Visiting Stanford - 5 Things That Surprised Me

So I returned on Sunday from my trip to Stanford. I was visiting as an admitted student, so the event was "Admit Weekend". The purpose of said event was to convince students to pick Stanford. I, however, had already committed even though I had no visited. I did this because of a gut feeling that Stanford was right - crazy I know! But it made the weekend incredibly enjoyable.

I thoroughly enjoyed visiting Stanford. My first impression was the obvious "wow". The realization that I was going to Stanford University hit me as my plane descended over San Francisco during a beautiful sunset. As the sun made the water glisten, I struggled to contain my excitement. The rest was just a blur.

But here are the top 5 things that surprised me about Stanford. All of them were positives, so don't get me wrong! But they surprised me, so I figured I would share them.


1. The Humble Social Atmosphere


If someone was to randomly drop you into Stanford's campus, you would probably expect that within the first conversation with a student, you would realize that you were at Stanford, a premiere university. You would expect the student to be obviously intelligent and well accomplished and very willing to share this information with you. However, the air of arrogance and eliteness is simply not present. Stanford students are more ready to ask you how you are, show you around the campus and boast about other students than they are to talk about themselves. Stanford students are extremely humble.

Take, for example, the movie Social Network. In this brilliant film, Harvard students are quick to identify themselves as "Harvard gentlemen" as they participate in and organize several elite social clubs. Now, I know this is a movie and mostly fictional, and I am not passing this behavior off as wrong or undesirable; it is simply a different atmosphere. In the same movie, Stanford is depicted as an easy going, relaxed college. I chuckled when I realized that this depiction does hold to some veracity.

Stanford's humble nature comes hand-in-hand with its relaxed environment that it is known for. Faculty claim that this is fact cannot be solely attributed to the weather, but also to the types of applicants that Stanford accepts. This is definitely true as Stanford students weren't the only ones that were humble - the admitted students (Pro Fros - prospective freshmen) were too. I had an incredible time with my future class mates. One evening I spent several hours with five other Pro Fros at Lagunita Court (one of the residences). We sat outside and talked from from 1:30 am to 2:30 am. Our conversations revolved around random subjects such as dead possum stories and wackiness of high school. I like that.


2. The Friendliness of Stanford Students


I have visited quite a few universities, including some very well known ones. Whenever I visited, I felt welcomed by faculty, the admissions team and any student helpers. But the other students never paid much attention to me. Now, this is understandable during tours etc. But at one university, which shall remain nameless (but it is a recognizable name), I spent two days at for their scholarship weekend/admitted students weekend. I had a great time, but the current students never paid much attention to us prospective freshmen.

At Stanford, everyone knew that it was admit weekend and everyone welcomed us with open arms. Students biking down roads would randomly yell out "PRO FROS!" at us as they whizzed past us. Necessary? No. Expected? No. Welcoming and awesome? Yes! Everyone was truly excited that we were there.

A couple times throughout the weekend, my friends and I got lost. We had no reservations in asking a random Stanford student where to go. Almost every time, the student actually dropped their plans and accompanied us to our destination. They wanted to know our intended majors or prospective interests, where we were from and then they simply shared their Stanford experience, both the pros and cons. They were honest, sincere and down to earth. I loved it.


3.  Stanford tiene muchas bicicletas. Talvez demasiado? Nah!


In case you didn't catch the simple translation, I said that Stanford has many bikes, perhaps too many! The included photo illustrates this example. There are over 9,000 bikes registered on campus. Now, Stanford has been rated the most bike friendly campus in America by multiple sources, so this isn't all surprising. Everyone bikes at Stanford, including professors. There is almost a need to do so, since the campus is quite massive. I like it though, it is refreshingly satisfying - the campus, I mean. You see something new each day that you didn't notice before. There is also a lot of options so that you'll never get bored of the campus. But back to bikes. Lot's of them and I'll definitely have one next year.


4. The Lack of Nerdiness 

Now, you probably read this title with a sense of suspicion. I mean, we ARE talking about Stanford here after all. However, that is the amazing thing about Stanford. Every person on campus is "normal". It is hard to quantify a "normal" person, but you get the gist of what I am trying to convey. These are people you'll not only study with, but play a sport with (Stanford students are extremely athletic), hang out with, hike with or do community service with. The students at Stanford are extremely impressive academically, but they have a life outside of tests and classes and that is what makes Stanford, well, Stanford. I think this is why so many innovations and businesses spring out from Stanford. Not only is Stanford a breeding ground for innovative entrepreneurship, but because students have dynamic and three-dimensional lives, students are always exploring other topics, leading them to discover amazing things. It is an amazing thing when you can hold a conversation about AP Calculus, the literary genius of Hemingway and the eminent threat of zombies with the same person. Very places in the world can you do this, Stanford is one of them. I observed no cliques or special social groups. While the band is open to anyone who wants to join, they still manage to be extremely impressive. And in case you were wondering, the band at Stanford is basically the biggest co-ed fraternity on campus. Everyone hangs out with the band!


5. The Lack of Elitism in Building Design

This is definitely a unique topic, and one that I won't spend much time on. Pictures of Stanford always amazed me, the campus is absolutely gorgeous. But compared to many of its peers, Stanford's building designs are relatively humble and modest. A lot of the generalizations I am about to make come from my opinion as well as the opinion of many of my friends, all of which turned down Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT etc to come to Stanford. All those campuses boast awesome architecture and magnificent internal design. They're flashy inside: some are very modern, some boast vintage and classic design. But the general motif is that they're built to impress, inside and outside.

While Stanford's buildings are built impressively, there is an air of modesty. The buildings all have the same, simple style, called the Mission Revival style. Arches are seen populated all over campus, as that unique, red stone is ubiquitous and classic. Inside, Stanford's buildings are furnished adequately and nicely, but never overdone or flashy in style.

Most of the dorms are very quaint and, dare I say, cute. Many resemble English cottages. They are all nestled behind a wall of trees and other greenery. Again, nothing elite, just simple and nice.

Those are the five things that surprised me about Stanford! I know it's a long post and I know you may disagree with some of what I said, but I do realize that I am biased! It's my blog, so I can be. :)

Peace! Jason