Stanford University Top Questions

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You can work with the brightest brains all all over the world.

Stanford is a world of its own. Often nicknamed "the bubble," it has everything within its campus that you'll ever need, minus a couple of things. Having just the right number of people, you'll never be short of meeting new people. The campus is so vast and gorgeous that you'll never run out of new adventures. The best part of Stanford is the people. Everyone is extremely friendly and spirited.

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Stanford's campus is just too big. As far as population goes, its middle of the road at about 15,000 people, but it feels like so many more because the campus is so huge. The college town is pretty lousy. Palo Alto used to cool until the dot com boom and then a bunch of yuppies moved in making it preposterously pompous and expensive. Going to Stanford is a pretty big boon to people's self-esteem. The brand is a pretty big deal, especially on the West Coast. The administration at Stanford has good intentions, but they have a bad habit of condoning less-than-stellar ethics when it comes to admissions and hiring. There is almost too much school pride. It's pretty fun to get wasted and go to the football games, but it gets old pretty fast.

Very nice campus, great administration, easy classes, terrible fellow students

I really like, that evenybody at stanford is treat ed the same. There are no clubs for rich people or geniuses. Instead it is common that the millionaire's daughter might live in a room with the worker's daughter and they wouldn't even know, because money is barely an issue. Some goes for grades: Even though everybody is doing their best, people do not boast with their grades and their superiority, but instead help each other.

The best thing about Stanford? The freshman dorms! Yes, they can be intense and overwhelming, as some have 90-180 people, but I made most my best friends freshman year and really had a great time. Also, the weather and the Bay Area. San Francisco is only 40 minutes away. At Stanford the weather is gorgeous, campus is gorgeous. If you like the outdoors, hiking, mountain biking, nature preserves, sailing, kayaking, rock climbing, none are more than about a fifteen minute drive away. Even after four years of the same walks to classes etc, I never cease to be amazed by the natural beauty on campus and the surrounding areas. College town? Palo Alto is about a mile away from campus, which is a fifteen minute walk or a 5 minute drive. It's a yuppie town with some reasonable restaurants, a couple of cool theatres, but ultimately more for 30 year old Silicon Vally execs than college students. The night life is minimal, although there are a couple of good bars, including the Nut House (California St.) and Nolas (off University) that are fun. In recent years it has also become dominated by coffee shops with wifi, so there are good places to study.

The best part about Stanford is the people. Everyone is so interesting. If you ever want to do anything--from starting a band to starting a company--you will always find amazing people who will help you make it happen. People are pretty fun-loving, and there's always something going on. Over the course of this year alone I've been to Tahoe on ski trip, gone to play laser-tag with my dorm, gone on a dorm trip to Tijuana, played guitar hero, played capture the flag in the quad, been into San Fran 10 times, gone into Palo Alto zillions of times, been to Santa Cruz, road-tripped down to LA, played mini-golf, been on a boat cruise, gone wine tasting in Napa, been to Six Flags, among many other things. The second-best thing is the campus/weather. It never gets old walking through the quad at night, or riding my bike around campus during the day. I love going swimming and lying out in the sun after, and I love taking runs to the dish in the afternoon. Palo Alto is great, although there's not much night life. Its got tons of great restaurants, cafes, breakfast places, bakeries, and trendy frozen yogurt shops like Red Mango and Fraiche. There are a few bars, but night life is very much centered around campus so not too many people go. If I had to change anything, I would probably change the weather in the winter (it can get kind of rainy and dreary, but its usually only half the time). I'd also change the housing situation. Since everyone mostly lives on campus all four years, it's difficult to get nice housing. The draw is a total toss-up. There aren't many places with singles or 2-room doubles, so most people end up jammed into a room with another roommate or two. That works out great freshman year, but after a few years you really want you're own space. And more of it. Overall, Stanford has been great. I can't believe I only have one year left--I wish I could start all over again.

If I could change one thing about Stanford, it would be to make the campus less of a secluded "bubble" and put it in closer touch with the "real world."

The best thing about Stanford is the people. You can make some amazing friends. Keep them close, because life can get busy very fast and you may not see them for a long time if you let it happen. Everyone is amazing at something. If you were the best at everything before coming here, get ready to be put back in your place. People will say the same about you.

The size is just right and the esteem of the name is great. I spend most of my time on campus in the Stanford bubble and we have alot of school pride. I'll always remember the first band run.

I spend a lot of my time in the dorms, which I really enjoy. Freshmen aren't allowed to have cars, but a parking pass can easily be obtained, so leaving campus and going to events in San Francisco or elsewhere is easy. People are generally impressed when I tell them I go to Stanford, as it has a great reputation, particularly as I live in the Bay Area. The administration does a great job, and everything is run very smoothly.

We have a beautiful campus, and mostly beautiful weather. I personally don't spend a lot of time off campus, maybe once in a while to go shopping or out to eat. Everybody I've met here loves Stanford and is excited about learning and making a difference somewhere.

Stanford is amazing. Palo Alto is not a college town, but Stanford offers a lot on campus, from great food to fun, well-attended frat parties.

Stanford is a truly wonderful place to be an undergrad. The word idyllic comes to mind. Having visited friends at half a dozen other universities around the country (and vice-versa), I know with uncommon certainty that I made the right choice. Beyond the nearly unparalleled opportunities in the classrooms and research labs, the most valuable part of a Stanford education is being surrounded by and interacting with some of the brightest and most broadly thinking people you're likely to ever meet. Having graduated, I miss that!

I’m a Stanford alum who majored in one of the engineering departments. And it wasn't worth it. I view my diploma as a receipt, but nothing more.

Stanford is the kind of place where opportunities abound. The faculty truly value close interaction with undergrads. If you're driven, ask a ton of questions, and meet the right people, then the sky is the limit. You can do literally anything.