<p>laid-back, friendly, welcoming, supportive/cooperative, flexible, quirky</p>
<p>I think Stanford traditions are one of the best ways to get a sense of Stanford's personality. Stuff like full moon on the quad, tree week, big game week, etc. It's fun and a bit quirky/unusual.</p>
<p>"Relaxed" or "laid back" are discriptors you hear often from Stanford fans. Of course there might be other words chosen by those less enamoured of the school to capture the same qualities.</p>
<p>stanford why?</p>
<p>hang out with nuts from CA 70% of the enrollment.
Compete with pac-10 schools UCLA, UAZ, Uoregon etc
Peer school next dooe UCB
great city Palo alto
Great UC at palo alto</p>
<p>ah...</p>
<p>i guess what you say is kind of like Harvard students being "elite" and "ambitious"</p>
<p>Certainly the most common cliche for Harvard!</p>
<p>For confirmation read this budding bestseller reviewed in USA Today the other day:</p>
<p>"How Opal Mehat Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life"
<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/reviews/2006-03-29-how-opal-mehta_x.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/reviews/2006-03-29-how-opal-mehta_x.htm</a></p>
<p>Hi, refering to an older post .. </p>
<p>how do they weed out pre meds? does anybody know how close advisors are to students .. especially for premed students who want to take some non science majors/minors?</p>
<p>thanks! =]</p>
<p>"I was going to say 'relaxed'. I IM'd my son with your question, and he said, "relaxed is probably the one of the words I would use". So, we vote for relaxed."</p>
<p>Can you guys (anyone, but esp. Stanford students) elaborate a bit on this "relaxed" atmosphere at Stanford? I'm kind of confused because I've heard the workload, especially for engineering students, is very tough there and also the termed "relaxed" is used by both fans and detractors? What exactly is meant?</p>
<p>Mlee88, I guess I can see how people could use "relaxed" as both a positive and a negative thing. An online dictionary defines relaxed as "without strain or anxiety" and also "less tense or rigid". </p>
<p>Compared to some academic environments, my son has found Stanford to feel less anxious, tense, and rigid. Of course, his experience is limited to some summer quarter courses, time spent with Physics and Psych grad/doctoral students in internships, and his EC's on campus. </p>
<p>That being said, I am sure that there are students who are not feeling relaxed at any particular time, and the difference between "techie" and "fuzzy" workloads is a popular discussion topic, here and elsewhere. I'm not sure how else to explain the difference to you. </p>
<p>You know, when I lived in NYC, things were often very tense and rush-rush on a daily basis. But there would be moments, like the first warm spring day, when people seemed to take a collective deep breath and just shake themselves out, where it was like everyone was "taking a breather" all at once. Work was going on, but the hurried, anxious, driven pace seemed to stop for a moment. </p>
<p>Anytime I'm at Stanford, it feels like that. Work is happening, but there's this feeling that people are breathing and "in the moment" more. It's something that seems endemic to the bay area, and sometimes, it drives me nuts, like when <em>nothing</em> starts on time, or people wait until the last minute to make plans. I don't know if that makes sense to you. I don't know if it helps explain the use of the word "relaxed", either.</p>
<p>Relaxed is definitely the atmosphere--I go to stanford and you'd be hard pressed to find a student that would admit that they're stressed to the max and struggling to keep up. That's the "paddling duck" syndrome: a ton of work is going on beneath the surface, but the duck seems to be floating on top of the water effortlessly. Most people have a more relaxed attitude about work and like it that way: not meaning that they won't do it, meaning that they won't talk about how much they have to do and will put it out of their minds when they're having fun. East coast friends who go to top schools tend to say that they will be more likely to complain out loud about how much they have to do; to ***** about it. </p>
<p>Some people really like that about Stanford, it makes the campus seem really cool and chill. Some people don't like it though, because they feel like they have to hide how hard they're working and how stressed they are. Really everyone works super hard but works even harder pretending that they don't.</p>
<p>Does that work for "relaxed"?</p>
<p>advising relationships are what you make of them...try to get an advisor that doesn't have a ton to do so they won't be swamped with work all the time when you want to meet. And start asking people as soon as you know your major--ask around for the good advisors, and ask them immediately--most professors only take a certain number of students.</p>
<p>It depends on your major what the weed out classes are. The Ochem series is the weed-out series for most (3 classes and 2 intense labs over usually a year and a half); the bio core can also weed out quite a few if you're not taking hum bio (but I would--hum bio is amazing).</p>
<p>I have heard the Stanford atmosphere is much mroe laid back than competitor schools and though i have never been on campus, i have heard it is stunning. The whole college expierience seems to be at Stanford,with academics, sports, and overal fun. I am a freshman and am trying to keep up my grades in HS to be able to get in.</p>
<p>What makes the neuroscience department at Stanford so highly ranked? Anybody have something to contribute about that program?</p>
<p>PaxonIB, wayyyyy to early to be worrying about getting into a SPECIFIC college</p>
<p>so does stanford has a better undergraduate program or graduate? I'm afraid of going there. I mean how are the students? Easy to get along and friendly? Or they tend to form their own group and ignore newcomers?</p>
<p>Stanford is known for having the happiest students. (Ranked # 1 for that category)</p>
<p>On June 14th my daughter called from school at Stanford whining about the fact that she was now half-way done with her Stanford education. She's had a GREAT experience, and it's been the people that she has met that has made it so wonderful.</p>
<p>Following up on the above comment, during the "Wacky Walk" at graduation, among other props and costumes, some kids were carrying signe saying "Hell No, We Won't Go!" and "Four More Years!' :)
My son and most of the other kids I know of were genuinely sad that their college years were ending.</p>
<p>Wow. "Hell No, We Won't Go" after 4 yrs at college? That really says something about Stanford. awesome.</p>
<p>Everyone has such a good sense of humor here :-)</p>
<p>Stanford is absolutely gorgeous. If you haven't been there, you need to visit. The pictures don't do the campus justice. And it really does seem all the students are happy to be there. Students saying they want to stay another four years should give you a hint about how awesome this school really is.</p>
<p>Question: Stanford doesn't have pre-med as a major, right? It doesn't really matter I guess cuz you don't have to major in pre-med in order to go to medical school, but I was just wondering.</p>
<p>Is pre-med ever a major?</p>