<p>For those people who've already been admitted and will enroll, as well as current Stanford undergraduates, if you could list only one reason as to why you chose Stanford, what would it be?</p>
<p>That's your job to figure out, that why it's called YOUR opinion.</p>
<p>Sorry, if you got the wrong message. I was just wondering what made people choose to attend Stanford? What about it stood out to them? No need to be so defensive. </p>
<p>My mom really wants me to apply, but I'm not so sure because it's really far away. I live in the Caribbean. Never mind. I guess your reaction to my post speaks volumes about the kind of people that attend there.</p>
<p>Well, you can talk about its beautiful campus. It's really wonderful there, especially since it's located in CA. </p>
<p>Also, its strength in research. Many famous alumni have graduated from Stanford and have accomplished a lot. People who invented google/yahoo, all graduated from there. </p>
<p>So yeah... lots of things. lol</p>
<p>"Never mind. I guess your reaction to my post speaks volumes about the kind of people that attend there."</p>
<p>That's almost blackmail. ;) I believe the first replier thought that you wanted ideas for your essay. To say that people at Stanford are (something negative not directly specified) because a poster feels that people should think for themselves is a logical fallacy if I ever did see one.</p>
<p>To answer: there is hardly a "Why Stanford" for me. I don't want to go to Stanford. It's a good (note: not great) school and the people there are stuck-up. The only advantage that I can see is that, while being stuck-up, for such a prestigious school the students tend to be kind... overly kind, though, in my opinion. It is also a great research institution. However, everyone says that the campus is great -- liars. They're wrong, or crazy. Disagree if you'd like. I don't care :) If I were you, I'd do what you want. Don't let your parents pressure you into going to a school you don't think you want to go to. Ask them why they want you to go. That'll stump 'em ;)</p>
<p>^ You're absolutely right. I was just angry. I thought the poster was being rude. Thanks for the advice though.</p>
<p>Stanford is a world-class grad school; 2/3 of students are grad students. My company hires Stanford BA/BS grads; the best thing about them is that that were admitted, i.e., they were top HS grads. No doubt about the prestige, but it's not because of the undergrad education. The campus is a beautiful spread-out eucalyptus forest.</p>
<p>is it me, or is there almost no support for stanford on the stanford forum...(i.e. the Stanford vs. Yale thread where everyone leaned toward Yale and this one where there's almost no input besides the strength of research, which everyone knows about already)</p>
<p>I don't think Jagerdeer actually goes to Stanford by the way. </p>
<p>And I had the exact opposite perception of the Stanford v Yale thread. </p>
<p>I personally think that Stanford offers the "perfect storm" of opportunity for a great college experience: </p>
<p>The people are incredibly smart, yet down to earth. You can find ultra-intellectuals in SLE if that's what you'd like, or there are also fraternities if you want more social people. It lacks the Ivy League old-money pretense of New England schools, so the students having the most fun won't just be the wealthiest. The school is the most diverse of any school of its caliber, I also got the impression that the students don't have the same sense of entitlement as other schools. </p>
<p>The campus is incredibly safe and is a perfect size, large enough where you can always meet new people yet small enough that you won't meet a person once and then never see them again because they live 30 minutes away. The campus is all-inclusive and has a "bubble" like feel, yet the poverty of East Palo Alto is just a bike ride away to bring students back down to earth. Additionally, San Fran is a 30-45min tops trip away if you still want a big city experience. </p>
<p>Stanford (along with Harvard) is, in the midwest at least, the only "universally prestigious" institution in the country. Very few schools have the ability to wow! people across the nation. (Around here, Yale and Princeton are just viewed as-ultra preppy legacy schools, nobody really knows where they are or anything about them). It is exceptionally strong in the sciences and the social sciences, and its humanities programs are still so good that any difference between its peers is insignificant. Stanford's prestige attracts top notch professors, and because of its location in the west, it faces less competition for those professors in that half of the country. It also attracts the best research opportunities and grants to its revolutionary facilities, as well as the top speakers, internships, and job prospects. </p>
<p>Also, as much as people deny it, if you ask anybody in a high-salary industry they will tell you that they only actively recruit at a few top schools and they always give an edge to those at top schools just because of the type of people that tend to get into them. This, of course, is just a perk. </p>
<p>The school also has a superb athletic program, with a football team that is eh, but has some strong fans and gets students excited around the time of the big game, as well as a basketball team that gets strong support and has been doing very well in recent years. So if you want to be a "superfan" you can, but if you don't want sports to dominate your life, it's very easy. </p>
<p>Oh, not to mention the weather. People underestimate the effect weather can have. It really does make for happier students. When students aren't hesitant to rally in the quad or trek across campus for a meeting because the weather is terrible, it is much easier to get them involved in campus activity. No other top school (excluding Cal and UCLA because the overwhelming majority of their students are instate) can boast having such a big advantage in weather. All else equal, this alone should cause students to select Stanford over HPSM. </p>
<p>The campus facilities are easily available to students. There are virtually no fat people on campus. People are very athletic and highly motivated. And there ARE some gorgeous girls, you just have to search for them. (But over time you'll gain what they call "stanford goggles", which adds an automatic 2pts to all members of the opposite sex) </p>
<p>The alcohol policy is Lax, the administration is incredibly cooperative with students. Despite some racial insulation, it is mainly self-imposed and people have no problem moving between various circles of friends, and most circles are far from homogenous. </p>
<p>(how do I know all this? I just grilled my friend who is a student there for 2 and a half hours with at least 40 questions about life at Stanford)</p>
<p>I honestly have trouble finding any inherent weaknesses in Stanford. In fact, I just decided to go as I was writing this :) </p>
<p>GO CARDINAL!</p>
<p>Stanford is an awesome university, but I love it more for its beautiful campus. My brother went there and he said he really thought the med education there really made him feel like he deserved his degree after all he learned. =D</p>
<p>great post. and yes, i probably didn't look at the yale vs stanford thread closely enough to draw the stanford side of the debate into view</p>
<p>The people. If there's any one reason to go to Stanford, it's for the people. The professors are brilliant, approachable (generally), and passionate. The students (grad and undergrad) are, more than anything, engaged in what they're doing and passionate about what they're learning. The relationships you form and the collaborations you do (whether in research, in programs, in activites, etc.) are what make Stanford awesome.</p>
<p>It's balance in my opinion. Balance between academics and sports, balanced prowess between all academic areas, balance between undergrads and grads, balanced weather, etc. I think that is Stanford's greatest asset...</p>
<p>I didn't mean to be rude, but seeing that the effective prompt of one of the essays is "Why Stanford", I figured, and accurately so, that the OP was trying to get ideas for her essay... in which case they should be her ideas and her unique perception of Stanford and why it is great, not that of other people.</p>
<p>Many of the good things said about Stanford are true for any and all top schools; Stanford is one of them.</p>
<p>Love the screen name Sensual Butthole. I find it hilarious that almost nobody has cared to comment on it.</p>
<p>^ I was just thinking that! I thought it rather peculiar.</p>