Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stanford is only the most selective school due to lack of competition. It's the only truly world-class elite private university west of the Mississippi. Yale, Harvard, and Princeton are located a couple hundred miles from each other and are tugging away for applicants and interests. Furthermore, you get a lot of weaker applicants at Stanford who are more interested in athletics and stand no chance of getting in. The desirability of California plays a big impact as well, which is why you see Berkeley/UCLA as the public schools with the lowest acceptance rates and Pomona/CMC as the LACs with this.

You have no idea what you're talking about. It's hilarious that you seriously think the only reason people apply to Berkeley is because it's just some random public school in California where the weather is nice. And that Stanford is only famous because it has no competition.

Have you heard of this little thing called the Internet? Where do you think it came from?

And you think non-Californian universities don't have weaker applicants who are hoping to slip in based on athletics?

Ummmm well since you asked: the Internet was originally developed by the USG.

It was a U.S. government project (ARPANET), but work was done at universities, like many government projects, including UCLA and Stanford.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stanford is only the most selective school due to lack of competition. It's the only truly world-class elite private university west of the Mississippi. Yale, Harvard, and Princeton are located a couple hundred miles from each other and are tugging away for applicants and interests. Furthermore, you get a lot of weaker applicants at Stanford who are more interested in athletics and stand no chance of getting in. The desirability of California plays a big impact as well, which is why you see Berkeley/UCLA as the public schools with the lowest acceptance rates and Pomona/CMC as the LACs with this.

You have no idea what you're talking about. It's hilarious that you seriously think the only reason people apply to Berkeley is because it's just some random public school in California where the weather is nice. And that Stanford is only famous because it has no competition.

Have you heard of this little thing called the Internet? Where do you think it came from?

And you think non-Californian universities don't have weaker applicants who are hoping to slip in based on athletics?

Ummmm well since you asked: the Internet was originally developed by the USG.

Anonymous wrote:Stanford is only the most selective school due to lack of competition. It's the only truly world-class elite private university west of the Mississippi. Yale, Harvard, and Princeton are located a couple hundred miles from each other and are tugging away for applicants and interests. Furthermore, you get a lot of weaker applicants at Stanford who are more interested in athletics and stand no chance of getting in. The desirability of California plays a big impact as well, which is why you see Berkeley/UCLA as the public schools with the lowest acceptance rates and Pomona/CMC as the LACs with this.

You have no idea what you're talking about. It's hilarious that you seriously think the only reason people apply to Berkeley is because it's just some random public school in California where the weather is nice. And that Stanford is only famous because it has no competition.

Have you heard of this little thing called the Internet? Where do you think it came from?

And you think non-Californian universities don't have weaker applicants who are hoping to slip in based on athletics?

Anonymous wrote:Stanford is only the most selective school due to lack of competition. It's the only truly world-class elite private university west of the Mississippi. Yale, Harvard, and Princeton are located a couple hundred miles from each other and are tugging away for applicants and interests. Furthermore, you get a lot of weaker applicants at Stanford who are more interested in athletics and stand no chance of getting in. The desirability of California plays a big impact as well, which is why you see Berkeley/UCLA as the public schools with the lowest acceptance rates and Pomona/CMC as the LACs with this.

Yep. All schools—even the elite ones—primarily draw from kids who live relatively close to the school.

Stanford is only the most selective school due to lack of competition. It's the only truly world-class elite private university west of the Mississippi. Yale, Harvard, and Princeton are located a couple hundred miles from each other and are tugging away for applicants and interests. Furthermore, you get a lot of weaker applicants at Stanford who are more interested in athletics and stand no chance of getting in. The desirability of California plays a big impact as well, which is why you see Berkeley/UCLA as the public schools with the lowest acceptance rates and Pomona/CMC as the LACs with this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Can't speak for that PP but my DD didn't give it a glance because of: 1) Silicon Valley douche bro culture; and 2) suburban location. The weather is undeniably nice, though. She's headed to Columbia and loves everything about NYC.

This statement really says more about you than the students at Stanford, you know.

Oh does it now? Good to know.

Glad to be of service.

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Can't speak for that PP but my DD didn't give it a glance because of: 1) Silicon Valley douche bro culture; and 2) suburban location. The weather is undeniably nice, though. She's headed to Columbia and loves everything about NYC.

This statement really says more about you than the students at Stanford, you know.

Oh does it now? Good to know.

Glad to be of service.

Yeah, such a life saver. Really helpful.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Can't speak for that PP but my DD didn't give it a glance because of: 1) Silicon Valley douche bro culture; and 2) suburban location. The weather is undeniably nice, though. She's headed to Columbia and loves everything about NYC.

This statement really says more about you than the students at Stanford, you know.

Oh does it now? Good to know.

Glad to be of service.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Can't speak for that PP but my DD didn't give it a glance because of: 1) Silicon Valley douche bro culture; and 2) suburban location. The weather is undeniably nice, though. She's headed to Columbia and loves everything about NYC.

This statement really says more about you than the students at Stanford, you know.

Oh does it now? Good to know.

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

+1
I went to both. Harvard for undergrad, Stanford for grad. I much preferred the atmosphere and culture of Harvard. To me the Stanford campus life seemed isolated, sterile, and uninteresting, in contrast to the quirkier urban vibe of Harvard. At the time I went (many, many years ago), Harvard also had the more renowned, "star power" professors in my humanities field.

Anonymous wrote:Stanford is the most selective college in the world, it is located in the heart of Silicon Valley in an area of great natural beauty and wonderful weather.

Many would agree with me that Stanford is the gold standard for undergraduate, law or MBA programs. I know that some disagree, but why? If you think some other school is better (in general, not for a niche program) what do you think that school offers that makes it better overall than Stanford?

PS – I am neither a Stanford Grad nor a Stanford Parent.

There is a lot I would question here. On what basis do you claim Stanford is the most selective? Are you arguing on admission rate? That alone would be questionable. I would think quality of enrolled class would be a better indicator, and there are several rivals there. I also would certainly like to think that people have different goals and needs, so there isn't one "Gold Standard". Stanford is certainly strong, particularly in STEM, but I would certainly think a good case could be made for Harvard, MIT, Caltech, Oxford/Cambridge, and other schools as well, depending on the criteria. Harvard has maintained an edge in cross-admits over Stanford, I believe (that is what Parchment shows), and certainly could make a case for having less STEM-heavy student body and unrivaled strength in humanities. MIT and Caltech are phenomenal in engineering and science and for producing academics.

For law, I would cite Yale or Harvard before Stanford if I had to name a "Gold Standard". For MBA, Harvard would be he one that comes to mind first. (Harvard is often considered tops for management, Stanford for tech/entrepreneurship, and Wharton for finance.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Can't speak for that PP but my DD didn't give it a glance because of: 1) Silicon Valley douche bro culture; and 2) suburban location. The weather is undeniably nice, though. She's headed to Columbia and loves everything about NYC.

This statement really says more about you than the students at Stanford, you know.

That just isn't the way MOST students think. Most undergraduate students spend the bulk of their time on or near campus. I pity those who miss the college experience in the pursuit of a urban/suburban experience that will be available the rest of their lives.

I was referring to the part which was bolded above.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Can't speak for that PP but my DD didn't give it a glance because of: 1) Silicon Valley douche bro culture; and 2) suburban location. The weather is undeniably nice, though. She's headed to Columbia and loves everything about NYC.

This statement really says more about you than the students at Stanford, you know.

That just isn't the way MOST students think. Most undergraduate students spend the bulk of their time on or near campus. I pity those who miss the college experience in the pursuit of a urban/suburban experience that will be available the rest of their lives.

Anonymous wrote:

Can't speak for that PP but my DD didn't give it a glance because of: 1) Silicon Valley douche bro culture; and 2) suburban location. The weather is undeniably nice, though. She's headed to Columbia and loves everything about NYC.

This statement really says more about you than the students at Stanford, you know.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stanford- super boring suburban location. Feels very pre-professional. Too obsessed with Silicon Valley. It was #6 on my kids list and I didn’t disagree with his ranking. He ended up at Columbia which was #4 on his list and loves it there.

I’d say we have the same kid, except yours is a boy. Stanford may have great weather and architecture, but it felt really cold and pre-professional to DD who ended up at Columbia.

Which is to say, Stanford may be a great school, but there’s no “best” school for every kid.

What did your DD like at Columbia that Stanford didn't have?

Can't speak for that PP but my DD didn't give it a glance because of: 1) Silicon Valley douche bro culture; and 2) suburban location. The weather is undeniably nice, though. She's headed to Columbia and loves everything about NYC.

DD going to Columbia for NYC, not the school itself? That's interesting. Do Columbia students not spend most of their time on campus?