Is Stanford the "gold standard?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, if it’s the gold standard, then how do you explain why it’s not number one in every ranking of every undergrad and graduate program it offers?

OP here - I stated an opinion, which many share, but acknowledged that some disagree. Stanford is always near the top of rankings, but not always at the top. I'm genuinely curious as to what others think Stanford is lacking? what another school offers that makes it better overall than Stanford?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, if it’s the gold standard, then how do you explain why it’s not number one in every ranking of every undergrad and graduate program it offers?

OP here - I stated an opinion, which many share, but acknowledged that some disagree. Stanford is always near the top of rankings, but not always at the top. I'm genuinely curious as to what others think Stanford is lacking? what another school offers that makes it better overall than Stanford?

Can you really not come up with one thing that another school could offer? Seriously?!

[Anonymous]

I much preferred Harvard. I loved the charm of Cambridge. I loved Boston I found Stanford blah. But that's me.

[Anonymous]

Stanford is a world-class university without a doubt. You couldn't ask for better weather or campus facilities. Outside of tech and the professional schools, it is not as strong academically as its reputation with the general public. It is also full of D1 semi-pro athletes and it has a frat heavy social culture. The Hoover Institution is a little extreme right to some. And it is located in a wealthy, but pretty standard/boring suburb. My DC - an aspiring "intellectual" - just didn't think it was a fit compared to the schools between NY and Boston.

[Anonymous]

No, it's in a suburb OP. There are nicer places. Ivies are better.

[Anonymous]

For undergraduate education, I'd prefer Yale or Princeton. They just have that perfect Ivy League setting and experience. I know Stanford has a ton going for it and that it has a lower admissions rate and better weather. I just don't find the campus or the close affiliation with Silicon Valley personally inspiring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I much preferred Harvard. I loved the charm of Cambridge. I loved Boston I found Stanford blah. But that's me.

Yeah I'm sure that after all those Boston winters, the year-round "70-degrees and pleasant" climate of Palo Alto was intolerably boring.

[Anonymous]

Stanford is an excellent school. However, Palo Alto is a really boring suburb. I’d rather go to school in a city.

Also, as reported by my sister who is teaching in the humanities at Stanford, there is strong pressure to adapt humanities courses to appeal to the undergrads’ interests, which primarily center around engineering and programming. I personally find that problematic, since students should be taught to value a well-rounded education, rather than having their interested catered to all the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stanford is an excellent school. However, Palo Alto is a really boring suburb. I’d rather go to school in a city.

Also, as reported by my sister who is teaching in the humanities at Stanford, there is strong pressure to adapt humanities courses to appeal to the undergrads’ interests, which primarily center around engineering and programming. I personally find that problematic, since students should be taught to value a well-rounded education, rather than having their interested catered to all the time.

Sorry — “interested” should be “interests.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I much preferred Harvard. I loved the charm of Cambridge. I loved Boston I found Stanford blah. But that's me.

Me too. Very boring, suburban location between an upscale mall and a golf course. Suffers by comparison to Berkeley as well as to Cambridge.

[Anonymous]

It has a gorgeous campus and great access to SV tech companies.

As a STEM person who loves being outdoors, it's my ideal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It has a gorgeous campus and great access to SV tech companies.

As a STEM person who loves being outdoors, it's my ideal.

Huh. My DC is a STEM person who loves being outdoors and had the “sterile suburban environment” reaction to Stanford.

[Anonymous]

I like Hillsdale College because they are independent and don’t take federal grants and loans. I think it a great school for liberal arts education in undergrad. It is conservative, but so am I.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It has a gorgeous campus and great access to SV tech companies.

As a STEM person who loves being outdoors, it's my ideal.

Huh. My DC is a STEM person who loves being outdoors and had the “sterile suburban environment” reaction to Stanford.

I loved it. The architecture. The weather - you can be outside almost every day of the year. I even like Palo Alto - cute little town. Beaches and mountains aren’t too far. Almost everyone I know who lives there is very athletic and runs/triathlons/skis/etc.

I ended up at a highly-rated STEM school in the Northeast. The architecture was also beautiful in a Gothic, old-school sort of way. The weather sucked though. And while there were plenty of opportunities for research and corporate collaboration, it didn’t have the crazy energy and innovation as SV. (I worked at a startup out there and spent some time on campus)

Anyway, just sharing what I loved about it. Obviously, it’s not for everyone. For me, it was my dream school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like Hillsdale College because they are independent and don’t take federal grants and loans. I think it a great school for liberal arts education in undergrad. It is conservative, but so am I.

Betsy, no one takes you or that school seriously.