>
<p>Soooo. I superficially liked Stanford from like 5th-10th grade. So i did the discovery institute summer program and loved it. Then I did summer college this summer and after 11 weeks it reaffirmed for me that it is the place for me.
-cohesiveness of campus
-all 4 years of housing
-gorgeous campus
-free laundry
-great research internships in bio/anthro
-available grants for anthropology
-dual anthropology departments
-medical anthropology concentration
-coterminal degrees
-I like the bio requirements (classes are another thing)
-weather
-2 hrs from home
-KIDS, social atmosphere
-less competitive than other similarly ranked schools
-resources</p>
<p>the only negative is the way the weed out the premeds. I don't like it, and I feel that it is somewhat un-stanford. Other than that, Stanford tastes like life.
I feel like its pretty weird when kids are like "oooh loooove stanford" when they never visited. I know this is sorta backwards as I was like that before, but now as a senior I could never imagine saying a school was my "dream school" without setting foot on campus.</p>
<p>well reason why Stanford appeals to me is because it is thirty to fourty minutes from home. It's really close and I hear Stanford is very "chill" and not as hardcore as the other "crazy" elite schools</p>
<p>Stanford is excellent in nearly every field, whether it be the humanities or the sciences, and they encourage interdisciplinary study. Out of the other elite schools (ivies, MIT, Caltech), it is the MOST balanced.</p>
<p>Also, out of these schools, Stanford has the most competetive athletic teams, also being the only school out of these 11 to have a D-1 A football team (even though they lost to UC Davis)--this makes a huge difference in terms of school pride and spirit. </p>
<p>A lot of people complain about the duck analogy: stanford students are like ducks--swimming calmly on the surface but paddling furiously under water. A lot of people say that Stanford students like to APPEAR laid back and "chill" but really aren't. At least there IS an emphasis on leading a balanced life. To me, it's ridiculous hearing of Harvard students taking sleeping bags to the library during midterms. </p>
<p>Less traditional, more diverse</p>
<p>GORGEOUS campus</p>
<p>Ashveer, I can't believe you put free laundry on your list... :)</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>I have quite a few friends at Stanford, and I think that the duck analogy applies only a little bit. Closet studying isn't rampant (from what I've seen). Any after you have to go through paying for laundry (1st summer program) its really nice when you don't have to (second summer program).
But in the end, its JUST college.</p>
<p>"free laundry"</p>
<p>Haha, it's not really free. Your parents will be paying for it through "room and board".</p>
<p>Did the fees go up this year then?</p>
<p>Well let's see.. the reason I chose Stanford is because it is the only top-level university that requires two SAT's instead of three. But I still really like it. It's not really my dream school or anything, though.</p>
<p>Goldfish:
I've come to like you over these boards, so don't take this badly, but:
It would really suck if you get in over a similarly qualified applicant who dreams of Stanford... : (</p>
<p>Especially if it was you Ashveer :) :) :p </p>
<p>note- don't take my comment seriously, I was only joking. :)</p>
<p>Programs are top in every field. Happy students. Decent weather.</p>
<p>ESPECIALLY if it was me. lol.</p>
<p>Weather. That's it. :D</p>
<p>The programs are awesome too. I forget the correct acronym, but I think it's called SLACK? (correct me if I'm wrong). It's the linear accelerator there.</p>
<p>SLAC
Stanford
Linear
Accelerator
Center</p>
<p>It's pretty sweet.</p>
<p>I am researching at SLAC right now. It's intense....a physics major's dreamland.</p>
<p>The thing I love about Stanford is that academic excellence is just part of college life. You are also a healthy, social, and involved individual. Thats what set it apart from similar institution for me.</p>
<p>it has an intercollegiate (spelling?) program in figure skating, one of the best, and their psychology program is one of the best esp. in the research field! thats part of the reason why I'm going....and now free laundry....c'mon...WHY WOULDN'T SOMEONE WANT TO GO TO STANFORD??? haha!</p>
<p>Trixee!</p>
<p>Their psyc is off the heezy. I took psyc and culture, and it was a trip. In the coolest of ways. I also was a participant in a couple of studies, and $30 later, I couldn't be happier! It was acutally a ton of fun participating though.</p>
<p>Ashveer-</p>
<p>Was one of the studies the Stanford Prison Experiment :)</p>