Stanford University Top Questions

I traveled in many circles, but, that being said, groups are clique-ish. I can imagine minority racial groups feeling out of place, but perhaps more so in the classroom, as there are many racially-focused student groups. Different students sometimes interact. Four tables of students: athletes, sorority girls, fraternity boys, programmers. Most Stanford students are Asian and from California (I'm neither). Financial backgrounds: wealthy. Students are not generally politically aware, except with regard to narrow issues such as LGBT rights, but the majority proclaim themselves to be Liberals. Students don't often talk about money.

I have the most experience with the Black community and the international community at Stanford. Being a part of the Black community was both comforting and challenging; I'm from Ethiopia, so while I identify as Black, that identity is somewhat different from being Black and African American. Stanford students are generally liberal, but racism and other forms of discrimination do happen. I don't know if there is any one type of student who would feel comfortable/uncomfortable at Stanford, I just think it depends on the smaller community they are a part of, most importantly their dorm. Students here are very casual about the way they dress - I've worn PJs to class a few times. You get a range though, there are also students who won't be caught dead not looking their best.

I don't think there is enough radicalism on campus, but part of that might be because I am not highly engaged in those communities. I have spent some time in the political activist circles, and I just remember feeling so frustrated at how difficult it is to get other students to care about these prevalent and overwhelmingly important issues. That is the trade off for Stanford students being so busy and engaged in what they are doing--they often don't have time to be "sidetracked" by other important things you are doing. I don't know that there is necessarily a type of student who would feel uncomfortable at Stanford, because I feel like there are a lot of niche communities, and everyone seems to find people they can relate to and form solid relationships with. There is definitely interaction between the different types of students, as long as both are open-minded to each other. For example, one coop I lived in is directly across the street from one of the most notoriously "fratty" fraternities. Every year for Halloween the fraternity and the coop have a "Pumpkins and 40s" party, where frat guys dress up as crazy hippies with flowing skirts and marijuana leaf necklaces, and coop hippies dress up as ridiculous frat guys, with three pastel polo shirts with starched popped collars and designer sunglasses. It is a hilarious satire, all in good jest, and together the two houses drink beer and carve pumpkins. Most Stanford students are solidly middle to upper class, but I think for the most part the issue of economic status is pretty well masked at Stanford (unless someone intentionally wants to make theirs known). I'm not sure whether that is a good or bad thing, but it seems to be the case. Students are definitely predominantly left, but there is still a healthy amount of political debate (at least on the individual level, but definitely not on the university-sanctioned event level). There is a wider representation of the political spectrum amongst the faculty, with the Hoover Institute and the Economics department being notoriously conservative.

There is a HUGE amount of diversity on campus! There is a place for everyone, and people are exceptionally accepting of different backgrounds, interests, extracurriculars, clubs, and groups.

All of my experiences at stanford regard surveys

The student body is great. The best part of the school, in my opinion. I met people from countries I never knew existed (ok, well, countries I didn’t think about on a regular basis at least), and everyone was involved in extracurriculars. The only students that might feel really out of place are very poor students. It’s the one aspect of Stanford’s diversity that I thought was lacking. Everyone seems to be from at least the middle-class, and most students come from very well-to-do families. In general, students are very liberal, which sometimes clashes with the more conservative body of professors (such as the Hoover fellows). There were more independents in my Polisci 1 class than there were Republicans.